The purpose of this technical paper is to summarize current regulations, policies, and practices relevant to beaver management in and near King County, Washington. The primary intended audience is King County technical staff. This paper will likely also be useful to other local government agencies, non-profits, Tribes, and individual landowners.

This policies and practices review is part of a series of technical papers being produced by the Science and Technical Support Section of King County Water and Land Resources Division. It provides an overview of state laws related to beavers and beaver dams, and it includes an interpretation of the laws that is intended to be more easily understandable than the legal language in which it is written. This paper varies somewhat from the other technical papers, in that it is not part of the scientific basis for the beaver work; rather, it describes the current legal and policy context we are working in. This paper is intended to be a useful guide for anyone dealing with beaver issues in King County. It is not intended to represent legal advice or the final interpretation of the law. Readers should consult the actual rules themselves and appropriate jurisdictional authorities when determining a course of action.