When Beavers Flew: The Incredible True Story of Rescue and Relocation, written by Kristen Tracy and illustrated by Luisa Uribe. Random House Studio, 2024. $24.99 ages 6 and up

 

"One day, Elmo considered a different 
problem. They had too many parachutes 
left over from World War II. He looked 
at the surplus parachutes. He thought 
about the beavers. 
He had a wild idea. 

They could parachute-drop the beavers 
into Idaho's back country, returning 
them to an area the beavers hadn't 
inhabited in decades. It sounded 
outrageous, but what if it worked?" 

What an interesting story this; it happened in 1948 in Idaho. McCall was a fast-growing town and beavers were a growing problem. To their rescue came game warden Elmo Heter, who was agreeable to remove and relocate them. The resulting issue was how to transport them successfully to another spot. They were not prime candidates for a long and arduous journey on horseback. It took some ingenious thinking to finally deal with the problem. Leftover surplus parachutes from World War II became their transport, after Elmo did some experimental planning. 

He came up with a design for a box that would spring open when it landed in the Chamberlain Basin in backcountry Idaho. First, he used a test subject, a beaver he named Geronimo. When that worked, they placed paired beavers into the drop boxes.  

"And on a day with no 
wind, Elmo stacked them
inside the plane. 

Into the air and down they flew ... 
aimed toward distant meadows, 
mountain lakes, and streams."

And the beavers did what beavers do. They found water, created a new habitat for frogs, toads, and salamanders, for salmon and trout, while creating protective pools for their families. Back in McCall, Elmo kept wondering how the beavers were doing. Finally, he flew over the place where they had been dropped. To his great delight, he found them doing exactly what he had hoped. Today the area is 'part of the largest protected roadless forest in the continental United States'.

What wonders of nature and innovation! 

An author's note offers further explanation, and is accompanied by a list of selected sources and an archival photo of Elmo and the man who helped him accomplish this amazing feat.