Novel Physical Evidence that Beaver were Native to the Sierra Nevada

This paper (James and Lanman 2012) brings to light the buried beaver dam wood that was dug up in the Sierra in the late 80’s and carbon dated to 580, 1730 and 1850 A.D. This is significant because it serves as scientific proof that beaver occurred in the Sierra before European settlers arrived.

This refutes California Fish and Wildlife’s long held belief that beaver are not native to the Sierra above 1000 feet in elevation. This erroneous belief was based on a reports issued in 1937 and 1942, back when there were few beaver left and no modern means to verify their historic presence.