Stumpy's Close Call May 2014 | Page 17

humans wanted us for hats and blankets. That's why they took our friends away. “Soon there were little villages— communities of humans—that developed near our streams and near our rivers. They soon took some of our water away so that they could use it for drinking and cleaning, which made our streams much smaller. This made it harder and harder to survive, and without as much water there weren't as many plants to eat. Without as many plants, many beavers would go hungry and have to leave the area. It was a sad and hard time for everyone. “What was worst of all was the impact this all had on the ecosystem. When there were big rains the streams would overflow, but without our dams and our engineers the streams would flood the area and wipe out entire patches of trees! The floods would ruin the ecosystem for a long, long time." 17