I sure hope you’re sitting down for this…
UW Study Finds That Beavers Help Keep Riparian Systems Healthy
In some circles, beavers have long been considered pests that damage trees, clog up culverts, and build dams that inhibit or alter the natural flow of waterways. But, to two University of Wyoming researchers, the crafty critters are viewed as natural allies that actually can help keep riparian systems healthy in the short and long term.
Results of a recent study of the Pole Mountain Recreation Area in the Medicine Bow National Forest reveal that beavers can be helpful managers of ecological and hydrological systems.
“The goal of this project was to better understand how beavers impact riparian systems and gain an understanding for how managers might be able to use beavers to enact desired habitat/hydrology management strategies,” says Matthew Hayes, a spatial analyst with the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UW.
NO KIDDING! Next thing you know they’ll be telling us that the sun is hot, water is wet, and children are smaller than adults! I can’t understand why everyone needs to prove facts for themselves. Isn’t science based on the idea that the results can be applied to other settings? Yes, beavers are good for fish and birds in Montana and Washington and Alaska, but that might not be true in Pennsylvania so we better do another study. ARGH! Never mind, at least they got the right answers.
The study determined that, when beaver numbers increase in a habitat and trapping of the animal stops, willow counts improve while aspen and conifer numbers decrease. Beavers forage on aspen and use it to build dams.
As a result of the beavers’ action, trout, amphibian, songbird and moose habitat is increased, and foraging for winter ungulate (hooved animals such as deer, elk and moose) improves. This is because, when beavers build dams, the local water table rises.
More water becomes available and accessible to plants which, in turn, increases the width of the riparian system and provides more food for animals and aquatic life. The increased water table can be crucial to these species, especially if rainfall levels are limited in arid systems like Wyoming.
Beaver ponds store water from snowmelt and rainfall runoff events, and slowly release water over time as damming slows water movement. Beavers provide optimal brook trout habitat in southeastern Wyoming and other places in the West, and can be viewed positively by sportsmen, Miller says.
Ya’ don’t say.
Last week Howie Kurtz at Fur Bearer Defender Radio asked for an interview about beavers and drought. I gamely accepted, and it’s posted this morning as the second half of this broadcast. Unfortunately he VERY MADDENINGLY refers to us twice as GIVE a dam. HRMPH! (Worth Worth Worth!) But it’s not a bad interview so you might enjoy it. Click to go to the FBD page where you can listen.
This mornings donation to the silent auction comes to us from Linda at Meadow Valley Lavender. She’s nearby in Byron CA and knows about our beavers first hand. The 2 sachets are each made from 100% cotton fabrics. Each bag is approx. 4″ by 4″ before being filled with dried lavender. The listing is for 2 sachets….one with maple leafs and one with a beaver motif. Thanks Linda!
