Beaver dams could help reduce wildfire risk in Siskiyou County

Northstate Area, Calif. — Leave it to beaver!

Officials say the aquatic mammals could be an added benefit to wildfire mitigation in the Northstate. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has received over $3 million in funding as a part of continued beaver dam restoration projects.

In a press release last week, the department said it is looking to successfully implement beaver restoration projects, especially in Siskiyou county, by “partnering with California native tribes, non-governmental organizations, private landowners, and state and federal agencies,”

How do beavers help with wildfire prevention? KRCR’s Anwar Stetson spoke with a CDFW official.

“We all know that beavers build dams, right? And what these beaver dams are really good at is taking water in and spreading it out and allowing it to seep into the soil to create a more natural, healthier ecosystem all the way around,” said CDFW Public Information Officer Ken Paglia. “If a wildfire comes through and the landscape is really, really, healthy and really, really, wet–wetter than it would normally be without the beaver dam–then that’s going to naturally protect against that wildfire risk.”

Paglia says that restoring animals and natural habitats is all about embracing the paradigm shift in environmental protection and the benefits of a healthy ecosystem.

The department will be introducing beavers to some habitats as well as building beaver “analogues”, or artificial logjams to attract beavers to certain areas.

Paglia said a goal of the project is to “ find a way to safely coexist with beavers and make sure that we are continuing to advance our management practices to utilize beavers for their ecosystem benefits,” as well as “develop projects that will protect against wildfire risk drought risk and support climate resiliency.”