Beavers are ecosystem engineers, and one of our best natural climate solutions. Please speak up today in support of HB 3932 to help ensure beavers can play that role in areas of Oregon where water quality is at risk.
The Beavers and Water Quality Bill would close beaver hunting and trapping in waterways on public lands that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) classifies as ‘impaired.’ Beaver activities, including canal-digging, dam-building, and pond-filling can help slow water flow, restore impacted water tables and underground aquifers, create natural wetlands that filter toxins, expand riparian habitats for wildlife including sensitive bird species, and incorporate woody debris in streams for imperiled salmon. In other words, beavers improve water quality and restore habitat.
Worryingly, over 100,000 miles of Oregon’s waterways are in poor health — impaired by high temperatures, sedimentation or toxins, sometimes all three. DEQ is tasked with restoring these waterways, but doing so requires significant resources to design and implement plans to reduce the impairment. Fortunately, beavers can help, and they’re free!
To show your support for the HB 3932, please follow these steps:
- Click this link and fill out the online form with your information.
- Be sure to select “support” in the “position on measure” field.
- Upload your testimony as a pdf or copy and paste text into the text box.
- Click “submit”
The hearing on this bill is Tuesday March 25th at 8am in the House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment. Testimony is accepted before and for just 48 hours after the hearing so please get your testimony in before 8am on Thursday. Add your voice today to show support for this common-sense bill.
When writing your testimony, refer to this handy summary of the bill’s benefits and the talking points below.
Key Talking Points:
- HB 3932 targets rivers and streams categorized as Category 4 or 5 by DEQ’s water quality standards — both indicate impaired waterways. This also includes waterways deemed impaired under the Clean Water Act.
- More than 2/3rd of surveyed waterways in Oregon (106,390 miles) are currently classified as “impaired.” DEQ deems waters impaired based on certain criteria including water temperature, sedimentation, level of dissolved oxygen, etc.
- To restore impaired waterways, DEQ needs to develop TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Load assessments) for each waterway. But TMDLs are expensive, and DEQ lacks resources to develop and implement a TMDL for every stream and watershed that needs one. As a result, most streams continue to stay impaired in Oregon.
- The bill proposes closing hunting and trapping of beavers on waterways on public lands that are deemed impaired by DEQ. Robust scientific evidence shows that beaver dam complexes can address most of these water quality issues. And they do it for FREE!
- The bill does not apply to private lands and provides an off-ramp if the “impairment” designation is lifted.
Sample letter:
Chair Lively, Vice-chairs Gamba and Levy and Committee Members,
I write to ask that you please support HB 3932 to allow beavers to help restore Oregon’s thousands of miles of impaired waterways.
Beavers are ecosystem engineers. Their natural behaviors including canal-digging and dam-building, help slow water flow, restore impacted water tables and underground aquifers, establish natural wetlands that filter toxins, and create wildlife and fish habitat all at once.
According to the Department of Environmental Quality, over 100,000 miles of Oregon waterways suffer from poor water quality. DEQ is tasked with restoring these waterways but lacks the resources to do so at the scale needed. This is where beavers can help — for free!
Passing HB 3932 will allow beavers to help restore these waterways by closing hunting and trapping of beavers on these impaired waterways on public lands. Robust scientific evidence shows that beaver dam complexes can address most of these concerning water quality. This bill is not about limiting beaver harvest or increasing beaver population, but it will enable beavers to access waterways where they need to be and remain long enough to perform their ecosystem functions. Please support HB 3932 — a natural and free solution to our state’s water quality crisis.
Sincerely,
Your Name Here