Beaver Assisted Restoration
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      • Anabranch Solutions

Low-Tech Riparian Restoration
2019 FIELD WORKSHOP SERIES

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this custom workshop series was made possible by:

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View and download the 2019 flyer!
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Thanks to the generous support of the Natural Resource Conservation Service's Sage Grouse Initiative and Working Lands for Wildlife Initiative, a grant through Pheasants Forever to Utah State University's Restoration Consortium and Joe Wheaton's ET-AL lab are able to deliver a series of workshops to NRCS conservationists and their partners throughout the west. This series was envisioned by Jeremy Maestas (NRCS/SGI) and is possible thanks to partner matches by various local organizations in each state (see each state page) and matching funds from Utah State University. This grew out of the successful 2016 Enhancing Mesic Habitat Resilience in Sagebrush Ecosystems Workshop at Utah State University and the 2018 workshop series.
Read About the first SGI 'Cheap & Cheerful' Workshop
2016 SGI Workshop Pages
2018 SGI Workshop Pages
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Three workshops 

A series of workshops will be hosted in the summer of 2019 to connect local NRCS conservationists and partners in their states who are interested in how to use beaver, and beaver dam analogues as low-cost tools to restore riparian areas to benefit wildlife and working lands.
July 30 to August 1, 2019
Gunnison, Colorado
Colorado Workshop
August 6-8, 2019
Lewistown, Montana
Montana Workshop
August 13-15, 2019
Hailey, ID
Wyoming Workshop

Check back here later in Spring 2019 for links and more information.

Background

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Through SGI 2.0, NRCS has committed to work with landowners and partners to help protect and restore mesic habitats, such as riparian and wet meadow areas, to benefit sage-grouse. While a variety of mesic conservation strategies exist, relatively simple and low-cost alternatives are a potentially important part of toolbox for restoration at scales relevant to sage-grouse.

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NRCS Flyer on importance of mesic habitat to sage grouse and working lands.
Over the last decade, a renewed recognition of the role of the once widespread beaver has revealed insights about how this ecosystem engineer greatly impacts riparian function and accelerates recovery of degraded systems. Drawing upon lessons learned about how nature heals systems, Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) have emerged as a low-cost restoration tool designed to mimic beaver activity to restore hydrologic function and ecological processes in incised channels. BDAs are becoming an increasingly popular bioengineering technique employed by partners across the West and early results show promise for rapidly achieving a variety of riparian goals.
Water Is Life: SGI’s Mesic Habitat Conservation Strategy
BDAs in Wyoming Story

Purpose & Need

There is a need to convene key interdisciplinary staff to evaluate low-cost, low-risk
techniques that can be implemented across large scales to meet mesic habitat restoration goals. These workshops will discuss how to restore hydrologic processes that promote riparian resilience and mesic vegetation, identify opportunities for restoration, and examine how BDAs can be applied as a bioengineering technique to achieve SGI mesic habitat goals. Participants will gain knowledge and skills
needed to design and implement appropriate low-cost practices and foster technology transfer within their respective work areas.

Some webinars & presentations

Society of Range Management Talks on Restoring "Emerald Islands"
2017 NRCS Webinar on BDAs
2017 Association of State Wetland Managers - BDA Webinar
2014 NRCS Webinars on Living with Beaver

Audience

The audience is primarily NRCS staff, and key partners. NRCS SGI states will select key representatives involved in mesic restoration to participate. Anticipated NRCS participants include state/area/local specialists (biologists/engineers) and select field staff. States may also opt to invite key partners who are invested locally in helping get mesic conservation on the ground. The overall goal is to build a cadre of staff in each State to evaluate the technique and serve as local sources of expertise across the range. To keep the hands-on exercises effective, we will limit participants to roughly 40 per workshop.

Make it count

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Participation in the workshops is free. However, participants can receive 1.5 Continuing Education Units from Utah State University for $95. Note, that this course can count as elective credit towards the new Graduate Restoration Certificate.
Register for Credit

Workshops

Current Workshops
​Past Workshops

Organizers

Utah State University Restoration Consortium
​USU - Watershed Sciences Department
Joe Wheaton
Wheaton ETAL  Lab @ Fluvial Habitats Center
​Anabranch Solutions

Support

Contact
Beyond Workshops... Need help getting started?

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  • Home
    • Beaver News
  • About Workshops
    • Recommended Readings
    • Learning Outcomes
    • Inquiries
    • USU Course Policies
  • Your Workshop
    • Upcoming & Current Workshops & Courses >
      • Open Erollment >
        • 2019 - Beaver Translocation
        • 2019 - USU WATS 6860 >
          • Course Materials
        • 2019 -Construction Workshop
      • Bespoke/Private >
        • 2019 SGI LTPBR
    • Past Workshops & Courses >
      • Open Enrollment >
        • 2011 - ICRRR Workshop
        • 2012 - ICRRR Workshop
        • 2017 - USU WATS 6860 >
          • Course Materials
        • 2018 - USU WATS 6860 >
          • Course Materials
        • 2018 -Construction Workhsop
      • Bespoke >
        • 2012 - UWCC Workshop
        • 2013 - RRNW Short Course
        • 2013 - NRCS Workshop
        • 2014 - Klamath Watershed Partnership /OWEB Workshop
        • 2015 - UDWR Workshop
        • 2015 - USFS Workshop
        • 2016 - SGI Workshop
        • 2018 - John Day Workshop
        • 2018 - NRCS, PF, SGI >
          • NRCS - Idaho >
            • Workshop Materials
          • NRCS - Utah >
            • Cedar City Workshop Materials
            • Logan Workshop Materials
          • NRCS - Wyoming >
            • Lander Workshop Materials
          • NRCS - Nevada >
            • Elko Workshop Materials
          • NRCS Specific Resources
  • Resources
    • Restoration Manual
    • Beaver Restoration Topics >
      • Beaver Ecology & Hydrogeomorphic Feedbacks >
        • Introductions, Expectations & Overview
        • Beaver Ecology & History
        • Ecological & Hydrogeomorphic Feedbacks of Beaver Dams
        • Monitoring Beaver Activity - Understanding the Beaver Dam Cycle
      • Restoration & Conservation Regulations >
        • Potential Problems Using Beaver for Restoration & Conservation
        • Overview of Conservation & Restoration Practices
        • Existing Beaver Restoration Projects
        • Regulatory Framework Relevant to Beaver
        • Expectation Management: Communicating to Public/Stakeholders/Decision Makers
        • Assessing Potential for Beaver in Restoration & Conservation
        • Field Examples of Assessing Capacity of Landscape to Support Beaver
      • Designing & Monitoring Restoration Projects With Beaver >
        • General Design Considerations & Concepts
        • Design Process at Bridge Creek
        • Monitoring Design, Maintenance & Adaptive Management
        • Monitoring Findings in Bridge Creek
        • Curtis Creek Field Trip
    • Beaver Literature
    • Interesting Links
    • Videos & Movies
    • Need Help Planning, Designing & Building?
    • External LInks >
      • BRAT - Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool
      • Restoration Consortium @ USU
      • The Beaver Institute
      • Wheaton ETAL Lab
      • Anabranch Solutions