[JoeAltmaier]

Depends on your point of view. North America used to be a festering swamp of mosquito-ridden beaver ponds. Built over millions of years. That WAS the ecology. The landscape we see today is unnatural and temporary.

We reformed this continent to suit ourselves. Most attempts to protect some bit of land and trees in the name of preservation is ... shortsighted at the least.

[jarcane]

Eh, I think the more important take from it is that any species is prone to developing an unbalanced advantage that ultimately does them in.

We humans just happen to be the ones on top right now doing the unbalanced expansion thing.

[JoeAltmaier]

I don't think the beaver did itself in? It was us (or the Iroquois Confederacy anyway) that hunted them to near extinction. They got along for 10 million years just fine the way they were.