%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Beaver http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/beaver <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Beaver</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1546--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1546.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/north-american-beaver"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Beavers%20Media%201_0.jpg?itok=DsNa8-i_" width="688" height="344" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/north-american-beaver" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">North American Beaver</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The North American beaver (Castor canadensis), a keystone species in Colorado’s wetlands and waterways, has struggled to recover from excessive trapping during the nineteenth-century fur trade.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-08-01T14:28:41-06:00" title="Monday, August 1, 2016 - 14:28" class="datetime">Mon, 08/01/2016 - 14:28</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/beaver" data-a2a-title="Beaver"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fbeaver&amp;title=Beaver"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The North American beaver (<em>Castor canadensis</em>) is native to Colorado, and its role as both an environmental engineer and a keystone species has profoundly impacted the state’s ecology and history. Although their populations today are low, beavers continue to shape Colorado’s environments.</p> <h2>Ecology and Early History</h2> <p>Beavers are the largest rodents in North America, and the second largest in the world. On average, they weigh between forty and fifty pounds and measure about forty-eight inches in length. Active in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas"><strong>riparian</strong></a> areas (near waterways), the semiaquatic animals have developed waterproof fur and flat, scaly tails that function as a rudder, help with balance on land, and act as a lever in dam construction.</p> <p>The most environmentally significant activity beavers do is create dams. They use their large teeth to cut down shrubs and trees, which they use as building material. Beavers form nuclear families, and several families live together in a colony. Working together, these colonies interweave materials, creating complex and watertight structures. Beavers are resourceful creatures, and their methods for creating dams vary depending on <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/water-colorado"><strong>water</strong></a> levels and available materials.</p> <p>Beaver dams create ponds with stable water levels that perform a variety of functions. According to wildlife resource scientist Dietland Müller-Schwarze, the beaver pond is a “highway, canal, lock … escape route, hiding place, vegetable garden, food storage facility, refrigerator/freezer, water storage tank, bathtub, swimming pool, and water toilet.” Not only do the ponds create a suitable habitat for beavers, but they help create and expand <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas"><strong>wetlands</strong></a>, providing habitat for other water-loving animals. This is why beavers are regarded as a keystone species–a species that disproportionately affects its environment and alters its ecosystem.</p> <p>Prior to European settlement, an estimated 60 million beavers ranged across much of what became the United States and Canada. In Colorado, beavers could be found up to heights of 10,500 feet. Over thousands of years, beavers have aggraded small river valleys in North America, dramatically altering water systems and shaping ecology. Beavers were considered very important by many Native American cultures over the centuries. For example, the Comanche prized beaver pelts and tied strips of beaver skin to their braids.</p> <h2>Westward Expansion and the Fur Trade</h2> <p>Together, beavers’ warm fur and Europeans’ fashion tastes spurred a demand for beaver pelts that lasted from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. With the destruction of beaver populations in eastern North America and the American acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the search for new beaver trapping grounds lured trappers westward to Colorado.</p> <p>The <strong>Rocky Mountains </strong>proved a bonanza for the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trade</strong></a> from 1822 to 1840. Mountain men, the name given to trappers in the Rocky Mountains, explored much of what was to become northern Colorado over the course of the 1830s and 1840s in search of beavers. As the 1830s progressed, and as beaver populations declined in other areas, the Colorado Rockies became the second-most-important trapping ground for the fur trade. Trappers and traders also became some of the first Europeans and Americans to settle in Colorado, driven by the abundance of beaver. By 1837, fur <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading posts</strong></a> had been established all along the Colorado Piedmont. Beavers thus played a large role in opening Colorado to white settlement and exploration.</p> <p>In 1840, mountain man Robert Newell declared the fur trade in the Rocky Mountains dead. The destruction of beaver populations throughout the Rockies, as well as domestic economic instability and global changes in fashion, had brought an end to the economic productivity of the trade. However, it was not until 1900 that Colorado lawmakers decided to restore the drastically low numbers of beavers in the state. State legislation then began to restrict beaver trapping to specific seasons.</p> <h2>Today</h2> <p>Beavers are still a rare sight in Colorado and have never fully recovered from their nineteenth-century depletion, even declining in many areas since the 1940s. In <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountain-national-park"><strong>Rocky Mountain National Park</strong></a><strong>,</strong> beavers inhabit only 10 percent of suitable habitat. There are numerous reasons for this. Beavers are widely considered to be an inconvenience rather than an environmentally essential species. Even though the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade ended in the nineteenth century, beaver hunting has persisted, albeit on a much smaller scale. Under Colorado State Law, so-called nuisance beavers that cause damage to property can be killed or hunted. There is no limit on the number of beavers an individual can bag during the hunting season.