It’s nice to see that beavers have gotten so popular even British Columbia is trying out the BRAT tool.
BCIT student applied research project advances beaver habitat restoration
Beavers are industrious engineers in the animal kingdom and play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Beaver dams create wetlands, which serve as crucial habitats for a diverse range of species and help to regulate water flow and mitigate the effects of floods and droughts. Understanding where to focus beaver-based restoration for habitat and climate change mitigation is critical, and that’s precisely what a recent project undertaken by Alessandro Freeman, BCIT student in the Masters of Ecological Restoration program, aimed to do.
Under the supervision of BCIT School of Construction and the Environment researcher Doug Ransome and in collaboration with Ducks Unlimited Canada, Alessandro Freeman set out to assess the effectiveness of a Graphical Information System (GIS) habitat model in identifying suitable locations for beaver-dam construction. The project, funded by the Mitacs Accelerate program and the Al Martin Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) fellowship, focused on using the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT) to pinpoint watercourses with high beaver habitat potential in the Cariboo Region of British Columbia.
Gee I wonder where beaver dams could be used to improve habitat for ducks. Could it be EVERYWHERE?
Using beavers to create and maintain wetlands, restore water flows, and restoring some of the most ecologically diverse habitats is an excellent example of nature-based processes. Mimicking how beavers build extensive wetlands saves money, restores critical ecological function to flood plains, creates important habitat for fish, amphibians, waterfowl, and for large species like moose. It is a perfect marriage between natural processes and ecological restoration.
BRAT summer
The BRAT, originally developed by Utah State University, evaluates various factors such as riverbank and wetland area vegetation, stream physical characteristics, and stream hydrology to estimate a stream’s dam capacity. Alessandro’s work involved testing the accuracy of this tool by comparing its outputs with field measurements taken at the streams in the Cariboo region. Additionally, he employed climate data with the BRAT’s hydrological outputs to model changes in stream flow, crucial for understanding the long-term viability of beaver habitats in the face of climate change.
It’s funny how once things get really really bad they are willing to try an unpopular solution. Like a huge company in dire trouble hiring a woman CEO.
Or bring on beavers to face climate change.
The results of Alessandro’s research sheds light on the BRAT’s capabilities and limitations for use in BC. “Overall, the BRAT was able to estimate the availability of preferred vegetation for beaver and accurately separated dam capacity based on vegetation,” says Alessandro. “It also identified streams with physical restrictions such as high gradient. However, the BRAT often overestimated water availability, with several streams being dry at time of assessment. Several streams with high dam capacity also scored poorly in overall habitat quality compared to other streams with low dam capacity.” These findings suggest that dam capacity alone is insufficient in finding sites with the highest chance of successful beaver occupation.
“Alessandro’s research is very timely,” says Doug Ransome. “Using and refining the BRAT tool, among others, are at the forefront of initiating field research trials in western Canada. Working with Ducks Unlimited and restoration practitioners and leaders, including Indigenous communities, BC Wildlife Federation, government, and NGOs, provides an excellent opportunity to study how well mimicking beavers will enhance our restoration goals in riparian and wetland environments.”
I’m starting to think that GIS is kind of like bluetooth. Even a lawn chair advertised having bluetooth will sell better to certain buyers. We don’t live building fake beaver dams in the creek or letting actual beavers do it, but tell us it can be paired with GIS and we’re all in!
I hope beavers follow in your footsteps. Alessandro.
