Reintroduction of Beaver Family Marks Milestone in Community-led Restoration Effort

Press Release
For Immediate Release
3/24/25

Reintroduction of Beaver Family Marks Milestone in Community-led Restoration Effort

[Cascade-Siskiyou region of Southwest Oregon] – Marking a milestone in an ongoing effort toward revitalizing water quality and local wetland ecosystems, a family of five beavers were recently reintroduced to a headwater stream in the Cascade-Siskiyou region. The reintroduction aims to restore and enhance the ecological health of the area, with the beavers playing a key role in reshaping the wetland environment.

This is a culminating point for a unique effort led by the Vesper Meadow Education Program to demonstrate community-based restoration. “It's been just over six years of work repairing the habitat to the point where beavers could be reintroduced to the area, and now we are excited that beavers will be the ones to lead the way forward in the restoration work” says Jeanine Moy, Director of the Vesper Meadow Education Program. “We have been working to bring together diverse people - from students and public volunteers, Federal agencies to local NGO’s, artists, scientists, and Tribal members to be a part of this effort. The ongoing success of this sort of coalition building demonstrates the power of people coming together to make positive change.”

Beavers are considered a "keystone species" due to their ability to engineer their habitat by building dams, which help create wetlands and slow the flow of water. These activities contribute to a range of benefits, including improved water quality, enhanced biodiversity, and more resilient ecosystems. “When beavers are in charge of stewarding our waterways, they build up the lands’ resiliency to wildfire - beaver wetlands serve as natural firebreaks,” says Jakob Shockey, Director of Project Beaver. 

The project is part of a broader initiative to demonstrate community action to improve water resources and biodiversity, and heal the human-land relationship so that future generations can enjoy healthier, more resilient ecosystems. Along with Vesper Meadow, this project has been made possible in partnership with Project Beaver, many many volunteers, the local offices of Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation District. 

See the video and read more about the six years of restoration work and partnership building that went in to this effort.

Vesper Meadow Program staff Jeanine Moy and Stasie Maxwell share a quick hug with one of the beaver offspring before the release to the creek. More pictures available for media use upon request.