Turning North America Back into 'Beaverland'
Turning North America Back into 'Beaverland'
A discussion with Leila Philip, author of a fascinating new book on how ‘one weird rodent’ shaped the continent's past and could greatly improve its environmental future.
Appears in this episode
Last month I mentioned my admiration for Leila Philip’s new book Beaverland, which explains how the economic, cultural and even geographic past of North America could be connected to the history of the beaver. And how a sustainable future for the continent, especially in making its water systems more robust, could depend on increased human partnership with the only other animal that uses tools to change the landscape.
This is not about the news of the moment, but it does concern the news of the future.
This week I spoke with Leila Philip about the book. I think you will enjoy listening to the full 33-minute podcast. In coming days, as a Subscriber feature, I’ll post an update with the transcript, via the miracle of Otter.ai. For now here are a couple of guide posts, again with encouragement to hear the whole thing:
Around time 1:00, what it is that makes beavers so unusual and “weird” within the animal kingdom.
Around time 3:00, why the beaver trade was so economically important in American development, and so perilous for the beavers. And how it also changed the river-landscape of North America, as fewer beavers were available to do their rechanneling work.
Around time 10:00, how beavers made their way across North America, being found in every U.S. state except Hawaii.
Around time 15:00, why beavers’ all-consuming focus on cutting down trees has long-term environmental benefits.
Around time 21:00, why her book contains so many stories about people who make their living by trapping beavers and selling their pelts. And how she got to know the trapper culture.
Around time 25:00, how conservation agencies are finding ways to work with beavers, rather around them or against them. For instance, one wetlands-improvement organization whose motto is, “Let the rodents do the work”
Around time 29:00, what individuals and communities can do to make their settings more beaver-friendly—and why they should bother.
I hope you enjoy the discussion, and the book.
Turning North America Back into 'Beaverland'
Jim and readers might enjoy this three-minute video of a rescue beaver building a "dam" of whatever he can find in a home at Christmas (yes, there's a tree):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ImdlZtOU80&ab_channel=HolleyMuraco
p.s. Thanks for nice interview. Happy New Year!
you can have a wildlife bonanza in your back yard! :
The Rewilding Insitute website:
The Rewilding Institute first serves wild Nature. But to serve wild Nature, we serve North America’s wonderful grassroots conservation community. We do not compete with other conservation groups, and we strive to share credit. Our projects are geared to provide that support. Rewilding Institute Projects are summarized below; more information is available or forthcoming on other pages on this website.
Mission: To develop and promote the ideas and strategies to advance continental-scale conservation in North America, particularly the need for large carnivores and a permeable landscape for their movement, and to offer a bold, scientifically credible, practically achievable, and hopeful vision for the future of wild Nature and human civilization in North America.
Key to the meaning and history of the word “rewilding” and the work of rewilding is the origin of the word and the work.
"Some 30 years ago, Dave Brower was promoting Global CPR (Conserve – Protect – Restore) and ecological restoration was being widely promoted. Ecological restoration was about restoring the ecological process (such as making a wetland) but not so concerned with the native species that may have been lost. I meant rewilding to instead be about wilderness restoration – restoring wildness with native species and processes. So, let us all remember that rewilding comes from wilderness recovery (or restoration)."
~Dave Foreman
(Listen to Dave talk about Rewilding on Episode 1 of the Rewilding Earth Podcast)
https://rewilding.org/what-is-rewilding/
The Rewilding Institute Program Executive Summary:
Current scientific research and theory, and conservation experience tell us that, to do serious conservation in North America, we must do conservation on the scale of North America. Furthermore, history, policy analysis, and conservation experience tell us that, to be effective in conservation work of all kinds, we must be guided by vision, strategy, and hope.
The Rewilding Institute is producing educational materials on the need for rewilding: the recovery of top predators and their wild habitats.This outreach program is essential for effective conservation campaigning and for resistance to attacks on both wild places and conservation law and policy.