B.C. team building 100 beaver 'starter homes' in the name of wetland preservation
CTV
More than 70 manmade beaver dams have been installed in Interior waterways since the B.C. Wildlife Federation project launched last year with the goal of building 100 dams by the end of 2025.
In British Columbia's real estate market, many people dream of a turnkey starter home in a prime location.
Environmental researchers are hoping the same real estate principles will encourage beavers to move into prebuilt homes in some areas of the province and help improve wetlands.
More than 70 manmade beaver dams have been installed in Interior waterways since the B.C. Wildlife Federation project launched last year with the goal of building 100 dams by the end of 2025.
Researchers want to test whether beavers will move into the dams over the next several years, lifting the water in the streams to re-wet adjacent lands while encouraging growth of plants like willow and aspen for them to eat.
Dam-building teams of up to 10 people layered locally-sourced mud and branches as well as untreated wood posts to mimic beaver dams on small streams as far east as the East Kootenays, and west to near Lillooet.
Neil Fletcher, the federation's director of conservation stewardship, said the idea is to build "starter kits" of sorts, hoping that beavers will recognize the benefits of building on what has been left for them.
"What we're doing is we're basically putting in some furniture for them to get started. It's a bit more turnkey when it comes time for them to either find their way there just naturally, or to be moved there, which is something else we're looking into too," he said.
