Beavers are having a moment. In October in Boulder, I joined hundreds of people from around the globe at BeaverCON 2024. It was one of the hottest tickets in town and it did not disappoint. I got to hear firsthand from top beaver experts (yes, that’s a thing) about how one small mammal can have a huge positive impact on waterways and ecosystems.

Beavers are one of the best ways to maintain and restore ecosystems — and they do it in addition to the good work by landowners and scientists. As diligent architects of the ecosystem, beavers reshape stream and river corridors by dispersing water across the floodplain, saturating the terrain before it descends through valleys. 

Healthier riverscapes help support wetland vegetation, sustain fish species that thrive in calm water and ponds, and encourage more water to seep into the groundwater. Numerous fish and wildlife species favored by hunters and anglers rely on thriving wetlands and streams, and beavers play a vital role in creating and maintaining these essential habitats. Without beavers and the winding streams they construct, water rushes down the channel unrestrained, transporting sediment and causing erosion along its course.

Beavers could once be found across North America and numbered from 60 million to 400 million, but their populations suffered significant declines in the 1800s due to widespread historic trapping and removal across the West, including Colorado. Their disappearance from much of their natural range has negatively affected the health of riparian and wetland areas, leading to the deterioration of water and land habitats.

Rivers and river systems are integral to the health of Colorado’s natural habitat, and as a headwaters state, our state is the home to the origins of four of our nation’s major rivers. In the Colorado River Basin, we’ve seen climate change fuel extended drought, invasive species and intense wildfires. Increasing demand on water resources from municipal and agricultural users has placed the entire system under greater stress.

While beavers are known to be effective hard workers, their widespread removal over the past 150 years means they need a little help to carry out this function effectively. This is where a tool called low-tech, process-based restoration comes in. This tool focuses on restoring degraded river ecosystems by working to mimic natural processes (hint: beaver dams) and creating improved habitat that could better support beaver populations.

The Cameron Peak and East Troublesome mega fires of 2020 provided a look at how beavers have contributed mightily to resiliency of our landscape: The areas with beaver stuck out like green oasis in the middle of the burn scars. Watershed groups and some landowners have taken notice and are adopting this low-tech restoration tool in other communities in Colorado.

Some agricultural and other private landowners, as well as the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service, are working together to restore river ecosystems. This is a positive step forward. 

And, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is beginning its work to develop a statewide beaver management plan. They are laying the foundation for a well-rounded approach to bring beaver populations back to some upper elevation watersheds. The goal is to improve drought resilience, boost water quality, and increase biodiversity — all while keeping human-beaver conflicts in check.

State support behind beaver management will help Colorado become more climate-resilient while addressing social and economic needs. Successful beaver recovery in Colorado will depend upon engaging more agricultural and private landowners from the start and addressing their concerns.

Surrounded by experts from around the world, BeaverCON truly reinforced the idea that beavers aren’t some comic book superheroes — they are actual superheroes with the potential to play a meaningful role in restoration and recovery efforts for Colorado’s river and stream ecosystems.

Madison Martin, of Lakewood, is a biologist, an avid outdoorswoman and the deputy director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation.

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