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Full-Text Articles in Natural Resources Management and Policy
Using Beaver Works To Estimate Colony Activity In Boreal Landscapes, Carol A. Johnston, Steve K. Windels
Using Beaver Works To Estimate Colony Activity In Boreal Landscapes, Carol A. Johnston, Steve K. Windels
Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications
Beaver ponds and beaver-impounded vegetation are indicators of past or present beaver activity that can be detected from aerial photography. A method to quantitatively relate these beaver works with the density of active beaver colonies could benefit beaver management, particularly in areas lacking beaver population data. We compared historical maps (1961–2006) of beaver works at Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, USA with concurrent aerial surveys of beaver colonies. We tested 2 landscape-scale models of beaver colony density previously developed for a period of beaver population expansion (1940–1986), but they failed to predict colony density after 1986, a period of declining beaver …