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BDAs?! Beaver dams without beavers.. how and why you ask?

BDAs?! Beaver dams without beavers.. how and why you ask? Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) are man made beaver dams installed into a stream with the goal of enticing beavers to do natural restoration.. and it works!! Check out this video featuring Wheeler County's Bridge Creek. To learn more about BDAs from our friends and partners at Anabranch Solutions, visit their website at https://www.anabranchsolutions.com/beaver-dam-analogs.html or contact us!

 

Landowner comment: "We had them move in, cut our riparian cottenwoods, make a beautiful pond( we had irrigation water when butte creek was all but dry). They had a fun family i could watch from living room window. Built a great house…..they seem to be gone! Why??"

Wheeler SWCD response: "What a wonderful view to have from your living room! It is hard to provide a definite reason for their departure, but generally beavers will relocate due to lack of vegetation. Since beavers are herbivores; their favorite food is young sapling branches, especially the inner bark of aspen and willow trees. Plantings with cages could prevent beavers from cutting them down, but still allow for food supply and encourage them to return. Beavers are very protective of their family, so any fear of drastic fluctuations of water levels or nearby predators could cause them to relocate. Rootwads, ripples, or other restoration efforts to prevent fast moving water and increased habitat could assist them with a sense of safety, as well. There is a family who has constructed some structures upstream from your property, could maybe be the same family?!"