Federal officials have agreed to suspend a program used to kill hundreds of beavers each year, environmental groups said Wednesday.

Wildlife Services, which falls under the U.S. Department of Agriculture's obscure Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, agreed to stop killing beavers, river otters, muskrats and minks in Oregon as it investigates whether those actions comply with the federal Endangered Species Act.

The agency will conduct a biological assessment of its aquatic mammal program and work with the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine if killing beavers is harmful to endangered salmon and steelhead. Environmental groups say beavers benefit salmonids when they dam rivers and streams because they create pools, which provide good fish habitat and abundant food sources.

In November, the Center for Biological Diversity and Northwest Environmental Advocates served the wildlife division with a letter saying they planned to file a lawsuit.

"The feds' commitment to stop killing Oregon's beavers is good news for beavers, salmon and all of us who care about these animals," Collette Adkins, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney and biologist said in a statement. "We'll keep the pressure on Wildlife Services and make sure that beavers are protected, not persecuted."

Wildlife Services did not issue a response to a request for comment Wednesday.

According to the agency's online statistics, it killed at least 403 beavers in Oregon in 2016. The agency removes the animals in response to nuisance complaints from property owners. Last year, Wallowa County Commission Susan Roberts explained that beavers, the official state animal, can complicate travel by flooding roadways.

"The beavers are cute and they're kind of fun to watch," she said at the time, but when they become fond of damming certain areas "it complicates things."

In late December, according to documents provided to The Oregonian and other media outlets by the environmental groups, the state wildlife service's director, David Williams, said he hoped the groups would reconsider the lawsuit pending the outcome of the biological assessment.

Wildlife Services responds to public safety concerns or calls to investigate nuisance animals or predator issues in 26 of Oregon's 36 counties. The agency's wildlife services specialists in each county, often known as the local trapper, are funded by a combination of federal, state and county resources.

Gov. Kate Brown had recommended stripping state support for the agency in her budget proposal in late 2016, but lawmakers reinstated the funding in 2017 and Brown approved the final budget.

The agency also came under fire in early 2017 after a cyanide device intended to kill coyotes in Wallowa County illegally killed a protected gray wolf. The agency has since agreed to stop using the controversial M-44 devices in Oregon.

It's unclear how long the program will be suspended. The biological assessment on the aquatic mammals' program is due by Feb. 28. Adkins said the review could take several months.

But the Wildlife Services agency stipulated it would not stop killing nutria, another aquatic mammal designated as an invasive species. The program killed at least 379 nutrias in 2016, and Williams wrote they "do not create habitat beneficial for any" endangered or threatened species.

Adkins said that isn't an issue with her group, though it wished the program could use "more humane methods" to kill nutria.



-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen