This increases the danger from predators. When an area is cleared of food, the family migrates to a new home. In Alaska wolves, lynx, bears, and humans are important predators of beavers. As beavers cut down small trees and clear away brush, they create new habitats that are ideal food patches for other animals. Waterfowl use these areas as feeding and nesting grounds.
Ponds created by beavers often serve as fish habitat.
Occasionally beaver dams may block streams to migrating anadromous fish, like salmon, and at times road culverts may be blocked or other human developments flooded by this industrious animal. In the past, pelts were so important they were used as a trade medium in place of money. Between 1853 and 1877, the Hudson Bay Company sold almost three million beaver pelts to England. In Alaska today, trappers still harvest these furs. They are highly prized for cold weather coats and hats.