Aspen Bibliography

The Beavers of Yellowstone

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Yellowstone Science

Volume

16

Issue

3

First Page

4

Last Page

15

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

Little has been published about beavers in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) despite their central importance in Euro-American exploration of the West. Beaver fur was the most sought-after pelt during the fur trade and fueled most North American exploration. The hunt for new trapping grounds led parties through what is now YNP. Further, the quirky and interesting life history of the beaver, its engineering skill (second only to humans), and its effects on biodiversity make the lack of scientific study in YNP a notable omission. The fur trade reduced beaver populations across the West and likely in the Yellowstone area by the time the park was established in 1872, but the park was never considered prime beaver habitat due to the lack of extensive aspen stands, a key beaver food. No reliable pre-park population estimates exist, but journals from the late 1800s indicate beavers were present in places where they are not currently found: Pelican Creek, the upper Lamar, and Gardner’s Hole. Ernest Thompson Seton observed a beaver colony in Yancey’s Hole in 1897 and the present meadows there were probably created as beaver meadows (old beaver ponds that drained and grew into a lush grassland), but there is no sign of beavers there today.

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