Oregon is The Beaver State, but it is not officially giving any further protection to its namesake animal. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission just voted against ending beaver trapping and hunting on federal lands in the state.
It was a second attempt by the Center for Biological Diversity to add protections for beavers, which were trapped and hunted nearly to extinction in the 19th century.
Quinn Read is Oregon Policy Director at CBD; Suzanne Fouty is a hydrologist who has studied beavers' effects on streams. They join us with details of the effort and its disposition.