Free Republic

" . .In 1948, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game conducted a unique wildlife relocation project known as Operation Beaver Drop (also called "Operation High-Dive"). The goal was to humanely relocate 76 beavers from overpopulated areas near McCall and Payette Lake in northern Idaho to the remote Chamberlain Basin in central Idaho, where their dam-building could benefit the ecosystem. Traditional relocation methods—using trucks and mules—were stressful for the animals and resulted in high mortality. To solve this, Elmo W. Heter, a conservation officer, devised a plan to parachute beavers from airplanes using specially designed wooden boxes with parachutes made...