Scientists call for ‘Western Rewilding Network’ to support wolf, beaver populations, improve biodiversity on public lands
From the University of Colorado Boulder:
Managing federal lands in ways that better support wolf and beaver populations could help re-establish a host of important ecological processes across the West, according to a group of 20 scientists calling for the creation of a Western Rewilding Network.
In a paper published today in BioScience, “Rewilding the American West,” authors from CU Boulder, Oregon State University and several other institutions suggest using nearly 193,000 square miles (500,000 square kilometers) of federal lands in 11 states to establish a contiguous network based on potential habitat for the gray wolf and American beaver. Supporting those species through management changes on federal land would help control elk populations, support tree growth, boost biodiversity, improve water quality, increase carbon sequestration and restore riparian habitats, they said.
