Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver

Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver

Discover deeper truths and quirky facts that cast new light on this keystone species

Beavers, those icons of industriousness, have been gnawing down trees, building dams, shaping the land, and creating critical habitat in North America for at least a million years. Once one of the continentâ€™s most ubiquitous mammals, they ranged from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Rio Grande to the edge of the northern tundra. Wherever there was wood and water, there were beavers â€” 60 million (or more) â€” and wherever there were beavers, there were intricate natural communities that depended on their activities. Then the European fur traders arrived.

In Once They Were Hats, Frances Backhouse examines humanityâ€™s 15,000-year relationship with Castor canadensis, and the beaverâ€™s even older relationship with North American landscapes and ecosystems. From the waterlogged environs of the Beaver Capital of Canada to the wilderness cabin that controversial conservationist Grey Owl shared with pet beavers; from a bustling workshop where craftsmen make beaver-felt cowboy hats using century-old tools to a tidal marsh where an almost-lost link between beavers and salmon was recently found, Backhouse goes on a journey of discovery to find out what happened after we nearly wiped this essential animal off the map, and how we can learn to live with beavers now that theyâ€™re returning.
Country USA
Manufacturer ECW Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2018-09-01
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	ECW Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2018-09-01
Format	Kindle eBook

Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver

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