U of I researching artificial beaver dams as stream restoration tool
By John O'Connell; University of Idaho A beaver dam analog at Rinker Rock Creek Ranch. University of Idaho. University of Idaho researchers are testing artificial beaver dams as a tool to restore degraded stream systems, thereby improving riparian habitat and bolstering the late-season water supply. Known as beaver dam analogs, these structures comprise the same materials beavers use in nature, including willow boughs, sediment and stone. They cause water to pool and spill beyond the banks. The spillage supports marshland vegetation before seeping into the groundwater and re-emerging later in the season downstream. Beaver dam analogs provide an option to restore habitat where resources are insufficient to support beavers or where beavers would pose a nuisance. A team of researchers with U of I’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences…