Our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America's lakes and rivers. Goldfarb shares the powerful story about one of the world's most influential species. He explains how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. -- adapted from jacket

Photographs and text introduce the physical characteristics and habits of the beaver.

Introduces the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of the North American beaver.

Five busy beavers building up a dam, closing up the river where the salmon swam. Gnawing down trees and ferrying the logs. Slapping on the mud that they gathered from the bog. Along came a muskrat who wanted to play, and one little beaver swam away. Five little beavers are hard at work on their dam until, one by one, their forest friends pull them away to play. After visits from a muskrat, a heron, a frog, and a turtle, there’s just one hardworking beaver left at the end of the day. But when the fifth tired beaver leaves her sticks and mud behind and heads back to the lodge, a big surprise awaits! With catchy, playful rhyme, irresistibly cute illustrations, and a supplementary page of facts about all the species featured, Five Busy Beavers makes counting and learning fun!

By cutting trees and building dams, beavers shape landscapes and provide valuable wetland homes for many plants and animals. These radical rodents were once almost hunted to extinction for their prized fur, but today we are building a new relationship with them, and our appreciation of the benefits they offer as habitat creators and water stewards is growing. Packed with facts and personal stories, this book looks at the beaver’s biology and behavior and illuminates its vital role as a keystone species. The beaver’s comeback is one of North America’s greatest conservation success stories and Beavers: Radical Rodents and Ecosystem Engineers introduces readers to the conservationists, scientists and young people who are working to build a better future for our furry friends. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Uses humor to describe why the beaver is such an extraordinary animal.

Just after World War II, the people of McCall, Idaho, found themselves with a problem on their hands. McCall was a lovely resort community in Idaho's backcountry with mountain views, a sparkling lake, and plenty of forests. People rushed to build roads and homes there to enjoy the year-round outdoor activities. It was a beautiful place to live. And not just for humans. For centuries, beavers had made the region their home. But what's good for beavers is not necessarily good for humans, and vice versa. So in a unique conservation effort, in 1948 a team from the Idaho Fish and Game Department decided to relocate the McCall beaver colony. In a daring experiment, the team airdropped seventy-six live beavers to a new location. One beaver, playfully named Geronimo, endured countless practice drops, seeming to enjoy the skydives, and led the way as all the beavers parachuted into their new home. Readers and nature enthusiasts of all ages will enjoy this true story of ingenuity and determination.