Wisconsin has long had mixed feelings about America’s largest rodents. Beavers have been hunted, trapped, had their dams blown up, and were generally considered to be a nuisance by many of the state’s human residents. Once hunted for their fashionable pelts, they’re now removed by the thousands across the state for a variety of reasons. Madison Parks says beaver dams could cause flooding in nearby soccer fields, golf courses and parking lots; beavers also chew trees at their base, creating potential safety hazards in public areas. Beavers have also been blamed for making streams too warm for trout. 

Yet many other states welcome beavers, even importing them for their ecosystem benefits. Among other things, they create wetlands, which can act as fire breaks, reducing wildfire damage. They’re known as a keystone species, because they create habitat for many other animals. So why is Wisconsin an outlier? 

Susan Lampert Smith gives us the lay of the land (and water). She wrote about Wisconsin’s fight over beaver management for Isthmus. 

Read more:

Leave it to the beavers [Isthmus]

Also mentioned on the show:

Madison Public Market Open House [City of Madison]

DNR Looking to Buy Red Pine Cones [WI DNR]

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