The calls come amid a “time of unparalleled merging crises in the American West, including prolonged drought and water scarcity, high heat waves, massive fires at least partially caused by climate change and biodiversity loss.”
In response to the mounting risks to ecosystems caused by climate change, scientists in the United States have proposed rewilding portions of the American West by returning wolves and beavers.
Their initiative follows the issuance of an executive order by President Joe Biden for his America the Beautiful strategy, which includes a conservation campaign to preserve 30 percent of the nation’s water and land by 2030.
The objective of the administration is to combat “a catastrophic extinction crisis that threatens the biodiversity of our world and the health of the natural systems that provide our food, water, and other resources.
Lake Mead, the largest water reservoir in the United States, has been affected by the most severe drought in decades, as shown by satellite pictures from NASA.
In a BioScience journal article titled Rewilding the American West, twenty experts recommend rewilding huge federally held reserve areas to address these concerns.
There are two important calls. First, to prohibit livestock grazing on some federal lands; second, to restore two important species: the grey wolf and the North American beaver.
According to the letter, the obstacles associated with banning grazing on these properties are not overly difficult.
They assert that livestock ranchers can easily be compensated for lost grazing allotments, and that meat sourced from forage on federal lands accounts for less than 2% of all meat produced in the United States.
They propose constructing the Western Rewilding Network on an area of around 500,000 square kilometers – twice the size of the United Kingdom – across eleven states: Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
In contrast, the “historic time of interlocking crises in the American West, including prolonged drought and water scarcity, high heat waves, massive fires caused at least in part by climate change, and biodiversity loss,” necessitates immediate action.
Why are there wolves and beavers?
Wolves and beavers significantly affect the habitats they inhabit.
The most famous instance of the reintroduction of grey wolves, which occurred in Yellowstone National Park in 1996 after they had been regionally extinct since the 1920s, had a cascade effect on the park’s whole ecosystem.
The wolves reduced not only the number of elk and deer but also their movements and grazing, producing an increase in the height of trees and other vegetation, which avoided soil erosion and allowed the restoration of various species to the park.
By felling trees and shrubs and building dams, beavers enrich fish habitat, increase water and sediment retention, maintain water flows during drought, provide wet fire breaks, improve water quality, initiate the recovery of incised channels, increase carbon sequestration, and generally improve habitat for many riparian plant and animal species.
They predict that 92 vulnerable and endangered species could benefit from the rewilding efforts.
The authors add, “beyond considerations for human survival and development, a fundamental commitment to the natural world and a feeling of moral urgency motivate our approach.
Our plan represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rewild substantial areas of the American West, which might serve as a model for other regions and secure the preservation of our natural heritage for future generations.
