SALEM — A proposal to relocate beavers from Western Oregon to the state’s east side has come under fire for being well-meaning but unrealistic.

Under Senate Bill 354, state fish and wildlife officials would create a relocation program to replenish beaver populations in Central and Eastern Oregon, where they were depleted by historic trapping.

“We have an abundance of beavers, but on the east side they do not,” said Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford.

Beavers can dramatically enhance the health of riparian areas, creating habitat for native species while storing water, but parts of the state remain deprived of their industrious activities, he said during a recent legislative hearing.

Upon learning of the dilemma, which has resulted in the construction of artificial beaver dams in some areas, Brock Smith said he was spurred to share his region’s good fortune.

“I’ve got plenty of beavers we can use,” he said. “Anything we can do to bring back that natural landscape will be a benefit to the state,” he said.

However, Brock Smith’s recent pitch to the Senate Natural Resources Committee encountered a skeptical response from its vice chair, Todd Nash, R-Enterprise, who noted that past beaver relocations haven’t enjoyed much success in his area.

“We can’t seem to get them to stay, and it seems to do with predation,” Nash said.

Beavers released in remote areas have tended to quickly move closer to human civilization, where they’re less likely to fall prey to cougars, he said.

“They don’t like to be challenged by the predators,” Nash said. “I’m not sure it would work under current conditions.”

Similar doubts were expressed by Jefferson Jacobs, an ecologist with the Oregon Natural Desert Association nonprofit, who said he “appreciates the thought and intention of this bill” but didn’t think it’d be effective.

The species is inherently disposed toward dispersal, so there’s usually a good reason why the creatures haven’t inhabited an area, Jacobs said. “If there aren’t beavers on a creek, chances are the habitat or other conditions are too bad to allow beavers to live there.”

Releasing beavers into such inhospitable circumstances is inhumane, as is adding more of them to an already occupied watershed, which can then become overcrowded, Jacobs said.

“They need the basic habitat components to work with,” he said. “You can’t just dump a beaver into any degraded creek and expect a miracle to occur.”

The Oregon Wildlife Coalition, which represents several animal and environmental groups, said it’s “unsure what problem the bill is trying to solve,” since state wildlife officials already have guidelines for such efforts and “nothing in the current law prohibits relocation of beavers.”

The proposal did get some support in written testimony, including from Albert LePage, a member of the Society for Conservation Biology.

While beaver relocation efforts have had “mixed results” in the past, the bill can “implement best practices” based on what’s been learned from those attempts, he said. “It’s important to note that beaver relocation, when done properly, can be an effective tool for habitat restoration.”