California Beaver Coexistence Training and Support Program (Project)

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has awarded a $2,000,000 grant to the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center to implement a program focused on promoting beaver coexistence through non-lethal damage mitigation strategies across California, with priority in Butte, Colusa, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Counties. Building on completed planning activities—including establishment of a Help Desk website, professional training in nonlethal deterrence, data collection protocols, and outreach—the program now advances to physical implementation. Authorized activities include installing and maintaining low-impact infrastructure such as pond levelers, fenced notches, beaver deceiver flow pipes, culvert protection fencing, beaver back savers, diversion fences upstream of culverts, tree fencing (regular or electric), and sand-painted tree trunks to deter gnawing. All installations are designed to reduce beaver-related flooding, blocked water conveyance systems, and tree loss while minimizing lethal take of beavers and enhancing watershed health. The grant operates under a CEQA Class 4 Categorical Exemption, recognizing the projects as minor land alterations that improve wildlife habitat without requiring detailed environmental review. The program’s success will be measured by the reduction in beaver-caused damage and the number of sites where non-lethal methods have replaced lethal control. The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center is responsible for field implementation, maintenance, and coordination with landowners, while the California Department of Fish and Wildlife provides oversight through its Watershed Restoration Grants Branch, with Elizabeth Buttler serving as the primary point of contact. Funding is drawn from the Nature Based Solutions: Wetlands and Mountain Meadows program, and while no formal contracting clauses, line-item pricing, or federal procurement structures are present—the grant is administered as a programmatic award with site-specific, on-the-ground deliverables rather than commercial goods or services.