Yeah i know….
Right now you are wondering like so many, “What in the world can possibly be beneficial about a beaver?” “I lost so much of so and so to beavers!”, you state.
Please don’t hang me just yet but rather hear me out. There are so many of us that have heard all of the negative facets of beavers and such by their havoc created by extensive floodings.
But there are great goods created by this neat creature that affect man’s environment when they are fulfilling their niche of creating wetlands habitats. Some of the many positive arenas of the wetlands, created by the beavers damming of waterways, is the prevention of erosion and contaminant runoffs. The newly created wetland area is a filtration system that leaches out dangerous chemicals and such from agricultural lands and many other pollutants that make their way into our streams. The dammed waterway improves our water quality thus benefitting fish, wildlife and man.
This ecosystem created by beavers also benefits many of our other furbearing animals and provides water during times of drought that are oft times utilized by farmers as they pump water out for the irrigation of croplands. Furthermore, the increase of waterfowl specifically the wood duck has drastically increased since the inception of the beaver into North America. Wood ducks utilize this environment for feeding, roosting, and the development of young which provides a safe haven against predators.
