Beavers Dam Good for Songbirds October 15, 2008 The songbird has
a friend in the beaver. According to a study by the Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS), the busy beaver’s signature dams
provide critical habitat for a variety of migratory songbirds,
particularly in the semi-arid interior of the West. Researchers
found that through dam building, beavers create ponds and
stimulate growth of diverse streamside vegetation. The study
found that the more dams beavers build, the more abundant and
diverse local songbirds become. The study appears in the October
2008 issue of the journal Western North American Naturalist.
Beaver populations once numbered in the millions in the American
West but dramatically collapsed in the 1800s due to the fur
trade. Today, beavers are often considered pests when they take
down trees and flood property. Their influence is still missing
on most watersheds in the West, yet this study and others
suggest that beavers are very important to wildlife and to
reviving the natural function of