ODFW
ODFW
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Klamath Tribes Aquatics Department
$20,000
The Klamath Tribes, with technical assistance and coordination from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are encouraging North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) reintroduction in the southern portion of the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (KMNWR). Since the decline of the beaver population in the KMNWR, the refuge’s water retention, biodiversity, and overall ecological productivity has also declined. This project will aim at translocating nuisance beavers once the habitat has been restored to suitable conditions for beaver retention. Project actions will include beaver dam analog (BDA) installations along the outlet of the KMNWR, habitat restoration, beaver reintroduction, and continued monitoring. The project location currently consists of a homogeneous level landscape with little plant diversity or structural complexity, which is an artifact of many decades of intense cattle grazing. There are currently no woody materials within a mile of the project area that beavers would use to construct lodges or build water retention structures. Work is needed to reestablish native vegetation and restore the historic structural complexity of the ecosystem. In 2020, the first main stem BDA was installed by the Klamath Tribes on the Williamson River. Composed of local raw materials such as pine and willow trees and native soil. Local native willow cuttings will be collected, potted, and stored in a greenhouse. The live willows will then be tended to as needed and planted in the spring along the river at the site of the BDA. While the plants begin to establish, construction of an artificial beaver lodge will begin. The artificial lodge will consist of a variety of raw materials, such as aspens and willows, and be built prior to beaver reintroduction to ensure they have both a food and shelter source. The plant establishment and artificial lodge will be monitored thereafter, with the intention to introduce a family of beavers when habitat conditions are suitable.