Beavers and Salmon

Rachel CastorNovember 10, 2012

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The Beavers

• European Beaver - Castor fiber– Found in Europe and Asia– Unable to reproduce with C. canadensis

• American Beaver - Castor canadensis– Found in North America– Introduced into South America, become invasive

• Not the Mountain Beaver - Aplodontia rufa

American Beaver: Castor

canadensis

• Second largest extant rodent species (after capybara)

• Herbivorous (does NOT eat fish, insects, etc)• Clumsy on land with rear feet webbed• Creates its own habitat by damming running water• Lives in constructed lodge or in burrows on bank

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Eurasian Beaver: Castor fibre

• Hunted to near extinction in Europe• Extinct in UK by 1600 AD• Extinct in Denmark by 1000 AD• 8 populations survived and were used to repopulate other European countries, where it has been used to restore wetlands.

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• Ubiquitous– arctic tundra to the deserts of northern Mexico

– from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.• Explorer David Thompson (crossed North America in 1784)– "this Continent...from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, may be said to have been in the possession of two distinct races of Beings, Man and the Beaver."

• Historic Population = 100 to 200 million pre- fur trade

History of Beaver in N.America

History of Beaver in N.America

• Trapped for– Fur - Clothing and hats– Castoreum musk - for perfumes and medicinal uses

• 1630 to 1640: 80,000 beaver taken per year from the Hudson River and western New York.

• 19th century California Fur Rush• Hudson Bay Company (HBC) Scorched Earth policy• 1826-1834 HBC took 3,000 beaver per year PNW• 1850 - only 438 beaver taken as population decreased

• Nearly extinct by 1900

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Protection

• Population rebounded to an estimated 10 to 15 million

• Originally estimated 100 to 200 million before fur trade

• 1900 The Lacey Act• 1903 Roosevelt establishes first Federal Bird Reservation. Goes onto establish Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, and National Forests, protecting 230, 000,000 acres

• 1937 The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson Act)

• 1973 The Endangered Species Act State Laws governing wildlife proliferated in 1990’s

• OR 498.002 Wildlife is state property• OR 498.022 Selling of wildlife & furs is prohibited

Keystone Species

• The beaver is a keystone species, increasing biodiversity in its territory through creation of beaver ponds and wetlands.

• Aquatic plants colonize newly available watery habitat.

• Insect, invertebrate, fish, mammal, and bird diversity are also expanded.

Beavers and Fish: modern studies

• Is the decline of salmonids related to the decline in beaver populations?

• Sagehen Creek Study, CA– Beaver dams increase # and size of trout

• Coldwater River Study, BC– Beaver ponds preferred by Coho for rearing habitat– Over wintering and flood protection

• Stillaguamish River Study, WA– Loss of beaver ponds = 89% reduction in Coho smolt

production– Beaver pond increase smolt production 80x > Large

Woody Debris

Stream Flow and Water Quality

• Beaver ponds increase stream flow in dry seasons by storing run-off in rainy season.

• Increases groundwater tables• Remove sediment and pollutants• Harmful bacteria reduced in beaver ponds

• Increased wetland functions

Beaver and Trees• Beavers once thought to cause deforestation.• Still killed and relocated for causing damage to trees• Forests damaged in South America where beaver are

introduced, invasive species and where wetlands do not form or function as they do in the Northwest

• Studies show beaver activity increases woody plant cover• Trees provide shade and woody debris necessary for

salmon survival

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Stream Restoration

• Conservation Corps 1930’s– Beaver stop soil erosion in streams– Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah– Each $5 beaver completed $300 of work

• Instead of Dams– WA Lands Council pilot study– In response to DOE plan to build $10,000,000,000 worth of dams for flood control

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Support structures installed along Bridge Creek to encourage increased beaver activity in the John Day River drainage of E.Oregon.

Bridge Creek, OR

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Typical reach without beaver activity

Reach with beaver dam activity - notice large riparian zone

ESTUARY RESTORATION

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“Recently, beaver have been discovered living in brackish water in estuarine tidal marshes, where Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) densities were five times higher in beaver ponds than in neighboring areas.” (Mapes 2009)

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Do Dams Block Salmonids?

• Restrict salmon during seasonal drought•Trout shown to cross 14 consecutively•Coho jump up to 2m•Anadromous trout and salmon found above beaver dams•Downstream migration unaffected by beaver dams

Salmon Move Through Beaver Dams

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Modern Threats to Beaver

• Trapping for International Fur Market

• Pest Status– DOA Killed 100,000 beaver in past 5 years

• Habitat Degradation– Excessive Grazing in arid West

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Overgrazing :cause of beaver and salmon

declines

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wetlands engineer. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY. Available: http://books.google.ca/books?id=eqIenKko3lAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. (November 12, 2012).

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Photo Credits• [A] Ramstad, Kristina. 1997. Sockeye salmon jumping over beaver dam. Lake Aleknagik, AK. Wikipedia Commons.

Link• [B] Robertson, D. Gordon E. 2010. “Canadian Beaver (Castor canadensis). Gatineau Park, Quebec, Canada.

Wikipedia Commons. Link• [C] Začek, Sven. 2006. European beaver (Castor fiber). Tartu County, Estonia. Wikipedia Commons. Link• [D] Harding, Arthur Robert. 1907. Steel Traps. A.R. Harding Publishing Co, Columbus, OH. Gutenberg Book

Project. Link• [E] Mark, William-Mathieu. 1992. Beaver pelt, wood and twine. Canadian Museum of Civilization. Gastineau,

Quebec. Link• [F] Wheaton, Joe. Beaver dam on Bridge Creek. Eastern Oregon. Link• [G] Wheaton, Joe. A series of beaver dam support structures in Bridge Creek. Eastern Oregon. Link

• [H] Pollock, M.M., J.M. Wheaton, N. Bouwes, and C.E. Jordan. 2011. Working with Beaver to Restore Salmon Habitat in the Bridge Creek Intensively Monitored Watershed: Design Rationale and Hypotheses, Interim Report. NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center: Seattle, WA. Link

• [I] Berner, Allen. 2009. The Seattle Times. Seattle, WA. Link• [J] Juliux. 2007. European Beaver (Castor fiber) dam. Inkūnai, Anykščiai district,

Lithuania. Link• [K]Wild Earth Guardians. Beavers: Climate Heroes. Public Domain. Link• [L]Wildlife Habitat Initiative. Squaw Creek in Freemont County, WY. Freemont County, WY.

Link