The life of a beaver is a life of exposure to the elements. I know beavers have fur coats they can waterproof and stay toasty but what about their feet? This is a lovely video by Jos Bakker but honest it makes me cold just to see that slushy water.
If you listen closely you can hear the little guy vocalize. We aren’t sure the other beaver is big enough to be a parent, maybe an older sibling?
There a nice article from the Bureau of Land Management this morning, observing that beavers make wetlands and not having beavers make drylands.
Spruce Creek rekindles its connection with wetlands in Summit County
In September 2022, Spruce Creek, a small perennial stream in Summit County managed within the Kremmling Field Office was reconnected to its floodplain and began to rehydrate over 22 acres of wetland habitat. Spruce Creek and nearby wetlands provide many benefits to the ecosystem, such as prime locations for moose, elk, beavers and habitat for genetically pure Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. Not only do wetlands provide habitat, but they naturally improve water quality, provide drought resiliency and well… they’re just beautiful!
In 2014, a case of tularemia, also known as “rabbit fever”, wiped out the beavers in this area and the unmaintained dams began to fail. Since beaver dams enhance wetlands and elevate the water table, when they began to deteriorate, the wetlands also began to deteriorate. By 2019, there were only a few small pools of water left in the wetlands and most of the area was disconnected from Spruce Creek.
Do I believe that Tularemia wiped out that beavers and not trappers? Well maybe I do. I guess its possible. Sure okay, I’ll play along. Saying that “Wetlands make prime habitat for beavers” is like saying banks are great places to find money. Or spider webs are great places for spiders to live. They’re there BECAUSE of the beavers. Beavers build and maintain them in the same way a spider builds and maintains its web. Only all kinds of other animals get to use it. Not just spiders.
The BLM began to work with our partners in 2020 to restore the wetlands. The BLM and Blue Valley Ranch replaced a culvert with a bottomless arch culvert, improving stream connectivity below the wetland complex. The ranch also moved their irrigation diversion downstream, improving flows in occupied habitat for the Cutthroat Trout. Beaver Dam Analogs, manmade structures to mimic natural beaver dams and attract beavers, were proposed to improve pool habitat. To maximize the benefits of the dams, the BLM worked with private landowners to build structures on both BLM and private lands. With help from Partners for Fish and Wildlife, EcoMetrics, Colorado Open Lands, Friends of the Lower Blue River, Upper Colorado River Watershed Group, and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps interns, we were able to construct 75 dam structures over a two-week period.
This restoration work has allowed Spruce Creek to reconnect with wetlands and the future looks promising for this ecosystem! Not only are we proud to support the environment on your public lands, but we are grateful to have wonderful local partners who understand the importance of our mission and providing the best public land experience possible.
I’m sure that sending the day in the creek is a lot more fun than what they usually do. But I bet beavers would do it better. And cheaper. And stick around to make repairs night after night.
