Beavers could help replace artificial dams being decommissioned on Vancouver Island

Members of a Canadian conservation organization are working on a project to increase biodiversity and healthy wetlands in British Columbia with the help of beavers. Ducks Unlimited Canada is mapping areas in the province where beavers can replace artificial dams once they've been decommissioned. 

"Beavers are a keystone species," said Jen Rogers, a master's student at Simon Fraser University working with Ducks Unlimited Canada. "They're considered ecosystem engineers."

The team is currently assessing areas on Vancouver Island where beavers were historically over-trapped to make room for engineered dams.

Many of those artificial structures are now decades old and due to be replaced. The team hopes to restore the beaver population, not only to replace the dams but to provide the added value of restoring biological diversity to the landscape.

Roger Dunlop, a biologist and the manager of lands and natural resources for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, says bringing the beavers back would have a positive domino effect on other parts of the ecosystem.

He has been monitoring Gold River water levels since the 1950s and is concerned about the increasingly low levels. He blames the change on deforestation. 

"We've replaced [old-growth forests] with young, rapidly growing super tree plantations that require much more water," said Dunlop. The water loss has, in turn, caused a decline in freshwater species, and as warmer months approach, the risk of drought increases.

He says that reintroducing beavers can "rehydrate the landscape," giving it a break from overuse. Beaver ponds help surrounding land absorb water, allowing it to resist droughts and floods.

"If you think about it, forestry in B.C. is really overgrazing, just at a larger scale," said Dunlop. "The blades of grass are just trees, right?"

Dunlop says his expertise as a biologist informs his work, as does his identity as a member of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation. He says First Nations communities involving themselves in biodiversity work is important. 

"They're exercising their right to take better management control of this particular landscape that's really been over-harvested," he said. 

The project is currently in the assessment phase, using data models to best determine which areas their efforts should be concentrated in. A lot goes into beaver reintroduction, so they are also working on plans for co-ordinating with land owners, trapping and monitoring the animals, and keeping track of water levels. 

"That takes time," said Dunlop. "And that is definitely what's planned for this landscape."