</p> <p>Lack of adequate riparian plant life, such as willows, in Colorado is also a major factor in the stagnation of beaver populations. These plants are both essential food resources for beavers and greatly benefit from the stable water levels engineered by beavers. Rising populations of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountain-elk"><strong>elk</strong></a> and cattle in riparian areas over the last century have led to increased grazing, which in turn has stunted the growth of riparian plants. Limiting elk and cattle grazing has been proposed as a solution to low beaver populations.</p> <p>Current Rocky Mountain National Park conservation and wildlife management plans do not directly focus on beavers. However, officials have taken beavers into consideration in the park’s “Elk and Vegetation Management Plan” of 2007. The plan states that once willow vegetation has resurged, natural recolonization of beavers may occur. The twenty-year plan also proposes that if natural recolonization does not happen, then reintroduction would be considered. This, however, has yet to happen, rendering the future of beavers in Colorado uncertain.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/reeve-holly" hreflang="und">Reeve, Holly</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/beaver" hreflang="en">beaver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/wetlands" hreflang="en">wetlands</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fur-trade" hreflang="en">fur trade</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/north-american-beaver" hreflang="en">north american beaver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/trapper" hreflang="en">trapper</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Colorado Parks and Wildlife, “<a href="https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/LivingwithWildlifeBeaver.aspx">Beaver Problems</a>,” Press Release, June 29, 2000.</p> <p>Colorado Parks and Wildlife, “<a href="https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/WildlifeSpecies/LivingWithWildlife/NuisanceWildlife.pdf">Nuisance Wildlife Laws in Colorado</a>,” updated June 2015.</p> <p>Colorado Parks and Wildlife, “<a href="https://nocopf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/SmallGame.compressed.pdf">2015 Colorado Small Game</a>.”</p> <p>Eric Jay Dolin, <em>Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America</em> (New York: W. W. Norton, 2011).</p> <p>Ben Goldfarb, “<a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/47.19/the-beaver-whisperer">The Beaver Whisperer</a>,” <em>High Country News</em>, November 9, 2015,.</p> <p>Fred R. Gowans<em>, Rocky Mountain Rendezvous: A History of the Fur Trade Rendezvous, 1825–1840</em> (Layton: G.M. Smith / Peregrine Smith Books, 1985).</p> <p>Keith G. Hay, “Succession of Beaver Ponds in Colorado 50 Years After Beaver Removal,” <em>Journal of Wildlife Management </em>74, no. 8 (2010).</p> <p>Helge Ingstad, <em>The Apache Indians: In Search of the Missing Tribe</em> (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004).</p> <p>La Plata County, Colorado, “<a href="https://www.co.laplata.co.us/local_resources/agriculture/living_with_wildlife/living_with_beavers">Living with Beavers,</a>” n.d.</p> <p>Dietland Müller-Schwarze, <em>Beaver: Its Life and Impact,</em> 2nd ed. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011).</p> <p>National Park Service, “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/beavers.htm">Beavers</a>,” n.d.</p> <p>National Park Service, “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/management/elkveg_fact_sheet.htm">Elk and Vegetation Management Plan Fact Sheet</a>,” updated August 2015.</p> <p>National Park Service, “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/management/upload/rod_evmp_signed_2-15-08.pdf">Final Environmental Impact Statement: Elk and Vegetation Management Plan</a>,” February 15, 2008.</p> <p>D. J. Wishart, <em>The Fur Trade of the American West, 1807-1840: A Geographical Synthesis</em> (London: Croom Helm, 1979).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Don J. Neff, “A Seventy Year History of a Colorado Beaver Colony,” <em>Journal of Mammalogy</em> 40, no. 3 (1959).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>The North American beaver is native to Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ecology and Early History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers are the largest rodents in North America. Beavers weigh between forty and fifty pounds. They are about forty-eight inches long. Beavers have developed waterproof fur and flat tails.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers build dams. They use their large teeth to cut down shrubs and trees. Those plants become building material.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers form families. Families live in a colony. The colonies work together to create dams.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Beaver dams help make ponds. The ponds are a home for beavers. They also help create wetlands where other animals live.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Westward Expansion and the Fur Trade</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers’ warm fur created a demand for pelts. That lasted from the mid-1500's to the mid-1800's. In the 1830s, Colorado became an important trapping ground.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The destruction of beaver populations brought an end to the trade.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The number of beavers remains low. There are several reasons. Many people consider beavers to be a nuisance. Beavers that damage property can be killed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Lack of willow trees is another reason for the decline of beavers. These plants are an important source of food.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>If there are more willows, the beaver population may grow. Until then, the future of beavers in Colorado is uncertain.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is native to Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ecology and Early History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers are the largest rodents in North America. The average beaver weighs between forty and fifty pounds. They are about forty-eight inches long. Beavers have developed waterproof fur and flat and scaly tails.