The only time I’m really impressed by a BDA article is when the author makes it clear that the idea is that building these tiny dams with volunteer labor is only going to work if it convinces furry little flat-tailed labor to take over the job.
Give it up for Wyoming and the Cowboy Daily.
With Beaver Population Dropping In Wyoming, Artificial Dams Rise In The Bighorns
It is thought there are fewer than half the beavers in the Bighorn National Forest now compared to about 15 years ago, and to make up for their work, wildlife officials have built more than 150 artificial dams. It’s not clear why the beaver population is declining.
It is thought there could be fewer than half the beavers in the Bighorn National Forest now compared to about 15 years ago, and to make up for their work, wildlife officials have built more than 150 artificial dams, or “beaver dam analogs.”
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Forest Service have also worked together to reintroduce beavers to the area.
It’s not quite clear why the beaver population has been declining.
The recent decline in the beaver population is troubling, Cundy said.
“The beaver population in the Bighorns has experienced a decline over the past several years,” he said. “There is not a numerical population objective for beavers in the area, but Game and Fish is concerned about the decline and is working with the Bighorn National Forest and other partners to identify causes of the decline, conduct habitat improvement projects and increase the population where possible.”
Officials haven’t pinpointed a cause for the decline, but they have some ideas.
One might be the encroachment of conifers (such as pine trees) into riparian areas – the vegetation-rich habitats along creeks and streams.
“Increased conifers in an area can compete for sunlight, water and nutrients with more desirable riparian vegetation such as willows and aspens,” Cundy said.
Other factors might include long-term drought and grazing and browsing by livestock and wildlife affecting willow and aspen growth, he said.
Sure, It;s the trees and the drought. That’s what’s killing off your beaver population.
If there’s one thing I have no patience for its places that allow beavers to be killed and then try and move other beavers that might have been killed onto the landscape to try and make them do their job. Stop with the musical beavers already.
Deal with the ones you have and allow them to make the changes that can keep your landscape habitable.
