partnering with beaver in restoration design...
TRANSCRIPT
Joe Wheaton
NRCS Workshop
C. BEAVER CONSERVATION, RESTORATION & REGULATIONS
OUTLINE
I. The Restoration Predicament
II. Nuisance Beaver?
III. Exploiting the Undiscriminating Rodent
IV. Utah Beaver Management Plan
V. Changing Attitudes?
© Cadel Wheaton
IN UTAH… EVEN THOUGH A DRY STATE
• We have over 85,000 miles of rivers and streams
– 81% (65,000 miles) are non-perennial and/or ditches
– 16,000 miles are perennial
– 1980 estimate that 4,000 miles had suitable beaver habitat
• Historically…
– Beaver were pervasive throughout this network
– Much greater proportion perennial
EVEN FOR NON-RIPARIAN SPECIES…
• Riparian areas associated with perennial streams are very important & intersect huge portions of their habitat
• Beaver maintain and expand these riparian areas!
• Many of these streams are degraded
WESTERN MOUNTAINS… ECOREGION
Even in the West (best of conditions)
• 22% are Fair
• 14% are poor
USEPA, 2006. Wadeable Streams Assessment, Office of Research & Development, Office of Water, United States Environmental Protection agency, Washington D.C., pp. 113.
WHEN YOU THINK OF STREAM RESTORATION
COST…
Bair, B, 2004. Stream Restoration Cost Estimates. In: S. T. Allen, C. Thomson and R. Carlson (Editors), Proceedings of the Salmon Habitat Restoration Cost Workshop. NOAA, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Gladstone, OR, pp. 104-113.
• Nationwide (lower 48), Over 130,900 mi are Poor condition– (i.e. @ $130K/ mile… over $17 Billion)
CAN WE CONTINUE TO AFFORD THIS?
• The over-cited Bernhardt et al. (2005) paper
– 38,000 projects
– At least $15 billion spent since 1990-2003
• Gross Under-Estimate
– 42,000 projects alone in PNW
OUTLINE
I. The Restoration Predicament
II. Nuisance Beaver?
III. Exploiting the Undiscriminating Rodent
IV. Utah Beaver Management Plan
V. Changing Attitudes?
© Cadel Wheaton
IN SOME PLACES… THEY ARE A PAIN!
• In residential areas they can cause flooding…
• They often block culverts, which can flood roads
• They can chop down our ornamental landscape trees
• They can make a mess of irrigation diversions
DYNAMITE DOESN’T WORK
• A common response to nuisance beaver dam building is to blow the dam up
• The dynamite is effective at breaching dam….
• But, the beaver are persistent, they can rebuild a dam in a night or two
LETHAL TRAPPING
• Lethal trapping is very common (and legal)
• Sometimes effective at temporarily alleviating problems IF all beaver are trapped out
• However, very hard to actually trap ALL beaver
LIVING WITH BEAVER STRATEGIES…
• Is problem real or perceived?
• If real:
– ‘Beaver Deceivers’
– ‘Pond Levelers’
– ‘Caging’ trees
– All require maintenance
• If those don’t work, live trap and relocation
POND-LEVELER
Huntington Creek below Electric Lake Dam, UT (from J. Christensen)
ROUND WILLOW BOTTOM RESERVOIR OUTLET
CULVERT PROTECTION – BEAVER DECEIVERS
• Prevent beaver from blocking culverts with debris
• Culvert maintenance, is simple (debris removal)
• Built with heavy gauge welded wire mesh panels, hog rings, bailing wire and t-post.
• Works well to protect the outlet of small lakes/reservoirs
Indian Creek diversion, Dugout RanchSan Juan County, UT. (From J. Christensen)
CAGING TREES TO PREVENT HARVEST
Avoid tight chicken wire
• Heavy (12.5 Ga) welded wire fence, 4-5’ or higher in heavy snow areas
• Wrapped with 10-12”of space to allow trees to grow unimpeded
• Secured with t-post, rebar if needed.
(From J. Christensen)
WHEN ‘LIVING WITH BEAVER’ FAILS…
Panguitch Irrigation District, UT. (From J. Christensen)
• Live-trapping of whole colonies (if possible) and relocation
METHOW BEAVER PROJECT
• One of more mature, better documented relocation efforts
OUTLINE
I. The Restoration Predicament
II. Nuisance Beaver?
III. Exploiting the Undiscriminating Rodent
IV. Utah Beaver Management Plan
V. Changing Attitudes?
© Cadel Wheaton
UNDISCRIMINATING RODENT?
Beaver Habitat Requirements
• Water, Trees
BEAVER CONSERVATION EFFORTS NOT NEW
• 1940’s: Idaho Department of Fish & Game
• 1936 – Grey Owl
CONSERVATION & RESTORATION SUMMARY
• Nuisance Beaver
– Living with Beaver – Perception problems
– Living with Beaver – Pond Levelers / Pond
– Live-Trap & Relocation
• Beaver Reintroductions
• Protecting Important Existing Beaver Habitats
• Promoting Beaver Expansion
– Increasing forage & building material (augmentation)
– Reduce grazing pressure
– Limiting trapping
– Structural Intervention
OUTLINE
I. The Restoration Predicament
II. Nuisance Beaver?
III. Exploiting the Undiscriminating Rodent
IV. Utah Beaver Management Plan
V. Changing Attitudes?
© Cadel Wheaton
UDWR – BEAVER MANAGEMENT PLAN
• Did you know:
– UDWR’s Beaver Management Plan is now recognized around the country as an example of best practice
BEAVER ADVISORY COMMITTEE
• Utah Trappers Association
• U.S. Forest Service
• Natural Resource Conservation Service
• Utah Cattlemen’s Association
• Utah Farm Bureau
• Grand Canyon Trust
• Bureau of Land Management
• USDA, Wildlife Services
• 5 Division of Wildlife Resources Representatives
PLAN GOAL & PURPOSE
GOAL:
• “Maintain healthy, functional beaver populations in ecological balance with available habitat, human needs, and associated species.”
PURPOSE
• “The purpose of the Utah Beaver Management Plan is to provide direction for management of American beaver (Castor canadensis) in Utah and where appropriate expand the current distribution to historic range.”
• Develop a statewide baseline beaver distribution map to document current status within two years by working with UDWR regions, universities, governmental and NGOs
• Identify zones on the map for management strategies, i.e. existing populations ,unoccupied historical range ,and areas where the potential for conflict is high.
• Actively pursue funding and partnerships to conduct beaver population and habitat suitability surveys to and, when possible, density estimates.
POPULATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
• Work to improve riparian habitats, associated streams and wetlands in a minimum of 10 tributaries through translocating beaver into unoccupied suitable habitat on public and/or private land by 2020.
WATERSHED RESTORATION OBJECTIVE
OUTLINE
I. The Restoration Predicament
II. Nuisance Beaver?
III. Exploiting the Undiscriminating Rodent
IV. Utah Beaver Management Plan
V. Changing Attitudes?
© Cadel Wheaton
RANCHER PERCEPTION… CHANGING
PUBLIC PERCEPTION… CHANGING?
