Are you a beaver believer? Webinar
Watch WATER institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist in this Secretary Speaker Series webinar, hosted by California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, on Wednesday, July 12th from 12 noon – 1 pm. … Read more
For inquiries contact waterinstitute@oaec.org.
WATER Institute News
Brock Dolman interviewed by Climate Water Project
“Oftentimes I think of watersheds as living lifeboats. From ridge to river, from summit to sea, from stem to stern, we have to rethink and retrofit these living lifeboats at … Read more
New CDFW Policy Recognizes Ecological Value of Beavers in California
After more than a decade of a concerted effort to Bring Back the Beaver, OAEC and The WATER Institute are thrilled to announce that there are major policy changes happening … Read more
Field Trip to Doty Ravine
On May 24, we partnered with the California Beaver Policy Working Group and wrangled 50 state leaders from Sacramento to Doty Ravine to see beaver restoration in action. Protected since … Read more
Watch Brock’s Firesafe Sonoma Talk: Fuels to Flows
Brock Dolman, Ecologist and Director of the OAEC Wildlands program, gave an online presentation for FireSafe Sonoma on May 23rd, 2023 introducing the concept of “Fuels to Flows” – turning … Read more
Bioneers Radio interviews our Beaver Believers
Neil Harvey, host of Bioneers Radio, interviews Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman to learn all about beaver: their history in North America, how they slow and spread water, create critical … Read more
NBC news – Intersection of Fire & Water at OAEC
“It’s time to take our fire fears and connect that with our water woes!” – Brock Dolman As we thin and limb our forests and landscapes towards fire fuels reduction, … Read more
Happy International Beaver Day!
While there are all sorts of serious reasons to love beaver (including their ability to create habitat for many species, buffer the effects of climate change, increase the presence of … Read more
OAEC Makes a Splash in Restoration Journal
Ecesis, the quarterly news journal of SerCal (California Society for Ecological Restoration) features an article written by our own WATER Institute Co-Directors, Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman, and Development and … Read more
New Multimedia Series on WATER
What is your relationship with water? Do you know where your water comes from or how it gets to you? For the most part, modern developed societies have taken water … Read more
Beaver Mania Hits the News!
Since our announcement in July about the State’s monumental decision to fund the creation of a new Beaver Restoration Program to be led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, … Read more
State Leaders Enact Historic Beaver Restoration Program!
SACRAMENTO (June 30, 2022) – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to launch a new Beaver Restoration Program at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be enacted at the … Read more
Russian River Coho Partnership Concludes a Decade-Long Collaboration
photo by Brock Dolman Salmon are a keystone species, inextricably linked to the health of our coastal ecosystems, yet over the past century their populations have experienced devastating declines. In … Read more
WATER Institute helps launch new California Process-Based Restoration Network
WATER Institute Co-Directors Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman are excited to announce the initiation of the California Process-based Restoration (Cal PBR) Network and invite you to participate and spread the … Read more
Article on “Beaver Dam Analogs” in Yellow Creek
OAEC’s WATER Institute was featured this month in SF Estuary Magazine (including Brock Dolman’s cover shot!) for beaver restoration work on Yellow Creek in the Tásmam Koyóm Maidu Cultural Park, Plumas … Read more
CA Beaver Summit – video recording
Climate change is making California hotter, drier, and harder for people and wildlife. Beaver can help. Watch the video recording of the California Beaver Summit! click here to watch During … Read more
Beaver Restoration Feasibility: A Webinar for Olema
The following video is a recording of the informational webinar Brock Dolman and Kate Lundquist (Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute Directors) gave on March 4, 2021 to those … Read more
Beaver Webinar with Kate Lundquist – video recording
Beaver in California: Creating a Culture of Stewardship Online Presentation The following video is a recording of a presentation WATER Institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist gave on October 15, 2020. Learn how … Read more
Caltrans Beaver Project and Transportation Conference Presentation
In September 2019, WATER Institute Co-Directors Brock Dolman and Kate Lundquist attended the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation to present on the Bring Back the Beaver Campaign, specifically on their … Read more
WATER Institute on reappearance of beaver around California
Since 2014, a colony of beaver has been observed near the suburban South Bay town of Campbell, and with them, an uptick in blue heron, western tanager, ducks, and other … Read more
KMUD Interview with Kate Lundquist on the Benefits of Beavers
Listen to this interview with WATER Institute Director Kate Lundquist on using beaver to restore endangered salmon in California. Beaver dams slow down the flow of water off landscapes, recharge … Read more
Being Salmon, Being Human: The Performance
Join us in the North Garden Theater on Wednesday August 15th 7-9pm BEING SALMON, BEING HUMAN is a unique storytelling performance from Norway combining traditional tales, original music, and … Read more
Busy Beavers
WATER Institute co-directors Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman have fully embodied their busy mascot this summer as they hit the Bring Back the Beaver Campaign trail! The past few weeks … Read more
Brock coins the term “egosystem” in scientific literature!
OAEC WATER Institute Director, pun-tastic wordsmith and meme generator extraordinaire, Brock Dolman has co-authored, with Dr. Matt Deitch, a new peer reviewed scientific paper in the Journal WATER called Restoring Summer … Read more
Sonoma County Beaver Blitz – October 8th, 2016
The OAEC WATER Institute is hosting a Beaver Blitz to map current distribution of beaver (Castor canadensis) in Sonoma County. Beaver modify the landscape in ways that can be really … Read more
OAEC Releases New Beaver Stewardship Guidebook
Call our main office to purchase a booklet (707) 874-1557 x101 or Download for Free> Beavers are one of our favorite watershed restoration partners! They are the original champions of … Read more
WATER Institute Supports Borneo Watersheds Affected by Palm Oil Plantations
by Janel Healy. Photos by Brock Dolman. 35% of the palm oil produced in the world comes from Malaysia, and 12% of that comes from the Malaysian state of Sabah … Read more
Greywater Policy Innovation Goes to Sacramento
The Decentralized Water Policy Council (DWPC), a project of OAEC and the California Onsite Water Association, was one of three finalists in the Imagine H2O Policy Challenge. Finalists were selected from over 100 applications … Read more
Water Budgeting at OAEC and in Your Community
Above: Alana records weekly potable water use at OAEC outside the Main Office, which all staff members see throughout the day. You, too, could do this at your workplace, church, child’s … Read more
WATER Institute Reviews Beaver Restoration Guidebook
The WATER Institute was invited to review the 200-page comprehensive Beaver Restoration Guidebook written by NOAA Fisheries, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, and Portland State University to … Read more
