By Oregon Family Farm Association,
They don’t call it The Beaver State without reason, and Oregon’s lawmakers are doing what they can to protect the furry dam-makers from hunting, in part to safeguard drinking water, inhibit wildfires and help salmon, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. House Bill 3464 recently passed by the Oregon Legislature reclassified beavers from predatory to furbearing animals, requiring landowners to obtain a permit to remove beavers causing problems and report that action to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Another measure, House Bill 3932, restricts trapping on public land along impaired waterways—those that have high temperatures, excess sediments, and low oxygen or nutrients. Oregon’s nickname stems from the days when people wore fur hats, many made from the pelts of beaver trapped along Oregon streams. After curtailing such massive hunting, the state has tried to revive the beaver population, which some say cool rivers and streams, clean and slow the flow of water so it seeps deeper into the aquifer, and create pockets where bugs gather and salmon feast.
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