In 1948, wildlife officials in Idaho solved a beaver overpopulation problem using the most unexpected tool in conservation history: a parachute.
In 1948, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game faced a thorny problem: beavers in populated areas were destroying crops and flooding farmland, while remote wilderness areas lacked the beavers needed to maintain healthy ecosystems. The solution they arrived at was inspired, if deeply strange — they would simply airdrop the beavers from airplanes into the backcountry.
The operation required solving one obvious engineering challenge: how do you safely drop a beaver from altitude? Wildlife manager Elmo Heter designed custom wooden boxes fitted with parachutes. Each box would be packed with beavers, dropped from a low-flying aircraft, and — in theory — the animals would emerge unharmed after landing in remote forest terrain.
Early test drops revealed a secondary problem: beavers were escape artists who could gnaw through their boxes before reaching the ground. Heter solved this by redesigning the boxes to release open on impact, letting the beavers walk away from the landing site uninjured. The system, once refined, worked remarkably well.
The most famous participant was a beaver named Geronimo, who was used extensively for test drops to refine the technique — reportedly because he tolerated the experience with unusual calm. Historical records show he was dropped multiple times in testing before finally being included in a relocation drop, where he was reunited with three female beavers.
In total, 76 beavers were successfully relocated to the Chamberlain Basin wilderness in Idaho using the parachute method. The transplanted animals thrived, establishing new colonies and building dams that helped restore watershed health across the remote mountain region. The operation was considered a complete success.
The story was unknown outside Idaho for decades until 2015, when the Idaho State Historical Society released archival footage of the actual drops. The video — showing crates of beavers floating serenely to earth — went viral worldwide, delighting the internet and ensuring that Idaho's most eccentric conservation program finally got the recognition it deserved.