This is a powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it is about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet.
The fur trade once trapped millions of beavers from North America’s lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound; streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”, including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens, recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish Highlands, believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts.
"A marvelously humor-laced page-turner about the science of semi-aquatic rodents…. A masterpiece of a treatise on the natural world.”—The Washington Post
“Written with clarity, intelligence, and humor, this engaging book will appeal to basically everyone.” ―Forbes