… A year and a half has passed since the historic moment when wildlife officials re-released a family of six beavers to their state habitat — the first time they had returned to their native range in nearly 75 years as part of a major project spearheaded by the CDFW and the Maidu Summit Consortium. Over 400 miles away in the South Fork Tule River deep in the Sierra Nevada, three more groups made their debut for the first time in more than a century when they were subsequently released last year. Now, wildlife officials say the translocated beaver populations are settling into their new homes — and they’re growing. … The animals increased the surface water area by 23%, contributing to the formation of wetlands that could slow or stop wildfire from burning across the land and provide more habitat for local mammals, reptiles and amphibians.