60-minute presentation (in-person with virtual option) by Claudia Donegan, MD DNR, followed by a trail walk for in-person participants only to see the Beaver Deceiver device at Adkins Arboretum. Visit the event website link to RSVP.
Beavers, once nearly eliminated from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, are returning and becoming central to Maryland’s modern, ecology-driven stream restoration efforts. Their natural dam-building slows water, traps sediment, filters nutrients, and creates wetlands that support diverse wildlife – making them a keystone species.
We will discuss how beavers and homeowners can work together to restore habitat on private land, including making their land friendly to beavers so that the restoration happens in tandem, instead of thinking of beavers as a nuisance or just paying contractors to do the beavers’ jobs.
The talk will cover:
- Intro Beaver Coexistence
- Beaver 101 – an ecological engineer
- Problems with the Chesapeake Bay and our regional watersheds
- Understanding the rodent that shaped America’s landscapes
- The role that the beaver played in maintaining water quality and habitat
- Post-Colonial alteration of Maryland’s hydrologic systems
- Promoting restoration techniques that emulate beaver ecology
- How you can help
About our speaker, Claudia Donegan:
Claudia Donegan has worked over 36 years throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed as educator, stream scientist, public policy coordinator and implementing ecological restoration projects in tidal and nontidal environments. Presently she serves as the Director of the Center for Habitat Restoration and Conservation in Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources Chesapeake and Coastal Service, spearheading and implementing ecosystem restoration projects throughout the state. Claudia lives in Tunis Mills, MD.
