Dam! Beavers Are Returning to Manhattan- Hayden Budofsky

           Now we all know about beavers, the semi-aquatic, nocturnal, bucktoothed engineers of the wild. They are an iconic centerpiece of many of North America's ecosystems. With their uncanny ability to build massive dams, canals, and lodges, they play a very important role in wetland and forested environments. Especially in the northeastern United States, beavers have always done the part of making sure their ecosystems stay biodiverse and healthy. Yet, I can't remember a time in my sixteen years of living in New Jersey that I've seen these creatures in the wild. Sure, the tri-state area has increased in population over the past century or so, but being the resilient animals that they are, I would expect to see at least one colony of beavers in my travels. And as it turns out, there's a reason for this.

          Dating all the way back to the late 18th century, beavers were plentiful in the New York and New Jersey colonies, as the fur trade fueled the growth of cities such as New York and Philidelphia. To this day, the official seal of NYC has a beaver at its center as a commemoration of the city's extensive fur trade back in colonial times. Later on, deforestation, overtrapping, and massive habitat loss have been some of the reasons that beaver populations have dwindled in recent years. It is estimated that within the span of 200 years, beaver populations in the northeast dropped from 60 million to 6-12 million (last measured in 1988).
       
           And yes, there have been efforts to revive this population, most notably in 1924 when reintroducing beavers into the wild led to upstate populations thriving once again. On the island of Manhattan itself, overdevelopment has reduced the island's natural shoreline to 5% of what it was before European settlers came here. This has, in turn, made the reintroduction of the beaver into one of the largest urban areas in the world, mostly impossible. However, very recently in 2007, a beaver was spotted in the Bronx River, which marked the first sighting in over 200 years. On top of that, in 2019, a man spotted a beaver in the Hudson River just south of the New York Stock Exchange. They are also proven to be present on Staten Island and in other parts of Manhattan and the Bronx.

          This begs the question, how and why are beavers coming back to one of the largest and densely populated cities in the world? Many experts believe it's because of the extensive conservation efforts that have taken place since their population hit an all-time low in the early 1900s. As mentioned before, in 1924, beavers were reintroduced by humans back into the wild in upstate New York. But in the city itself, conservationists have helped beaver populations by funding for the creation of more parks and wetland spaces and pushing for the design of synthetic dams and canals. Although these are challenging projects, they'll ensure that the beaver population won't completely die off anytime soon. If we are lucky, this once decimated species will once again thrive in aquatic environments and be able to coexist in an ever-developing urban landscape.

Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/beaver-spotted-in-hudson-river-off-manhattan
https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/give-a-dam-about-this-beaver-spotted-swimming-in-the-hudson-river