Utah State University researchers bring in a secret weapon to mitigate drought impacts

LOGAN — Researchers at Utah State University are bringing in a secret weapon to combat Utah's low water levels and drought.

"What beaver dams do is they fundamentally alter the delivery of water, sediment and nutrients," said Joe Wheaton, a professor of riverscapes at Utah State University. "The real storage, however, is not in the ponds, but in the saturation of the water table throughout the valley. That way, it will slowly release throughout the hot summer."

The solution to Utah's water issue is not the only benefit of this program, though.

Nate Norman, the director of the Beaver Ecology and Relocation group at USU, said they receive frequent calls from landowners about beavers causing a nuisance.

So, where it sees a need to relocate beavers from these residential areas, it also sees an opportunity to bring them to areas where their particular expertise is needed.

Beavers building small dams help slow water flow through streams and rivers. That keeps water available year-round, which is something — especially with record low snowpack and rainfall last winter — Utah is in great need of.

The scientists say it's not only a benefit for Utahns, but also for the native Utah wildlife facing the devastating effects of climate change.

"They help out wildlife through creating more water and pushing it out into those riparian areas," Norman said. "There's more food for pretty much every kind of wildlife."

On top of that, they create habitats for fish and help surrounding vegetation.

As far as Norman is concerned, there is no downside to this relocation effort.

He and his team have moved approximately 100 beavers each year for the last seven years, using live trap cages and prioritizing families sticking together — while also quarantining each beaver at a facility before releasing them where they can be of help in the wild ecosystems in need of dams.

"There's pretty much nothing in the ecosystem that isn't benefited by the beavers," said Norman.

The program at Utah State not only relocates beavers but builds beaver dam analogs, or BDAs, which are intended to promote beaver activity in an area, allowing certain ecosystems that may be low on water to be revived by the animals.

Related topics