CEO Note: Britain Brings Back Beavers
By Glenn Hurowitz, Founder & CEO
The UK government has announced that it will permit reintroductions of beavers, Mother Nature’s engineers. Beavers aren’t just adorable; their dams slow the course of rivers and create habitat for otters, water voles, fish, and other animals. The dams also provide water storage in times of drought that can benefit whole ecosystems and even livestock.
While grassroots rewilders in Britain (and some entrepreneurial, formerly captive beavers) have managed to return to some river systems, they’re still missing from much of England. This new policy will bring a measure of wilderness and ecosystem health back to one of the most wildlife poor countries on Earth.
In other rewilding good news across the Atlantic, a possible mountain lion was photographed on Waywayseecappo First Nation land in Manitoba, in what would be – if confirmed – a sign that the cats are returning to lands where they were once commonplace. This individual would likely be a “dispersing male,” or in other words a very eager bachelor from western Canada or the Great Plains who’s covered hundreds of miles in search of a mate.
But for the rare mountain lions who make such a trek to the Eastern forests of the U.S., their romantic quests will end in frustration – because there are no wild females. And barriers, both natural and built, mean that the sort of natural recolonization that might be happening in Manitoba is unlikely to occur in the East before 2100…if ever.
But Mighty Earth is working with partners to change that, and bring back the ladies by working with state governments to welcome mountain lions back to the East – so that future bachelors can find their soulmates. You can read more about that effort here.
Wolves Really Do Restore the Balance
Two recent studies show how the reintroduction of keystone species can have dramatic impacts. The famous 1990s wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone has been praised for its restorative effect on the whole ecosystem, but wolf skeptics have recently raised doubts. However, an authoritative 20-year study now definitively shows a cascade of benefits to the ecosystem from keystone species reintroduction.
Prior to the reintroduction, freed from any fear about attracting predators, the elk would just plop themselves down and enjoy what seemed to be all-you-can-eat buffet of willow shrub and other herbaceous riverine treats.
Pretty soon, untroubled by wolves, they exhausted Nature’s buffet and ate the shrubs down to a nub – eliminating habitat for birds, beavers and other species. The good news: wolf reintroduction restored the bounty by keeping the elk moving, with a 1,500% increase in key indicator species biomass.
Similarly, a recent study from the University of Leeds found that reintroducing wolves in the Scottish Highlands could naturally regulate deer populations, allowing forests to regenerate. This expansion of native woodlands would capture and store up to 1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Reducing Methane from Big Meat and Dairy
Methane has been in the news this week after Congress repealed the fee on methane emissions for oil and gas producers. Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide – less abundant but far more potent. As a “superheater,” it has already driven 25% of the heating our planet has experienced. And to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, methane emissions must drop 40-45% by 2030.
But while much of the discussion around methane has focused on fossil fuel companies, Mighty Earth is working to reduce methane from agriculture, an even bigger source than fossil fuels.
In fact, the combined annual emissions from the top five meat and dairy corporations – JBS, Tyson, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), and Fonterra – exceed those of Exxon in recent years.
While methane-reducing feed additives and vaccines are important near-term opportunities to reduce emissions, they alone aren’t close to enough to deliver the methane cuts needed to keep global temperatures in check. Within the agricultural sector, industrial livestock farming is the biggest source of methane. And real change in the agricultural sector will only come when their customers – the retailers and grocery stores we shop at – demand protein produced in a more sustainable way, including through scaling plant-based and other low-impact proteins.
Protecting Forests from Unwise Energy Policies
In February, alongside our allies, we delivered a letter to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), urging reforms to the nation’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program – a policy that provides financial incentives for burning trees for electricity, or as industry labels it, “biomass.”
We’re hoping Japan will join South Korea’s recent move to restrict biomass subsidies so that it can rechannel government funding towards truly clean energy like solar, wind and geothermal.
A final note: Nature and climate are facing rising perils, none greater at the moment than distraction. We continue to see enormous opportunities to drive transformative positive change even as we battle the threats. Thanks for your support.
