![]() ![]() Elko County is in the Great Basin, an area that is extremely dry and becoming drier. One interesting story is about the rancher in Elko County, Nevada who has restored beavers to his land. That restoration is happening in carefully designed projects through the arid west. But that alteration can be changed for the good by restoring beavers to the landscape. A continent that had been shaped by beavers was mercilessly altered. Native Americans had long had a cooperative relationship with beavers but that changed when beavers became a significant source of wealth.Īlmost every stream, river, and lake in North America brimmed with beavers until the traders moved in, emptying the landscape and drastically changing how the world worked. ![]() In fact, the beaver was the greatest source of wealth for several hundred years, until they were nearly exterminated. ![]() Since the 1500s, mountain men, trappers, and traders had harvested all the beavers, turning their pelts into hats. Did you ever realize that North America was completely overrun with beavers, that is until the Europeans took over? Beavers were the dominant rodent in North America for millions of years, working diligently to create an abundance of slow-moving water and ponds throughout the ecosystem, creating an environment in North America that we have all but lost – and need to regain as we tackle climate change.īeavers’ dominant presence in the North American landscape had all but disappeared by 1900. ![]()
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