News release: Beta beavers
Beavers have a habit of building dams and burrowing into banks. That behavior can cause flooding and damage to infrastructure. But in the right place and with the right process, those same habits can make beavers powerful allies in ecological restoration. That’s why Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) biologists are testing a beaver translocation protocol to turn problem beavers into habitat helpers. … The first beaver to go through the new protocol was a female trapped at the Arlington Wildlife Area where she was causing land management issues. … Once the beaver had a clean bill of health and a GPS tracker, she was released into southern Arizona’s Lower San Pedro River Wildlife Area. The beaver quickly adapted to her new surroundings, making the beaver dam analog structures and an artificial lodge constructed by AZGFD biologists her home –– and her own. … The beaver’s efforts will build on the work that AZGFD biologists have been doing to improve the area for the past two years.