maureen thompson beaver works oregon
11 Jan 24

Meet Dr. Maureen Thompson, Beaver Works Oregon Program Manager

Meet Dr. Maureen Thompson, Beaver Works Oregon Program Manager In Summer 2023, Think Wild’s Beaver Works program hired a full time program manager, Dr. Maureen Thompson, to conduct expanded outreach and education, workshops and professional development events, and numerous beaver habitat and coexistence projects on public and private lands in…
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beaver floating over water
30 Nov 23

The Benefits of Beavers – Nature’s Engineers

The Benefits of Beavers – Nature’s Engineers Scientists regard beavers as a “keystone species”—a species that creates biodiversity by modifying the environment in a way that benefits the ecosystem and encourages the presence of other species.  These large, brown, aquatic mammals were once ubiquitous in the American West, building dams,…
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tumpeter-swan-flying
18 Jun 23

Trumpeter Swan and Beaver

A call like no other The beaver builds the ponds that the trumpeter swan looks for. The swan glides in with a wingspan of 8 feet. This bird is the biggest waterbird in the air, the original jumbo jet. They’re a graceful big bird, a cursive shape made up of…
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beavers woodpeckers
16 Jun 23

Trees! Beavers! Woodpeckers!

Trees! Beavers! Woodpeckers! Wildlife trees, beavers, and Lewis’s woodpecker A Lewis’s woodpecker collected by Meriweather Lewis during the early 1800s expedition is the one remaining specimen from that collection. It is kept at Harvard university. These birds need our help to boost numbers today. At least beavers are helping. How?…
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Male Chinook salmon in Butte Creek
16 Jun 23

The Chinook and the Beaver Relationship

The Chinook and the Beaver What’s the relationship between Oregon’s official fish and animal? Chinook salmon know their way over a beaver dam. They weren’t born yesterday. How do you think they’ve been making the journey from rivers to oceans and back for five million or so years? Beaver ponds…
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a bird in woods
14 Jun 23

Meadows of Mutuality

Meadows of Mutuality The sage grouse knows what it loves. It loves sagebrush and meadows. The beaver knows what it loves. It loves a pond. The beaver can build what it loves. It has known for so long. Maybe for thousands of years. Actually, it has known for millions of…
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