Sydney initiated and built relationships with community organizations and researchers to further community conversation about what beaver coexistence means to the Ann Arbor community while securing a partnership with Utah State University to run their Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT) locally. She developed social media content, advocating for the importance of beaver coexistence. Previously, Sydney worked as a project manager, leading teams through challenges within the technology risk industry and is now focused on translating her skills to promote wildlife conservation and ethical stewardship of natural resources.

TSN Conference 2026

January 22nd, 2026 (Thursday) // 3:05 pm – 4:05 pm // Room 106 // Beaver-Human Coexistence: Dam Worth It! // Beaver are ecosystem engineers that alter the physical structure of riparian ecosystems and create new wetland habitats. Humans and other species benefit from the many ecosystem services beaver and their wetlands provide, including increases in biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration, and fire and drought resistance. Historically extirpated from Lower Michigan, beaver are now returning and bringing their many ecological benefits with them. However, beaver alteration of the landscape can cause conflict with human infrastructure and land use. Our project seeks to address these conflicts by providing science-based coexistence strategies. We utilized the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool to predict where beavers are likely to colonize, performed a policy analysis to assess current beaver regulations, and engaged with land managers and property owners to understand current challenges and provide recommendations for coexistence strategies.