There were once 400 million beavers in North America until trapping nearly wiped them out.
The climate crisis can feel overwhelming, a problem so vast and so urgent that meaningful solutions seem perpetually out of reach. But what if some of the most powerful fixes were hiding in plain sight, found not in the halls of government or the boardrooms of industry, but in the industrious work of a flat-tailed rodent?
Miles O’Brien heads to the American West, where a very different kind of problem-solver is quietly reshaping the landscape. Beavers, once nearly hunted to extinction, are now being recognized as one of nature’s most effective weapons against drought, wildfire and the slow deterioration of the region’s vital waterways.
Rancher Tom Chant is a “beaver believer” after seeing his dry and dusty creek turn lush once beaver dams moved in.
O’Brien travels from a Wyoming ranch to a Minnesota lab tracing the rebound of these industrious rodents.
Eco-hydrologist Emily Fairfax has spent years studying what these remarkable animals do naturally: slow water down, build wetlands and transform dry, fire-prone land into thriving ecosystems. Her work is part of a growing movement among scientists, ranchers and land managers who are learning to partner with nature rather than fight against it, with extraordinary results.
“Resolve to Solve with Miles O’Brien” is a reminder that in the search for climate solutions, the answers are often closer, and more unexpected, than we think.
Go behind the scenes with host Elise Hu
The “Resolve to Solve with Miles O’Brien Podcast” is the official companion podcast of the documentary series.
In this podcast episode, Miles talks about the role beavers fill in the American West and what happens when the so-called “beaver haters” eradicate them.
Miles tells a story that didn’t make it into the show about a family who had beaver guests create an oasis in their backyard and the beautiful things that can happen when these creatures are welcomed rather than treated as pests.
