A first-of-its-kind analysis by 20 leading scientists has identified a network of 11 federally owned reserves where wolves and beavers could be restored across the American West. The report, called Rewilding the American West, shows that gray wolves and North American beavers provide “invaluable benefits to the ecosystem, including drought relief and stream restoration.” It describes how restoring these two species, and ending livestock grazing on federal public lands, would have wide-ranging benefits for degraded ecosystems there.
The report also says there are 92 threatened and endangered species, including the Gunnison sage-grouse and the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, that would benefit from the “rewilding.” Read the full report at biologicaldiversity.org.
