While there is some debate about whether Beavers historically inhabited California, records by trappers and recollections of trappers suggest that Beavers did roam the state from Northern California south to San Diego........There are stuffed museum specimens in Santa Clara and Sespe,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and words in the Washoe and Maidu indian languages that translate to "beaver".............. radiocarbon dated remains of a beaver taken from the Sierra Mtns indicate Beaver survived there until the Goldrush era --circa 1850....................Bottom line is that most scientists have cocluded that Beaver are not exotic to California, but in fact a native species.

A

Reassessment

 of the

 Historical

Range

 of Beaver

 in

California

and

Implications

 for

Salmonids

 

salmanoid restoration.org

North American beaver
 (Castor canadensis)
 have been shown to
 have beneficial effects
 on salmonids, particularly
 in the arid West.
 Positive effects include
 creation of oversummering
 habitat (beaver ponds)
for first year fish, conversion
 of seasonal streams to
perennial, removal of
 sediments and pollutants
 via wetland creation, etc
. Beaver are widely regarded
 as non-native in the
 Sierra Nevada, the San
 Francisco Bay Area proper,
 and coastal central and
southern California. However,
 there are no recent reviews
 of the evidence for or
against the historical range of
 beaver in California.

 

A review and integration of
 multiple lines of
evidence, including historical
naturalist and fur
 trapper records,

 oral histories, museum
specimens, ethnographic
 material such as pictographs
 and ceremonial items,

evaluation of habitat
suitability, as well as
 radiocarbon dating of
 remnant beaver dams was
conducted.

Early naturalist records
 suggest that beaver were
 present as far south as
 San Diego, and accounts
 of fur

 trappers suggest that beaver
 were present in the San
Francisco Bay Area. Oral
 histories place beaver in

the high Sierra in the Kings
 River and Carson River
 watersheds. Museum
 specimen records include

 beaver collected in 1855 in
Santa Clara, California
 and in 1906 in Sespe,
California by experienced

collectors. Native American
 pre- European contact
 words for beaver exist for
 eastern and mountain

 Sierra Nevada tribes
including the Washoe and
Mountain Maidu. The
 authenticity of the Sespe

 Creek specimen is supported
 by the presence of a
Chumash pictograph of a
beaver at Painted Rock

 in the Cuyama watershed
 in the Sierra Madre
 mountains, about 35 miles
 from the Sespe Creek
headwaters.

 A historical Chumash
 shaman’s rain making kit

 made from the skin of a
 beaver tail was also collected

near this area in the Sierra
 Madre. Suitability of habitat
in California is established
based on the 70-year

 success of beaver re-
introductions in the Sierras,
 the
 Bay Area, coastal California,
and southern California

current range of restored
 Beaver in Calif.

 including Santa Barbara,
 Riverside and San Diego
Counties. Finally, radiocarbon
dated remains of a

remnant beaver dam in Red
 Clover Creek above 4,500
 feet in the Sierras suggest
beaver were present

in the high Sierra until
 1850 A.D.

The presence of beaver may
 be up to 80 times more
 efficient than large, woody
 debris in promoting

 salmon reproductive success.
 Grinnell’s 1937
 assertions that beaver were only
 present in the Pit

 and Klamath River drainages
 (C. c. shastensis),
the Central Valley
 (C. c. subauratus) and the

Colorado River (C. c. repentinus),
 appear to be
 based on contemporary trappers’
interviews and

 an incomplete review of museum
specimen records.
New information suggests that
 beaver were

 once widespread in much,
if not most, of California,
 and the success of the circa
1940 re-introductions

 throughout the state for
 70 years confirms that
 habitat is suitable in coastal
 streams (Big River

 (Mendocino County),
Pescadero Creek
(San Mateo County),
Santa Ynez River
 (Santa Barbara County),

 Santa Margharita River
 (Riverside and San
 Diego Counties), Lake
Tahoe and Yosemite).
The States of

 Utah and New Mexico have
 formal plans to
reintroduce beaver to restore
streams and fish habitat.

Although it cannot be proven
 that beaver were
 present statewide in California,
 an integration of the

findings here suggests that
beaver were native to
 much of the state, contrary
 to previous assertions.