Beavers are known as ‘ecosystem engineers’ and they fit that job description perfectly. They use their fast-growing teeth to gnaw down whole trees and build elaborate dams, turning running creeks into still ponds. That’s good for desert ecosystems. Many other animals thrive in beaver-created wetlands. The dams also slow spring floods and raise groundwater levels.
But people and beavers don’t always get along. Often, beavers are killed when they plug up the wrong stream or cut down the wrong trees. The Beaver Ecology and Relocation Center in Utah is working to change that, by live-trapping unwanted beavers and finding them new homes...