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Deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills on the Tule River Indian Reservation, tribal member Kenneth McDarment had passed by an ochre-red pictograph countless times throughout his life—a simple yet unmistakable image of a beaver with four paws and a distinctive paddle tail. Estimated to be between 500 and 1,000 years old, this ancient artwork adorned the walls of a rock shelter alongside other paintings of wildlife, humans, and geometric designs created by the Yokuts people.To McDarment, this beaver image seemed like just another beautiful piece of Native art. That is until he looked at it again—this time seeing it clearly with fresh eyes. Newly introduced beaver swimming through the water.Credit: CDFW When severe drought struck the reservation about a decade ago, McDarment and other tribal leaders began searching for innovative ways to conserve water. The answer, it turned out, had been staring at them from the cave walls all along."Sometimes you need to just look at things more often," McDarment told researchers.Glancing back up at the beaver, the pictograph suddenly took on new meaning as McDarment and the other tribal leaders began to recognize the ancient wisdom embedded in their ancestors' art. If beavers had once thrived on these lands and helped manage water resources, perhaps bringing them back could address their contemporary drought challenges. This revelation prompted the tribe to pursue what would become California's first beaver restoration program in over seven decades. - YouTube www.youtube.com From ancient wisdom to modern partnershipThe revelation sparked an unprecedented collaboration between California's Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Native tribes. In the past, the Tule River Tribe and the Maidu Summit Consortium were dismissed, and told there was "no way to move beavers in California legally."But after years of advocacy and preparation, in 2021, California finally launched its first beaver restoration program since the 1950s in partnership with both tribes.On October 18, 2023, seven beavers were released into their new home in Tásmam Koyóm, a 2,325-acre valley in Plumas County."You just saw this tiny brown furball, this little nugget, catch a ride on the back of his sibling's tail, and it looked like he was surfing. I don't think it set in for days afterward, but that moment will go down as one of the highlights of my entire career. I think we were very proud of what we had done, and really optimistic about the potential that this represents for us and the good we think we can do moving forward." - Valerie Cook, the beaver restoration program manager for the CDFW. Beavers being released to explore their new territory. Credit: CDFW Where did they find the beavers? Set a few traps and catch as many as they could? No. The efforts presented in this project represented a fundamental shift in how California approaches wildlife management and water conservation. The beaver relocation process involved identifying "problem" beavers in areas where they caused flooding, and then safely transporting them to new locations where their engineering skills could work environmental magic. For the first time in nearly 75 years, the state began relocating beavers. "We can make our future different from our past," declared CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham during the historic first release. "Our past is one where we treated these animals and others as varmints, as nuisances, and our culture over time ran them off the landscape. That can't be our future".Nature's ultimate engineers get to workThe results have been nothing short of spectacular. At the Maidu Summit Consortium's Tásmam Koyóm meadow—which means "tall grass" in the Mountain Maidu language—relocated beavers have constructed an impressive 328-foot dam, effectively creating a massive wetland complex that has increased water coverage by more than 22% according to CDFW's April 2025 report. Dams like these offer shelter, a safe home for beavers, and food storage. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay."They are really powerful ecosystem engineers," Emily Fairfax, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota, told Mongabay. "The number of services they provide to us and ways that they build resilient landscapes is honestly too much to just rattle off all at once."The benefits extend far beyond water storage, with those furry "ecosystem engineers" essentially transforming the landscape into a climate-resilient powerhouse:Wildlife defense system: Research shows that beaver-created wetlands burn significantly less during wildfires—experiencing only about one-third the vegetation loss compared to areas without beaver activity. The dams also create natural firebreaks by maintaining moisture levels that make vegetation much less flammable.Water quality improvement: Beaver ponds act like natural water treatment plants, filtering out pollutants, trapping sediments, and removing excess nitrogen through natural processes. The dams slow the rushing water, allowing contaminants to disperse and beneficial microorganisms to break down harmful compounds.Drought resilience: By storing water during wet periods and slowly releasing it during dry spells, beaver dams create what scientists call "drought buffers" that keep streams flowing when they would otherwise run dry.Cultural reconnection and sovereigntyFor the Mountain Maidu and Tule River tribes, the beaver restoration represents much more than environmental conservation—it's a symbol of just how far they've come in reclaiming their relationship to the land. Nearly two centuries ago, Tásmam Koyóm Meadow was forcibly taken from the Mountain Maidu tribe and was not rightfully returned until 2019. Four years later, the beaver—which the Mountain Maidu call hi-chi-hi-nem and consider as family—finally returned to their land, marking a moment of healing and deeply profound spiritual significance. - YouTube www.youtube.com Shannon Salem Williams, a Mountain Maidu program manager, said seeing the beavers slip into the water was a "full circle moment." Then added, "It was like a big welcoming home."A blueprint for climate resilienceThe success story of California's beaver restoration program proves that sometimes, the most efficient solution to modern issues is simply to return to ancient wisdom.With climate change intensifying droughts, floods, and wildfires across the American West, beaver-based restoration is gaining recognition as a cost-effective, nature-based solution. The California program has become so successful that Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in 2024 to make the beaver restoration program permanent.Scientists and activists remain hopeful that this trend will continue. "I think we're in kind of an idyllic [stage of] beaver literacy," advocate Heidi Perryman said. "People have begun to hear a lot of good things about beavers, and they're very hopeful that beavers can fix everything that we've messed up."This article originally appeared last year

