beaver instinct final

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BEAVER INSTINCTNature’s Contribution to the Restoration of the

Santa Fe River Ecosystem

Jennifer GillAllison GrocelaChris HustonCarlos Sarria

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Special Thanks to:

Mark EricsonSanta Fe Indian School

Rich SchraderRiver Source

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Community Action

1996 – Tree Planting Campaign

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Reintroduced

RemovedCottonwoods Willows

Russian Olives

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Jenny’s Map

Beaver Habitat

Flood Zone

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Jenny’s Map

Land Affected:•Santa Fe County Open Space•Bureau of Land Management•Private Land - Ed Sceery

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Mission

The goal of this project is to assess the impacts of beavers on the ecosystem of the Santa Fe

River and on the surrounding population.

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Beavers

Range

Life Span

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Food

Habitat

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Impacts of Beavers

Equalize water flow

Reduce downstream flooding

Prevent erosion Recharge aquifers Filter sediment

Increase biodiversity Fish, Birds, Ponds

Dams Habitat

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Objectives

To assess the impacts of beaver habitats on the Santa Fe River ecosystem

To assess the impacts of beaver habitats on human activities

To develop an education platform for the continued monitoring of the Santa Fe River ecosystem

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Objectives




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Collect potentially relevant data

Aquifer level Stream flow Phosphates Nitrates Temperature pH Total Dissolved Solids Turbidity

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Data Collection Participants

Santa Fe Girls School – since 2005 Before and After Beavers Arrived

Santa Fe Indian School – since 2008

WPI project Team – March to April 2011 Upstream and Downstream of Dams

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Aquifer Level Data1/

1/20

05

7/1/

2005

1/1/

2006

7/1/

2006

1/1/

2007

7/1/

2007

1/1/

2008

7/1/

2008

1/1/

2009

7/1/

2009

1/1/

2010

7/1/

2010

1/1/

2011

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

Ave

rage c

m b

elo

w leve

l lin

e

Period of Beaver Activity

Deterioration of Dams

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Stream Flow

1/1/2008 5/1/2008 9/1/2008 1/1/2009 5/1/2009 9/1/2009 1/1/2010 5/1/2010 9/1/2010 1/1/2011 5/1/20110

5

10

15

20

25

30

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Cubic

Feet

per

Seco

nd

Beavers Left

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Total Dissolved Solids

7/1/2009 10/1/2009 1/1/2010 4/1/2010 7/1/2010 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 4/1/20110

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

ppm

Note: erratic

spikes after beavers left

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Stream Flow

3/23

/201

1

3/24

/201

1

3/25

/201

1

3/26

/201

1

3/27

/201

1

3/28

/201

1

3/29

/201

1

3/30

/201

1

3/31

/201

1

4/1/

2011

4/2/

2011

4/3/

2011

4/4/

2011

4/5/

2011

4/6/

2011

4/7/

2011

4/8/

2011

4/9/

2011

4/10

/201

1

4/11

/201

1

4/12

/201

1

4/13

/201

1

4/14

/201

10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

upstreamdownstream

Date

cfs

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Turbidity

3/31

/201

1

4/1/

2011

4/2/

2011

4/3/

2011

4/4/

2011

4/5/

2011

4/6/

2011

4/7/

2011

4/8/

2011

4/9/

2011

4/10

/201

1

4/11

/201

1

4/12

/201

1

4/13

/201

1

4/14

/201

10

2

4

6

8

10

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upstreamdownstream

Date

NTU

Turbidity higher downstream of the

dams

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Aquifer Level: Positive Impact of Beavers

1/1/

2005

7/1/

2005

1/1/

2006

7/1/

2006

1/1/

2007

7/1/

2007

1/1/

2008

7/1/

2008

1/1/

2009

7/1/

2009

1/1/

2010

7/1/

2010

1/1/

2011

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

Ave

rage c

m b

elo

w leve

l lin

e

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Objectives




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Santa Fe Airport

Built in 1942, adjacent to Santa Fe River

Jenny

this all might be redundant from earlier in the presentation but for now i thought it should be here, it is important we go over this in the presentation

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SAF Number of Flights Annually

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 20100

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,000

Number of Flight

s

Year

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SAF Number of Wildlife Strikes Annually

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 20100

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,000

Number of Flight

s

Year= 1 Bird Strike

= 1 Prairie Dog Strike= 1 Bird Ingestion

Nationwide Wildlife Hazard Assessment

2009: Mandatory assessment at all Part 139 airports

Result of Flight 1549

US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River January 15, 2009

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Hudson River Accident

Wildlife Hazard Assessment

Wildlife Management Plan

Beavers Stay

Beavers Go

SAF Wildlife Hazard Assessment

Started last quarter of 2010

Full year assessment Finishes Fall 2011 Will assess:

Number, species, risk Hazardous land use:

cattle farms, crops, etc Hazardous facilities:

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Santa Fe Girls School Project Preserve Site

Beaver Flood Zone

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Management Plan Outcomes

Hudson River Accident

Wildlife Hazard Assessment

Wildlife Management Plan

Beavers Stay

Beavers Go

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Benefits of beaversEducational valueBeaver management techniques

Video

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Beaver Habitat Requirements

Vegetation: Cottonwoods Willows

Water Natural

Predators Coyotes, bears, dogs

TerrainDry, large area of landNo neighbors within ½ mile

Assessing Possible Beaver Site in Tesuque Pueblo

Water:Despite its weak flow, there is consistent flow

Food:Numerous willows and cottonwoods

More water needed

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Objectives



To develop an education platform for the continued monitoring of the effects of beaver colonies on the Santa Fe River ecosystem

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Santa Fe River Teachers’ Coalition

Now

Outdoor education programs in schools all over Santa Fe

Lack of communication between educators

No support for starting outdoor education programs at other

schools

Goal

Organize Data

Forum for sharing resources and information

Provide computational tools for teachers and students

Jenny

connect to website:show how it works esp. Data collection forms and databases

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Santa Fe Girls’ School

Santa Fe Prep

Desert Academ

y

SF School for the

Arts and Science

s

Santa Fe Indian School

Foundation for other schools to begin consistent monitoring along the Santa Fe River

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Data sharing through information platform created by

Water Knowledge Team

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Project Outcomes

Environmental Impact

Impact on Human Activities

Education Platform

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THANK YOU

Nature’s Contribution to the Restoration of the Santa Fe River

Ecosystem

Beaver Instinct

Jennifer GillAllison

Grocela

Chris HustonCarlos Sarria

Contact us at: [email protected] out our website:

https://sites.google.com/site/sf11beavers/

beaver instinct final

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