Colorado’s Beaver Management Plan Would Revitalize Keystone Species, Create More Resilient Watersheds, Reduce Conflicts

DENVER, Colo. - The National Wildlife Federation applauds Colorado Parks & Wildlife's steps toward a statewide beaver management plan. With these steps, the agency will lay the groundwork for a holistic approach to restore beaver populations in appropriate upper watersheds to enhance drought resilience, improve water quality, and increase biodiversity while also proactively reducing human-beaver conflict.

"Beavers are a keystone wildlife species that play a critical role in the health of Colorado's waterways and ecosystems. Knowing Colorado Parks and Wildlife is focused on developing a management plan that will address beaver recovery makes me hopeful for the future of the species, Colorado's riparian habitats, and all that rely on them," said Brian Kurzel, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation. "Sustainable beaver recovery in Colorado will depend on engaging with and addressing concerns of agricultural and private landowner communities from the beginning, so we encourage CPW and Governor Polis to develop an inclusive process that supports beaver recovery while respecting private property rights and protecting critical infrastructure. This can be a win-win for Colorado."

Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) announced plans to form an internal working group to initiate the beaver management planning process at the CPW Commission's April 5 meeting in Denver, where Governor Polis expressed his support for CPW's beaver conservation efforts. The state's support for inclusive beaver management planning will set Colorado on a path to improve climate resilience while addressing critical social and economic considerations.

"Several species of fish and wildlife popular with hunters and anglers depend in part on healthy wetlands and streams and beavers play an important role in sustaining these critical resources," said Alex Funk, director of water resources with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. "We applaud CPW for making the commitment to take on a ground-up, stakeholder-driven statewide beaver management plan that will help create a roadmap for scaling beaver-assisted restoration and co-existence measures to the benefit of fish and wildlife."

Beaver populations were decimated in the 1800s due to historic trapping and extensive removal of beavers throughout the West, including Colorado. Their absence throughout much of their historic range has had a considerable impact on riparian and wetland health and has resulted in the degradation of many aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Proactive beaver management efforts are already occurring in other states and Tribal lands across the United States. With the hope of supporting the development of this plan in Colorado, the National Wildlife Federation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Corday Natural Resource Consulting are partnering to develop a report on the existing state-level and Indigenous actions being implemented across the country to help beaver populations continue to recover while addressing the typical conflicts that occur.