Posted by: Sandy Steinman | August 26, 2023

Parachuting beavers created a fire-resistant wetland

EarthSky reports

How beavers benefit the ecosystem

Some people have a negative view of beavers: they tear down trees and build dams that can flood the adjacent landscape. In Idaho in the 1940s, officials rounded up beavers from populated areas and relocated them – sometimes by parachute – to remote areas such as Baugh Creek. Now, nearly 70 years later, NASA satellite images show that these areas where beavers settled are lusher, greener, and more resistant to fire and drought.

Parachuting beavers

Some of the areas that Idaho wanted to relocate the beavers to were so remote that there were no roads to get them there. So, they came up with a novel solution. Idaho Fish and Game used surplus parachutes from World War II to drop the beavers into their new homes.

Read more at  Parachuting beavers created a fire-resistant wetland


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