Lawmakers have introduced a package of bills that proposes sweeping changes to the Department of Game and Fish, including a possible name change.
Now, the “modernization” reform effort has prompted a proposed $10.5 million from the general fund for at-risk wildlife species, including the beaver.
One of the largest general fund appropriations in the department’s history, the recommendation from the Legislative Finance Committee – which would be spread across three years – would bring aid for “species of greatest conservation need” with dwindling or threatened populations.
Thanks to efforts from conservationists and scientists, the American beaver will get its very own slice of the funding pie, with $1.5 million.
“Beavers are a climate solution,” said Chris Smith, the wildlife program director for the environmental advocacy group WildEarth Guardians and the head of the New Mexico Beaver Project. “They’re a wildfire mitigation tool, they’re a water security investment.”
Beavers have proven to be climate change “superheros,” storing water during drought, creating natural breaks to combat wildfires, and improving water quality.