Nutria were originally introduced to the United States in the early 1900s for fur farms. They were also later introduced as a means of biological species control to reduce invasive aquatic plants. However, as the fur industry declined in the 1940s, nutria farmers released their stock into the wild or they escaped. Once free, the nutria thrived in their new environments but began causing problems for native species and ecosystems through overgrazing and burrowing. Their successful establishment and spread in Oregon and other regions was largely a result of their intentional introduction and subsequent abandonment by failing fur farms.