Flying Beavers: An Innovative Approach to Wildlife Conservation

Abstract

Based on actual historical events, this case describes how the Idaho Fish and Game Department decided to transplant beavers from a rapidly growing area of human habitation by catching them in live traps, flying them to a more hospitable environment via airplane, and parachuting the caged beavers to their new location. Students are asked to evaluate the wisdom of this plan from ecological, economic, and ethical perspectives. This case is intended for an advanced undergraduate or graduate course in sustainable business practices, environmental management, business ethics, and/or wildlife conservation. Excerpt UVA-E-0403 Rev. Jan. 25, 2016 Flying Beavers: An Innovative Approach to Wildlife Conservation It was a crisp morning in the fall of 1948, and Conservation Officer Scotty Heter was walking back from the airfield where he had been field-testing aspects of a new method for controlling beaver populations. A few months earlier, authorities at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game had determined that beavers (Castor canadensis) currently inhabiting the area around McCall, Idaho, and Payette Lake were creating a nuisance for the rapidly expanding human population and that the best course of action would be to move them from their current residence to a more remote area in Idaho's Chamberlain Basin. The most expeditious way to accomplish this, it was believed, was to catch the beavers in live traps, transport them via airplane to their new home, and drop them to the ground via parachute. Natural History Beavers are North America's largest rodents, measuring 24 to 26 inches in length and weighing between 30 and 65 pounds. They are found in every state except Hawaii, living in colonies along rivers, streams, lakes, and other wetland areas. Renowned for their industrious behavior in building dams and modifying habitat to meet their own needs for shelter and food, beavers have earned the title of “nature's engineers.” . . .