Beavers can and do dramatically change the landscape. The beaver is a keystone species―their skills as foresters and engineers create and maintain ponds and wetlands that increase biodiversity, purify water, and prevent large-scale flooding. Biologists have long studied their daily and seasonal routines, family structures, and dispersal patterns. As human development encroaches into formerly wild areas, property owners and government authorities need new, nonlethal strategies for dealing with so-called nuisance beavers. In an up-to-date, exhaustively illustrated, and comprehensive book on beaver biology and management, Dietland Müller-Schwarze gathers a wealth of scientific knowledge about both the North American and Eurasian beaver species.