Beavers and Oregon’s Agricultural Abundance

Did You Know?
2024 marks the 200th year anniversary start of the “fur desert” policy by the Hudson Bay Company.

200 years ago British fur-trapping expeditions waged all-out war on beavers in the country's race claim “Oregon Country” for its own by destroying the prized natural resource (beaver pelts) as a way to slow reason for American expansion and settlement into the Northwest.

By creating a beaver dead zone in eastern Oregon, the Brits believed this would slow American expeditions and eventual settlement.

This matters because thousands of years of beaver activities helped shape the expansive, rich and productive meadowscapes that nourish Oregon’s agricultural abundance today.