Oregon Beaver Bill Updates (HB 3143 and HB 3932)

House Bill 3143

House Bill 3143 in the Oregon Legislature is a bill aimed at creating a dedicated source of funds for living with beavers. This is a bipartisan effort that would allocate funds through the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund in block grants, which would be available to watershed councils and non-profits. These funds would then be available to assist private landowners in learning to live with beavers.

How Did This Bill Come About?

Similar bipartisan efforts through HB 3464 led to changes in the management of our state animal. Beavers are no longer classified as “predators” on private lands where they previously could be removed without a permit or justification. This prior classification confounded our ability to understand beaver populations as well as caused us to lose out on the many benefits of living with beavers. HB 3464 took effect in July of 2024, requiring landowners to explore coexistence strategies and allowing take only under special circumstances.

What is Coexistence Anyways?

Coexistence strategies are a range of proven activities that help private landowners to live with beavers. These can come in many forms, including simple consultations on the benefits of living with beavers that lead to no action. You may be surprised to learn that many folks misunderstand beaver behavior and do not fully appreciate the value added to their properties by allowing beavers to persist. Other strategies range from simple tree caging or sand painting to more elaborate culvert fencing and pond levelers, all with the focus of helping landowners to learn to live with beavers.

Example of a notch exclusion fence installed in a beaver dam. This structure controls the water level by preventing the beavers from rebuilding their dam in the area opened up to install the device.

Where Does House Bill 3143 Stand?

HB 3143 has been introduced to the Oregon House of Representatives, recommended to pass, and referred to the Ways and Means Committee. This means that if the Ways and Means Committee approves this bill for funding, it would have to pass the House of Representatives and the Senate before having the chance to be signed into law.

House Bill 3932

As introduced, this bill would restrict the lethal removal of beavers on streams that are deemed ‘impaired’ by the Department of Environmental Quality on public lands. Impairments include: high water temperature, sedimentation, low dissolved oxygen, and excess nutrients. Beavers and the habitats they create reduce or mitigate these degraded conditions, restoring water quality for the people and animals that call these places home.

Want to learn more about HB 3932?

Read more about HB3932 here or check out this two-pager by the Oregon Bird Alliance on HB3932, "Improving Oregon's Water Quality Using Beaver: Natural Ecosystems Solutions."

Where Does House Bill 3932 Stand?

HB 3932 passed the Oregon House of Representatives in April of 2025 and is currently with the Oregon Senate committee for Natural Resources and Wildfire. This means that this bill would have to be introduced and passed by the Oregon Senate before the opportunity to be signed into law.

Why Do Beavers Matter?

• Beavers create and maintain habitat for endangered species of fish and wildlife.

• Beaver habitats store carbon from the atmosphere in sediment.

• Wet meadows and floodplains created by beavers are resilient to climate change and extreme wildfire behavior.

• Water persistence and duration are maintained by these incredible watershed stewards even in drought conditions and a warming climate.

You can learn more about the amazing work beavers do through the Northeast Oregon Beaver Working Group. Check us out here: Beaver Coexistence in Northeast Oregon