Smokejumpers are not the only things that fall out of the sky. Almost 70 years ago there was an organized program to trap beavers in areas where they had become pests and relocate them into Idaho’s Chamberlain Basin in what is now the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area. But there were no roads into the very remote area so in 1948 Elmo Heter of the Idaho Fish and Game developed a system to place beavers in wooden boxes and drop them by parachute. The boxes opened upon landing, releasing the critters.
For decades there had been a rumor that the F&G had commissioned a film to be made about the parachuting beavers. Boise State Public Radio has the story:
…But the film was missing. Until now.
One of Sharon Clark’s jobs at Fish and Game is [serving as the] Department Historian. She pursued the rumors, along with help from the Idaho Historical Society. After years of searching, the film “Fur for the Future” was found, mislabeled and in the wrong box.Clark says the film was in a fragile state and the Society got some experts to convert it to a digital format. Fish and Game and the Historical Society are pleased to show it off today. (The parachuting beavers show up around seven minutes into the video.)
Below is the film:
Not what I expected with a title like ” Parachuting Beavers” lol. That was an awesome movie,back when getting the job done was the priority. Imagine PETA and other groups today letting this happen.