Beaver Management Planning & Human-Beaver Conflict Resolution
Adria Surovy1*
1National Wildlife Federation, Grand Junction, CO, USA, surovya@nwf.org
The Beaver Management Planning report helps inform beaver conservation and management processes by providing approachable and realistic examples from across the country that achieve restoration outcomes while addressing human-beaver conflict. The effort to summarize and analyze existing beaver management plans and programs into a paper was led by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) with help from other partners and was published in September 2025. It identifies eight best management practices exemplified by various beaver management plans and programs at different jurisdictional levels, from local watershed partnerships to the state. Additionally, the Western Water work at NWF includes a Beaver Conflict Resolution Program in Montana that is partnered with Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks. This program works with the Montana Beaver Working Group, an informal coalition that holds strategy workshops, hosts webinars, and publishes beaver action plans and progress reports. Both the real-world experience and lessons learned from the conflict resolution program and working group helped to inform the beaver management report for a more actionable and approachable analysis.
Beaver management planning and conflict resolution can be a daunting process, and this report and its corresponding presentation will highlight best management practices, identify data gaps and important stakeholders, outline different pathways, and review successful tools, such as decision matrices or cost-share programs. The information can help at any stage in the process, is applicable to a wide audience, and seeks to lower the barrier of entry for those looking to conserve and manage beavers while also elevating watershed restoration. There are many factors that contribute to sound beaver management planning, and no two plans or programs are the same. Having a better understanding of how these programs or plans formed, sharing lessons learned, and analyzing human dimensions through conflict resolution will lead to better beaver management planning and, in turn, better restoration outcomes.