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The most significant activity beavers do is create dams. They use their large teeth to cut down shrubs and trees, which they use as building material.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Beaver dams create ponds that perform a variety of functions. Beaver ponds can be highways, hiding places, food storage, and bathtubs. They help create and expand wetlands, providing habitat for other animals.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Before European settlement, an estimated 60 million beavers lived in North America. In Colorado, beavers could be found up to heights of 10,500 feet.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Westward Expansion and the Fur Trade</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers’ warm fur and Europeans’ fashion tastes spurred a demand for pelts that lasted from the mid-1500's to the mid-1800's. With the destruction of beaver populations in eastern North America, trappers moved west.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Rocky Mountains proved a bonanza for the fur trade from 1822 to 1840. Trappers explored much of what was to become northern Colorado in search of beavers. In the 1830s, the Colorado Rockies became the second-most-important trapping ground. By 1837, fur trading posts were all along the Colorado Piedmont.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1840, the fur trade in the Rocky Mountains was declared dead. The destruction of beaver populations and changes in fashion brought an end to the trade.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The beaver population has never fully recovered. There are several reasons for this. Many people consider beavers to be a nuisance. Under Colorado State Law, beavers that damage property can be killed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Lack of plant life, such as willows, is a major factor in the decline of the beaver population. These plants are essential food for beavers. Rising populations of elk and cattle have led to increased grazing, which has stunted willow growth.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Current conservation and wildlife management plans do not focus on beavers. Experts believe once willow vegetation has returned, the beaver population may grow. If that doesn't happen, beavers may be reintroduced. However, until that happens, the future of beavers in Colorado is uncertain.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is native to Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ecology and Early History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers are the largest rodents in North America, and the second largest in the world. The average beaver weighs between forty and fifty pounds and measures about forty-eight inches in length. Active in riparian areas (near waterways), the semi aquatic animals have developed waterproof fur and flat and scaly tails that function as a rudder.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The most environmentally significant activity beavers do is create dams. They use their large teeth to cut down shrubs and trees, which they use as building material. Beavers form nuclear families, and several families live together in a colony.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Beaver dams create ponds with stable water levels that perform a variety of functions. Beaver ponds can be highways, hiding places, vegetable gardens, food storage, refrigerator/freezers, water storage tanks, bathtubs, swimming pools, and toilets. They help create and expand wetlands, providing habitat for other animals.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Prior to European settlement, an estimated 60 million beavers lived in North America. In Colorado, beavers could be found up to heights of 10,500 feet.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Westward Expansion and the Fur Trade</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Beavers’ warm fur and Europeans’ fashion tastes spurred a demand for pelts that lasted from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. With the destruction of beaver populations in eastern North America, the search for new beaver trapping grounds lured trappers westward to Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Rocky Mountains proved a bonanza for the fur trade from 1822 to 1840. Trappers explored much of what was to become northern Colorado over the course of the 1830s and 1840s in search of beavers. As the 1830s progressed, the Colorado Rockies became the second-most-important trapping ground for the fur trade. By 1837, fur trading posts had been established all along the Colorado Piedmont.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1840, mountain man Robert Newell declared the fur trade in the Rocky Mountains dead. The destruction of beaver populations throughout the Rockies, as well as changes in fashion, brought an end to the trade. However, it was not until 1900 that Colorado lawmakers decided to restore the drastically low numbers of beavers. State legislation began to restrict beaver trapping to specific seasons.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Beaver populations have never fully recovered. In Rocky Mountain National Park, beavers inhabit only 10 percent of suitable habitat. There are numerous reasons for this. Beavers are widely considered to be an inconvenience rather than essential. Under Colorado State Law, beavers that cause damage to property can be killed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Lack of adequate riparian plant life, such as willows, is also a major factor in the decline of the beaver population. These plants are essential food for beavers. Rising populations of elk and cattle have led to increased grazing, which in turn has stunted the growth of riparian plants.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Current conservation and wildlife management plans at Rocky Mountain National Park do not focus on beavers, but do address issues created by elk in the 2007 "Elk and Vegetation Management Plan". Experts believe once willow vegetation has returned, the beaver population may increase. If that doesn't happen, reintroduction may be considered. This has yet to happen, leaving the future of beavers in Colorado uncertain.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 01 Aug 2016 20:28:41 +0000 yongli 1544 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org