Beaver believers: Native Americans promote resurgence of 'nature's engineers'

The rodents are often considered nuisance animals', but they can play a vital role in maintaining healthy landscapes

Molly Alves steps down hard on the edge of a heavy wire trap, forcing its sides open with her hands. With care she lays the poised trap, baited with twigs and branches, in a bracingly cold stream. Her target? A beaver.

Beavers are often considered nuisance" animals on the US west coast and, if captured, are destroyed by animal control companies.