WMG's Release the Beavers Campaign
Over the past 7 years, WMG's Release the Beavers Campaign has grown from a small effort to conduct surveys along the San Pedro River to an extraordinary campaign fueling beaver focused restoration throughout southern Arizona and beyond. Each year we host a gathering of Beaver Believers to tell the story of beavers in southern Arizona. We also share information about how the Tucson community and beyond can play a role in restoring our rivers and supporting beavers in the San Pedro and Santa Cruz River Watersheds.
Why are beavers important?
Beavers are one of the best local helpers for restoring desert creeks and rivers. Beavers build dams that slow down creek and river flow, a process that helps flowing water sink into the aquifer below and recharges groundwater! At the same time, beavers create critical wetland habitat—ciénegas—for our Sonoran Desert ecosystems. Historically, beavers played a key role in maintaining watershed health for the San Pedro River before they were wiped out by fur trappers in the 1800s. The beaver population made an initial comeback due to relocation efforts in 1999, and with education, community science, and advocacy, we can build on this earlier success by bringing the beavers back and growing their impact. This beaver restoration work is an integral part of reaching our 50-year vision of restoring southern Arizona’s creeks and rivers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
2025 Beavers & Brews Recap
This year's event offered a chance to thank Arizona Game & Fish Department for their recent beaver translocation work, experience a masterful beaver-themed music and puppet show, and hear from our WMG staff and Cochise College partners on beaver survey data and beaver genetics work on beaver populations across the world.
Meandering through the Living Lab & Learning Center space with their drinks of choice, participants had the opportunity to engage with WMG's many efforts, including supporting the work being done to release beavers into Ciénega Creek. Since 2019, WMG has been leading the charge for the reintroduction of beavers into this riparian area, a vision that's now on the brink of realization. Through our advocacy and rigorous groundwork, we've reached a pivotal milestone: all agency environmental assessments are complete, and the Bureau of Land Management and Arizona Game & Fish Department are planning to reintroduce beavers by the end of this year. At the Beavers & Brews event, we hosted a postcard-writing party to thank the Arizona Game & Fish Department for their efforts in supporting this work.
Participants also enjoyed our first beaver-themed puppet show. With song, dance, and fun beaver facts, this was an opportunity for all ages to brush up on their beaver knowledge, sing along to unique songs, and dive into the world of beavers in a creative way.
After dark, the party kicked off with presentations from Cochise College partners Steve Merkley, Frank Emanuele, and Dominic Wells on trail camera data and beaver genetics; then, Nadira Mitchell, WMG's Restoration Ecology Coordinator, spoke about the compiled data from our last 4 years of beaver surveys along the San Pedro River.
What's Next?
Want the most recent beavers updates? Join the River Run Network to receive regular email communications with the latest on volunteer opportunities like our Annual Beaver Surveys, beaver restoration work, volunteer opportunities, and more!