When beavers flew An incredible true story of rescue and relocation

The environmental contributions of beaver dams are well documented. But too many beavers can cause problems, particularly for humans attempting to alter the landscape for their own purposes. Such was the situation in McCall, Idaho, in 1948 when Fish and Game warden Elmo Heter sought a nonlethal way to remove the excess beaver population. Transporting the animals across mountainous terrain to the nearby preserve of Chamberlain Basin, where they had been hunted to near extinction a hundred years previously, proves impossible. But when Heter discovers a stash of parachutes left over from World War II, he wonders if he can devise a beaver airlift. He cleverly constructs boxes that can hold the creatures, be dropped from planes, and open automatically when they land. This translocation was a near-total success; only one out of seventy-six did not make it, and the rest thrived in their new location and restored the balance of the area's ecosystem. Using an earth-toned palette, Uribe's computer-generated, retro-style illustrations superbly reflect both the physical setting and the historical times. Faux artifacts such as notebook pages, hand-tied flies, and even a cliffside depiction of Native artwork decorate some pages. An author's note goes deeper into the events (including problems with translocation) and provides information about humans and animals coexisting peacefully. A bibliography of selected sources completes the book. Betty CarterSeptember/October 2024 p.105 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Nuisance beavers find a new home. In 1948, in fast-growing McCall, Idaho, beavers were looked at as pests. Game warden Elmo Heter tried to remove them, but it was hard to keep semi-aquatic animals happy on a long horseback journey. He came up with an innovative solution: flying them into the mountains and dropping them by parachute into Idaho's backcountry. (In the aftermath of World War II, surplus parachutes were readily available.) Elmo designed a box that would open when it landed and experimented with a test beaver he named Geronimo. (Readers probably won't know that this was what World War II airmen shouted as they parachuted out of planes.) Once he was certain the boxes would work, he captured 75 more beavers and had them all flown and dropped into a mountain wilderness where beavers had been wiped out years earlier. A later survey revealed that the beavers had done just what Elmo had intended: They dammed streams and made a wetland. Tracy's storytelling is succinct, straightforward, and appropriate for her young audience. She emphasizes the advantages of Elmo's excellent idea, both for the beavers and for the wilderness; backmatter addresses later controversies about wildlife relocation and newer methods. Uribe's muted digital artwork portrays the details of Elmo's planning, the beauty of the landscape, and some very appealing beavers. These spreads would show well at storytime. A celebration of an early environmental success. (author's note, selected sources) (Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.