You would think California would catch on, Eventually. I mean drought after drought. You would think all those almond growers would eventually wake up and smell the coffee so to speak. But you’d be wrong, California is robust in its capacity to remain ignorant.
Maybe not Oregon.
A unique way to conserve water
Rancher Jay Wilde shares how he uses man-made beaver dams to increase water availability on his ranch
Rancher Jay Wilde recently shared how he has used beaver dam analogues, human-made beaver dams, to conserve water on his ranch.
As drought conditions persist locally, some members of the agriculture community were recently provided some unique water conservation tips.
Jay Wilde, a rancher in Preston, Idaho, presented “BDAs, Beavers and Bonanza on an Idaho Ranch” earlier this month at the Crook County High School auditorium. The event centered on his story of stream restoration using beaver dam analogues (BDAs) on his ranch. The event was provided by Crooked River Watershed Council and BeaverWorks Oregon.
Jay Wilde is the secret sauce on the beaver acceptability burger. If we had two of him in every state I could retire. I’m so impressed with how he talks to folks about the things they never believe me when I say them,
“This is a process that took Mr. Wilde about 15 years to finish and really implement,” Mercer said. “He had a vision of what it should be. He really felt like his land was broken, and it was his commitment and inspiration to really start healing the land.”
The Crooked River Watershed Council supports the land restoration method, highlighting several ways it could help the local watershed.
“The council believes bringing beavers back to their former and appropriate habitats increases the overall amount of water retained in the watershed, raises groundwater levels in areas associated with beaver ponds, and makes for a more resilient landscape,” said Chris Gannon, council coordinator for the Crook River Watershed Council. “Using tools such as BDAs to encourage beavers to set up a permanent presence may be necessary to create suitable conditions and bridge the time gap until they become established.”
I believe that too Jay! Let’s hope that a few people will follow your lead and convince their neighbors to do the same.
I have to end today with a cautionary tale about what happens when you have a beaver mural painted by your front door. Yesterday comcast had to come back a second time to activate the phone line they said they activated the day before. This much improved tech announced his presence using the beaver knocker which is always a good sign. And then asked about the beaver mural. And also expressed interest in the ones he had seen in town and mentioned Tim Hon and the illuminaries.
