Beavers in Siskiyou County and the rest of California are getting a break.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have agreed to stop trapping and killing beavers that are considered to be a nuisance.

The move by the department's Wildlife Services program comes nearly two months after an environmental group threatened to sue the agency if it did not consult with other federal agencies whether the killings are affecting endangered species that live where there are beavers.

In Siskiyou, the beavers may provide a habitat for endangered Oregon spotted frogs.

“This will save hundreds of California’s beavers, and that’s great news for these industrious little animals and the endangered wildlife that depend on them,” said Collette Adkins, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney and biologist.

“Beavers are nature’s engineers, building dams and ponds that help endangered fish and frogs. By protecting them, we’ll allow beaver ponds to be safe havens for other wildlife,” she said.

The California Nature Mapping Program shows significant portions of Shasta, Tehama, Trinity and Siskiyou counties are home to beavers.

But beavers are considered a nuisance to some. When beavers cause problems like digging holes and building dams, state and local officials call the department of agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services to remove or kill them.

Tanya Espinosa, a spokeswoman for Wildlife Services, said in June that beavers are sometimes considered nuisances for "burrowing/undermining levees and floodwater control infrastructure, blocking water conveyances, flooding and agricultural damage to vineyards, orchards, crops, etc.," she said.

From 2010 to 2017 there were there were 6,952 beavers killed statewide. Of those, 57 were in Shasta County, 41 in Siskiyou County and three in Trinity County. There were no beavers killed in Tehama County during that time period.

The counties with the highest number of beavers killed in California were Sacramento, Placer and Yolo. The three counties combined had 3,092.

Wildlife Services also has agreed to complete an analysis of its “beaver damage management program” under the Endangered Species Act, according to the center.

Officials have also agreed to stop killing beavers and removing their dams in designated “critical habitats” of California’s protected salmon and steelhead, tidewater goby and southwestern willow flycatchers, center officials said.

The tidewater goby, a fish that grows to about 2 inches long, is found primarily in coastal lagoons, estuaries, and marshes, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The southwestern willow flycatcher, a small bird, is only found in Southern California from Kern County and south.

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Damon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is among the first on the scene at breaking news incidents, reporting real time on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Damon is part of a dedicated team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-225-8226 and damon.arthur@redding.com. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!