Beaver Assisted Restoration
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    • 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

ELKO WORKSHOP MATERIALS

handouts, slides, & other references
↑ Take me Back to Nevada Workshop Main Page
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HANDOUTS

We used a field notebook to collate all the handouts used in the field portion of the workshop (and for a few in-class exercises). 
Download Workshop Field Notebook
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Day 1 - Evening STORY

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Idaho rancher Jay Wilde from Mink Creek will share his story about reintroducing beaver into Birch Creek to try to restore perennial flow to the creek he, his family and his livestock depend on.  
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"Ranchers & Scientists Helping Rodents Mitigate Drought - The Story of Bringing Beaver Back to Birch Creek" 
- Jay Wilde (Diamondback W Ranch)
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Jay's story is mentioned in this June 7th Article in Science! Jay is also featured in Ben Goldfarb's new book: Eager.
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Maggie Creek

Elko Land & Livestock have been very progressive leaders in their stewardship of rangelands and riparian areas. The day 2 field portion will be held in the iconic Maggie Creek  Watersheds on Elko Land & Livestock's land.
Learn more about the history of managing livestock grazing for riparian improvement from Carol Evans (formerly BLM):
Hear about the transformation of the Elko Land  Livestock Ranch from Jon Griggs: 
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extra Field Handouts

All handouts came from our  field notebook, but when participants rotated through the 'Zeedyk Structures' station to build some one rock dams and Zuni Bowls, Jeremy handed out a pocket copy of the Quivira Coalition's Erosion Control Field Guide, by Sponholtz & Anderson. 
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See other resources below too! 

Presentations & SLIDES

Day 1: Restoring process & function in riparian areas

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Introduction & Overview Slides

Morning: Background & Context

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"Why are we here? Building resiliency for wildlife and working lands"
​- Jeremy Maestas (NRCS)
Jeremy mentioned in his talk the 'Fur Desert' policy. Here's Jennifer Ott's paper in Oregon Historical Society that recounts that story.
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Video from similar presentation Jeremy gave at Society of Range Management meeting in Reno this year: Restoring and Managing the “Emerald Islands” of the Sagebrush Sea: New Science, Sticks and Stones, and the Eager Beaver.

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"Implementing Process-Based Restoration"
​- Steve Bennett (USU, Anabranch)


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"Healthy Streams & Riparian Zones"
​- Joe Wheaton (USU, Anabranch)

Afternoon - Restoring Process & Function in Riparian Areas

Although enthusiasm has grown recently, this is not the first or last round of enthusiasm for beaver or low-cost, simple structures. Joe highlights some of this above, but the link below draws on examples here in the US from the 1930s and in France from the 1860s. These ideas have been around for a long time.
Nothing is Really New... References

Implementing BDAs as low-cost restoration tools

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"Large-Scale Experiments Demonstrating Effectiveness of Process-Based Restoration - Low-tech"
​- Steve Bennett (USU, Anabranch)

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"BDAs, HDLWD, PALS, Selective Felling, Grip Hoisting & Zeedyk Structures" (i.e. an overview of various low-cost, cheap and cheerful structure types)
​- Scott Shahveridan (Anabranch, USU)

Scott is an experienced designer and geomorphologist of Anabranch Solutions. He regularly helps clients plan, permit, design, build and monitor different types of structures.
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Although Nick Bouwes was not part of this workshop, an elaborated view of what Steve covered on Bridge Creek is shown in the slides below:
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"Bridge Creek Intensively Monitored Watershed - Restoring Steelhead Populations & Incised Streams"
​- Nick Bouwes (Anabranch, Eco Logical Research, USU)

A few of the Bridge Creek Publications we discussed:
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Jared McKee was kind enough to share some of his and Damion Ciotti's work on Doty Creek with us. Slides on 'Embracing Chaos' below. Related video at right:
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"Where? Picking the right places to work"
​- Joe Wheaton (USU, Anabranch)

See also Planning Tools & Resources
Since we rushed a little through this topic at end of Day 1, I, I recorded you a little video of this lecture and a live demo of some of the BRAT, RCAT and other planning tools..

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"Adaptive Management, Pilots, Maintenance & Expectation Management"
​- Joe Wheaton (USU, Anabranch)
See also Adaptive Management Examples
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OTHER RESOURCES

 NRCS has developed a number of supporting documents under Conservation Practice 643 to support planning and implementation of cheap and cheerful restoration techniques. 
NRCS Specific Resources on BDAs as Recognized Conservation Practice
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Click on album above to see photos from the workshop, or to add your own!

Permit APPLICATIONS for Nevada

In order to install low-cost, instream structures in the State of Nevada you need to file for a CWA §401 Water Quality Certification from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, and  a  pre-construction notification () with the US Army Corps of Engineers, who will subsequently determine what additional NW permits may be necessary. Always contact your USACE and DEP staff representatives ahead of time to discuss what permits may be required for your project.


 

PLANNING & Prioritization TOOLS

 In Joe's lecture on "Where? Picking the right places to work" he mentioned the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT), the Valley Bottom Extraction tool and the Riparian Condition Assessment Tool (RCAT). All these GIS tools are freely available, documented and open-source (part of Riverscapes Consortium family of tools).  Specific outputs from these tools are also available The Wheaton ET-AL lab has already run BRAT & RCAT for the entire state of Utah thanks to support from 
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Both Jeremy and Nick also mentioned easy-to-use web tools for looking a NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and derivatives for looking at mesic habitat resources (SGI Mesic Habitat Resources) to learn about riparian vegetation through time. Check out the links by clicking on SGI Map or Climate Engine below! 
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An output of BRAT for Upper Humboldt River Watershed showing existing dam building capacities.
 

More information on 'zeedyk structures',  and low cost erosion control structures

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In addition to the Erosion Control Field Guide you received in the field prepared by the Quirva Coalition, NRCS Colorado released a new technical note that explains how to use cost-effective structures to improve riparian areas and wet meadows in sagebrush country.

Featuring successful collaborative projects in the Upper Gunnison River Basin, this technical note is geared toward resource managers looking for relatively simple solutions for addressing shallow headcuts or small gullies impacting the productivity rangelands. 
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It provides information and references that help field practitioners get started by identifying opportunities, prioritizing and planning treatments, and implementing similar projects in watersheds across the West.

Read more about Starter Guide
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Bill Zeedyk and Van Clothier's Let the Water do the Work, is an excellent resource for getting up to speed on process-based restoration using these types of structures.  ​
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Topics or resources individuals asked for during workshop NOT LISTED ABOVE

Fish passage came up... as it often does. See Kemp et al. (2012) for a review and the following:
  • ​Kemp PS, Worthington TA, Langford TEL, Tree ARJ and Gaywood MJ. 2012. Qualitative and quantitative effects of reintroduced beavers on stream fish. Fish and Fisheries. 13(2): 158-181. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-2979.2011.00421.x.
  • Lokteff RL*, Roper B and Wheaton JM. 2013. Do beaver dams impede the movement of trout?  Transactions of American Fisheries Society. DOI: 10.1080/00028487.2013.797497.
  • Bouwes N, Weber N, Jordan CE, Saunders WC, Tattam IA, Volk C, Wheaton JM and Pollock MM. 2016.  Ecosystem experiment reveals benefits of natural and simulated beaver dams to a threatened population of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Scientific Reports. 6: 28581. DOI: 10.1038/srep28581.
​The Fur Desert Policy
  • Ott J, Ruining the Rivers in the Snake Country - The Hudson's Bay Company's Fur Desert Policy. Oregon Historical Quarterly. 104 (2) 166- 195.
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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