Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Location
Ithaca, New York
Start Date
27-9-1983 12:00 AM
Description
Beaver populations in primitive times have been estimated at 60 million animals distributed across the North American continent where adequate food and water existed (Seton 1900). History books document well the exploitation of this resource by trappers in the settling of the new world. The search for beaver was so efficient that by the beginning of the twentieth century only small numbers of animals remained in remote areas. During the early 1900's however, beaver populations began to increase for a variety of reasons. Foremost among these were trapping restrictions, but the absence of natural predators, reversion of abandoned farms to timberlands, natural dispersal, and active transplanting programs by both public and private interests greatly enhanced the return of beaver to formerly occupied habitats.
Recommended Citation
Woodward, D. K. (1983). Beaver management in the southeastern United States: A review and update. In Decker, D. J. (Ed.), The First Eastern Wildlife Damage Control Conference (pp. 163-165). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
Included in
Beaver Management in the Southeastern United States: A Review and Update
Ithaca, New York
Beaver populations in primitive times have been estimated at 60 million animals distributed across the North American continent where adequate food and water existed (Seton 1900). History books document well the exploitation of this resource by trappers in the settling of the new world. The search for beaver was so efficient that by the beginning of the twentieth century only small numbers of animals remained in remote areas. During the early 1900's however, beaver populations began to increase for a variety of reasons. Foremost among these were trapping restrictions, but the absence of natural predators, reversion of abandoned farms to timberlands, natural dispersal, and active transplanting programs by both public and private interests greatly enhanced the return of beaver to formerly occupied habitats.