Climate Action Now: Beavers Excel At Creating carbon-sequestering wetlands

In 2023, California began relocating beavers (Castor canadensis) from the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds to return them to the lands of the Tule River and Mountain Maidu indigenous tribes. Now, researchers have found that the beavers’ return to the Tásmam Koyóm meadow north of the Sierra Nevada (especially their subsequent dam-building!) has reinvigorated the wetland ecosystem, bringing in new wildlife ranging from willow flycatchers to sandhill cranes while increasing water coverage by over 22%. This rewilding project is actively building landscape-scale resilience against wildfires and drought!