E16: Beaver Dams are Dam Good Business, with Garrett Costello (Symbiotic Restoration)

Building off of Episode 13, Bringing Chaos Back to a Meadow, on this episode I talk with Garrett Costello, founder and owner of Symbiotic Restoration, a growing outfit helping to restore degraded streams and meadows across California specializing in low-tech, process-based restoration (which includes Leek Springs Meadow restoration project). In talking with Garret I wanted to go deeper into the actual business of recreating the work of beavers, starting from assessing the condition of a meadow to installing beaver dam analogs, partnerships, business logistics, and everything in between. The fact is that over the last couple centuries humans have worked diligently, to the tune of millions of dollars, to undue and prevent the work of beavers. And yet now, ironically, there is incredible momentum and funding to reestablish that work. Symbiotic Restoration is one of just a few contractors on the leading front of this quickly growing type of restoration work, so it was so interesting to get the insider scoop. Follow the great work they do on their Instagram.