For those with great grandparents, grandparents, and parents from the Greatest Generation (those born 1901 to 1927) and the Silent Generation (those born 1928 to 1945), much can be learned from how to live a frugal lifestyle. These two generations lived through the Great Depression and World War II, two events that forced Americans to become more resourceful due to difficult financial situations, food scarcity, and rations. Today, people who consider themselves frugal are always looking for more ways to save money. To glean frugal wisdom from older generations that would still be applicable today, one frugal person posed the question on Reddit: "What frugal lesson from your parents or grandparents you still use today?"And many frugal people offered their best money-saving tips from their relatives that they still use today. From how to save on money to utilities, these are the best frugal tips from Redditors: - YouTube www.youtube.com Reuse from your kitchen"My grandma rinsed and reused foil until it crumbled. I rolled my eyes then, now I catch myself doing it. Funny how those 'silly' habits end up smart. Mine also saves glass jars, labeled lids with tape, turned t-shirt into rags, and froze veg scraps for stock. :)" - YourxCherry"I save butter wrappers in the fridge to use for greasing baking pans. To get everything out of empty condiment bottles, I pour a little vinegar, milk or whatever is fitting, then shake it up and use that for salad dressing or other cooking needs." - so-many-cats"I love Tostitos salsa jars. Whatever I cook, such as soup, ground beef, pasta, the extras, or leftovers, everything goes into these jars. They are so perfect for portioning. One jar = one person's meal portion. I literally have more than 30 jars, and they are incredibly convenient!" - Proud_Possibility256"I do not go grocery shopping until my fridge is empty including my freezer zero food waste. I have become very creative with recipes. Saves me money. Always take lunch to work." - Samantha-the-mermaid"My grandmother took care of her five siblings during the depression after her parents died on .45¢ an hour. I make more money in an hour than she made in a week. She never wasted ANYTHING. She taught me to save bacon grease for seasoning, bread ends for bread pudding, leftovers for soup, and coffee grounds and eggshells for the garden. We didn't carve our pumpkins- we painted them and made pumpkin pie out of it after Halloween." - That-Response-1969 "I sometimes hate it that I am like this, but one of the first odd things that come to mind is labeling bottles of home goods like dish soap, body wash, bars of soap, hand soap, etc. so you know which one lasts the longest after purchase. Keep in my mind, my grandmother grew up during the Great Depression. I also spent a majority of my days with her making food (predominately just standing around doing nothing useful). All of the meals we hold dear to our hearts are actually just frugal meals to stretch out. She would get extremely nervous if she came to your home and there were not canned goods. This is winter in the upper Midwest during the Great Depression to put it into perspective, along with canning and preparing for everything. This is a person that lived by candle light basically. When she finally had a icebox, every last meal had to be frozen. No matter what you made, it had to be able to sit there when necessary. You make no meal that cannot be eaten for three days or frozen solid for the next month. I still live by this routine." - WideRoadDeadDeer95 - YouTube www.youtube.com Make your money go further"My mother taught me how to compare prices per item or ounce rather than by the package." - Chicpea09"My parents always framed purchases by how much time I would have to exchange for the item. So when I was in 6th grade and I wanted a TV for my bedroom and it was $120, I would have to do 6 to 10ish baby sitting jobs - then ask myself is it worth that exchange. This is still how I frame most purchases." - BagNo349"My grandfather told me as a teenager that debt is how other people control you. I didn't realize how true this was until my early 20s when I got into mild debt problems. Since then I have been majorly debt averse." - Egon88"Mine told me if you cant pay the milkman 6pence this week, how will you pay him 12pence next week? Lesson learned. I pay my bills on time ALWAYS." - Mundane_Sail_4155"My dad always said it's not a deal if you can't afford it. Of course he didn't have slickdeals either lol." - JasonG5"My grandpa always said ‘Pay yourself first.’ Even when money was tight, he’d stash $5–10 in savings before paying bills. I thought it was silly but that habit built a nice cushion over time." - samdaz712 - YouTube www.youtube.com Save on utilities and living expenses"I hang dry my clothing whenever possible. I find it strangely relaxing to stand outside and carefully hang everything up so it has good airflow. It reminds me of helping my grandmother hang out laundry on their farm. The only thing I changed was painting the tips of my clothespins so I can see them better and don’t forget them on the line accidentally." - SpecificSkunk"MAINTAIN and REPAIR what you already own. Lubricate, tighten, clean. Change filters. Replace belts. Flush. Air out. Condition. Resurface. Store properly. Take care of your stuff." - i_know_tofu"I patch and repair clothes that can be repaired instead of immediately buying new. For instance, we have a comforter that has gotten holes from the washing machine - cheap materials. I'm learning the Japanese art of Shashiko to patch it over my Thanksgiving week break. I find a used item instead of buying new immediately, when our dryer went out, I bought one from an estate sale for the same price as repairing the old one would have cost (and since it was on it's 3rd repair - heavy eye roll on cheaply made crap - I don't feel so bad. I line dry a lot of things. Not everything but a lot." - LeftwingSH"I put on hoodies and blankets and refuse to turn the heater on until the outside temps are about 45 degrees." - thedoc617"How to drive in order to maximize your miles per gallon and reduce wear and tear on the car. Accelerate slowly and try to keep under 2 RPMs. Leave a wide berth between yourself and other cars. Anticipate traffic/stopping, then let off the gas and cruise. Don't ride the brakes." - OrdinarySubstance491This article originally appeared last year