The beaver has had an important role in shaping Vermont's landscape, especially with regard to wetlands. Prior to European settlement, almost every water body in Vermont had beavers, but by middle of the 19th Century, all of the beaver in the state had been trapped out. Beavers build dams to provide themselves with a stable body of water that is also deep enough so that it will not freeze to the bottom in winter.
Dams also create impoundments with large surface areas for foraging and transport of food.
The cutting of trees and the creation of impoundments have increased forest landscape diversity by altering drainage and vegetation patterns over time, especially in wetland creation. Some have compared beaver disturbance with fire as an important factor in maintaining this diversity. Beaver ponds provide important waterfowl nesting habitat, as well as habitat for many wetland-dependent plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and fish. These ponds and wetlands provide aquatic feeding areas for moose. Without beavers and their impoundments, many of these wetland-dependent animals and plants would be less numerous or absent from the local landscape.