Beaver Restoration
Over the past decade and throughout the western states a paradigm shift has occurred, with a transition from beavers being viewed primarily as a potential nuisance species to the growing recognition of the vast ecological benefits of beaver activity on the landscape. As a result, there is a rapidly expanding desire among landowners, land managers, restoration practitioners, and other stakeholders in California to utilize beavers for habitat and water management, ecosystem restoration, and increased resiliency to climate change and wildfire. To support the re-establishment of beavers as ecosystem engineers throughout their historical native range in California and facilitate their use in restoring watersheds and ecosystem processes, CDFW has recently created a Beaver Restoration Program (BRP).
The overarching goals of the BRP are to improve human-beaver coexistence, gather a comprehensive understanding of where, when, and how beavers can be utilized to restore ecosystem processes and habitats in California, communicate those findings in clear and meaningful ways, and with that knowledge, effectively utilize beavers as a tool (i.e., nature-based solution) in restoring and conserving habitats and watersheds in California.
For more information about the newly created Beaver Restoration Program, CDFW hosted an informational webinar on Thursday, May 25, 2023. The meeting provided a broad overview of CDFW’s Beaver Restoration Program, including its purpose, objectives, tasks, and timelines. Additionally, the meeting addressed the implementation of pilot and future beaver translocation projects, development of a beaver co-existence toolkit, and policy updates, and concluded with a question and answer session. Future public workshops will be scheduled to discuss human-beaver coexistence strategies and the process for developing and requesting beaver translocation projects.
View a recording of the Beaver Restoration Program Informational Meeting (YouTube Video)(opens in new tab).
Beaver Translocation Projects
The Beaver Restoration Program (BRP) is currently implementing its first two pilot translocation projects with the Maidu Summit Consortium and Tule River Tribe. Moving forward, the BRP anticipates conducting three types of translocation projects: 1) external requests on public and private lands, 2) internal projects on CDFW lands, and 3) CDFW-proposed or -supported, large-scale/multi-landowner collaborations in priority watersheds.
The BRP has now created a process for the submission of external project proposals. To propose a beaver translocation project, landowners, or land managers acting on their behalf, are asked to submit fundamental property and project information using the project proposal form below, and additional information spreadsheet when applicable (e.g., for projects involving multiple collaborating landowners or numerous parcels).
The BRP anticipates a large, initial influx of project proposals; however, given seasonal constraints and the workload associated with the completion of each project, only a finite number of projects can be implemented each year. In 2024, the BRP is conducting a large-scale beaver reintroduction pilot project with the Tule River Tribe and also seeks an additional 1-2 projects for implementation in this calendar year. To reach implementation, all potential projects will require detailed site assessments, ground truthing, and a thorough evaluation of habitat suitability and potentials for conflicts and risks, with each viable project ultimately culminating in a comprehensive capture and translocation plan that is consistent with CDFW’s Conservation Translocation Policy. As such, the BRP will utilize a project prioritization strategy to rank proposals and determine which projects to prioritize for further evaluation and potential implementation each year based on the ecological benefits they have the potential to yield.
Not all project proposals will be deemed viable due to various potential constraints, and others may be high priority but require an extended planning period due to project sensitivities or issues requiring remediation. Projects not selected in the current year, will remain under active consideration for the following year(s). When applicable, the BRP will communicate with applicants regarding:
- any potential conflicts that would preclude a project from implementation,
- habitat improvements that may be necessary to support beaver establishment,
- concerns about potential human-wildlife conflict that requires greater coordination and contingency planning,
- ecological scenarios that may require an experimental approach, or
- any other unique circumstances that warrant additional planning and coordination efforts
We encourage any applicants planning to propose a large-scale/watershed-level project to contact the BRP when developing the project proposal. For any other questions about project development, please contact the BRP at BeaverRestoration@wildlife.ca.gov
For clarity, this proposal process is for beaver translocation/restoration projects only; it is not to request that beavers be relocated off a property. Landowners experiencing beaver depredation should submit a report in CDFW’s Wildlife Incident Reporting system(opens in new tab) to receive assistance from their local biologist. The BRP works closely with CDFW staff throughout the state to review depredation issues and identify the most suitable candidate populations for approved translocation projects.