If you travel to the Czech Republic, you’ll find a gorgeous forest in the Brdy [Bohr-day] mountains, beloved by hikers, climbers, and hunters alike. In 1925, Czechoslovakia’s military had used the land as a training ground. Then, the Nazi military and later the Red Army conducted military exercises there. The soldiers had little use for wetlands in the forest so they built gullies to drain the water. In 2018, the Czech government took on the task of building a dam to restore the wetlands and protect vulnerable species from sedimentation and acidic water.
They started in 2018, but some land was owned by one part of the state and other parts were still held by the military. Bureaucrats threw up obstacles, things got more and more expensive, and the project just dragged on. Meanwhile, early on in 2025, a small family of beavers was living in the forest. Almost overnight, they decided to build a dam, as beavers do, with wood, mud, and stones. Not only did the beavers build a dam – they built it in the absolute perfect spot. Without any help or input from humans, without building permits or studies, they saved the Czech government $1.2 million dollars. They gave flood protection to the region, brought new life to the wetlands, and created safe pools of water for crayfish, frogs, and birds.
Wow! Sometimes we find ourselves outfoxed – or should I say, out-beavered… You might look at this history and think: humans were destructive with the land, used it to bolster Nazi and Soviet goals, and – even when we tried to do a good thing – we got bogged down in details and formalities. Whereas… the beavers saw what needed to happen and they just made it happen. BUT, one detail: because the land was held by those various militaries, it was set apart. They forbid most construction and development of the land, which is why it’s one of the largest forests in the Czech Republic today. It’s not “humans bad, nature good.” It’s an unexpected combinations of efforts that help heal the earth.
Sources:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brdy
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Czechoslovak_Republic
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver-engineered_dam_in_the_Czech_Republic
* https://english.radio.cz/beavers-build-planned-dams-protected-landscape-area-while-local-officials-still-8841536
* https://www.visitcentralbohemia.com/experience/brdy-protected-landscape-area/#pdf
