California aims to tap beavers, once viewed as a nuisance, to help with water issues and wildfires

California aims to tap beavers, once viewed as a nuisance, to help with water issues and wildfires

For years, beavers have been treated as an annoyance for chewing down trees and shrubs and blocking up streams, leading to flooding in neighborhoods and farms. But the animal is increasingly being seen as nature’s helper in the midst of climate change. California recently changed its tune and is embracing the animals that can create lush habitats that lure species back into now-urban areas, enhance groundwater supplies and buffer against the threat of wildfires.