In 2023, the state of California released seven beavers on Indigenous Mountain Maidu lands in northern California. The beavers were restored to a part of their native range where they have been absent since the mid-19th century, Mongabay reported.
This move is part of a program to remove beavers from areas where their activities are causing problems by interfering with human developments. The program relocates the beavers to areas where their dam-building is most needed.
The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in Sonoma County, California has been spearheading this effort. One of its co-directors, Kate Lindquist, told Mongabay that this project echoes beaver conservation efforts in other states like Oregon, Washington, and Utah. Authorities have been focused on this small but vital species for even longer in those places…