The California Beaver Help Desk is Live!
We are proud to announce the launch of the first-ever California Beaver Help Desk! With our new online portal now live, beaver problems can become beaver solutions throughout all of California. … Read more
For inquiries contact waterinstitute@oaec.org.
WATER Institute News
Build Like a Beaver Creates Watershed Resilience in the Eastern Sierra Nevada
In October, WATER Institute Co-Directors attended and taught at the 4th annual Build Like a Beaver (BLAB) training. This sold-out workshop was hosted by the California Process-Based Restoration Network, OAEC’s … Read more
The WATER Institute Brings Beaver Coexistence to California’s Central Valley
This September and October, the WATER Institute hosted our first-ever Beaver Coexistence Field Training and Tour alongside the Beaver Institute and Connected Ecology. The team focused on two sites in … Read more
Fuels to Flows Goes On Tour
This fall, the WATER Institute took our Fuels to Flows Campaign on tour across California to share how holistic, process-based restoration builds watershed resilience while reducing the risk of catastrophic … Read more
WATER Institute Featured in Mongabay
The WATER Institute is proudly featured in a new two-part Mongabay series about beaver, their ecological importance, and the complexities of translocation and coexistence. In Beavers restored to tribal lands in California benefit ecosystems, writer John Cannon reveals the … Read more
California “Beaver Bill” In the Wild
Brock Dolman, WATER Institute Co-Director and Assemblymember Damon Connolly promoting the “Beaver Bill” at a recent watershed council gathering. This summer, WATER Institute Co-Director Brock Dolman attended a gathering of … Read more
Meet the WATER Institute’s Newest Teammate
The WATER Institute team from left to right: Brock Dolman, Kate Lundquist, Renée Rhodes, and Grey Hayes We are excited to introduce Renée Rhodes as our incoming Associate Director of … Read more
Process-Based Restoration Gains Momentum in France
A team of participants bring process-based restoration to the Savasse uplands of the Chalon watershed, hosted by Association Rivière Rhône Alpes Auvergne (ARRA²) This spring, Occidental Art & Ecology Center … Read more
Watch the Webinar: Introducing California’s Beaver Coexistence Training and Support Program
On May 21, 2025, around 250 people joined the webinar introducing California’s Beaver Coexistence Training and Support Program to learn how to get involved in helping improve human-beaver coexistence in … Read more
Brock Dolman at Napa RISE Climate Symposium
Can Forest & Creek Restoration Create Localized Climate Cooling? On May 8, 2025, OAEC’s WATER Institute Co-Director, Brock Dolman, contributed to the Napa RISE Climate & Wine Symposium, which is … Read more
BeaverCorps Training Program
We invite you to apply to be a Beaver Coexistence Professional through the BeaverCorps Training Program. Part 1 is a 40-hour online training followed by mentorship and hands-on work with four coexistence strategies … Read more
Gully Stuffing Collaboration with Golden Gate National Recreation Area
In March of 2025, WATER Institute Co-Directors Brock Dolman and Kate Lundquist had the great pleasure of meeting with Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) staff to carry out a … Read more
2024 Process-Based Restoration Year In Review
2024 has been a hugely successful year for beaver and process-based restoration (PBR) in California. Working with many partners, including members of the California Process-Based Restoration Network, we successfully trained … Read more
Process-based restoration workshop with the Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance and Robinson Rancheria
Brock and Kate recently had the great pleasure of working with our long-time partners at Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance (TERA) to carry out a process-based restoration (PBR) workshop on Robinson Rancheria … Read more
Report Back from BeaverCON 2024
WATER Institute Co-Directors Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman are feeling truly inspired after attending BeaverCON 2024 in Boulder, Colorado, last month. This renowned international gathering of beaver and process-based restoration … Read more
Report Back From Another Successful Build Like a Beaver Training (BLAB)
The WATER Institute’s Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman have returned from an amazing four days of beaver and process-based restoration field tours, discussions, and onsite building opportunities at the California … Read more
California’s “Beaver Bill” Signed by Governor
Assembly Bill 2196 codifies the state’s new Beaver Restoration Program. SACRAMENTO – Unanimous votes of both the California State Assembly and Senate propelled Assembly Bill 2196 to the Governor’s desk, … Read more
OAEC Collaboration With CAFF
The Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) published this blog post and an accompanying flier about the practice of gully stuffing, a practice we’ve pioneered at OAEC. We’re proud to … Read more
OAEC chosen as nonprofit of the year for 2nd senate district!
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) is immensely humbled to be chosen by Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire as the 2024 Nonprofit of the Year for Senate District 2. … Read more
Check out our new Beaver web portal!
As we celebrate OAEC’s 30 years, we think back to 2009 when the WATER Institute was scoffed at for having the audacity to suggest that beaver, then considered a ‘nuisance,’ … Read more
Beaver Welcomed Home on Tule River Tribal Lands
We’re pleased to announce that the Tule River Tribe welcomed seven beavers into the South Fork Tule River watershed on the Tule River Indian Reservation on June 12 as part … Read more
Brock Dolman Featured in San Joaquin Valley Water Video
San Joaquin Valley Water, an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water issues in the San Joaquin Valley, produced a video titled “Beavers Reintroduced on the Tule River Reservation” … Read more
Brock Dolman Featured on Two Podcasts
WATER Institute Co-Director and OAEC Co-Founder Brock Dolman has been busy! He recently participated in two podcasts which we recommend listening to! In the first, Permaculture Perspectives, Brock speaks with … Read more
Overwhelming Support for the “Beaver Bill”
Assembly Bill 2196 to codify the state’s new Beaver Restoration Program heads to Senate Amazing news! Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) is authoring a “beaver bill,” Assembly Bill 2196, with … Read more
Beaver and Process-Based Restoration Trainings in France
In April 2024, WATER Institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist and our close collaborator, Kevin Swift of Swift Water Design, headed to France. French artist Suzanne Husky and French author and professor … Read more
Can beavers help Sonoma County lower wildfire risk?
Our hyper local news outlet, the Sonoma County Gazette, penned a great article outlining beaver as nature’s engineers, important for fire prevention, flood mitigation, groundwater recharge, and critical habitat creation. … Read more
WATER Institute Quoted in the LA Times
On March 26, 2024, The Los Angeles Times published a fantastic article titled, Yes, beavers can help stop wildfires. And more places in California are embracing them. In it, writer … Read more
CA Beaver Bill Introduced
Great news! Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) has introduced a “beaver bill,” Assembly Bill 2196, that codifies the new Beaver Restoration Program at the California Department of Fish & Wildlife … Read more
CDFW Awards OAEC Grant to Create Beaver Coexistence Program
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute is humbled and excited to announce that we have been awarded a $2 million block grant to develop a program to build … Read more
CDFW Releases Beavers Into the Wild for First Time in Nearly 75 Years
The state’s new Beaver Restoration Program completed its first relocation in October, 2023. See the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) press release here. We were honored to be … Read more
