Crooked River Watershed Council
$45,000  Blue Mountains   Northern Basin & Range 

The primary need for this project is to build a foundation of beaver support and recovery program focused on the upper Crooked River watershed, a place where beavers historically occupied in high numbers. Project locations will be on private lands within the Upper Crooked and Beaver-South Fork sub-watersheds to include the Conservation Opportunity Areas of 173, 174, and 184. A key partner in the project is Western Beavers Cooperative (WBC) who works to support beaver-specific needs including addressing nuisance beavers through exclusionary techniques, and improving beaver habitat. Another key partner is Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), who will oversee calibration of BRAT (Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool) for Blue Mountain and Great Basin Range ecoregions and provide technical training for field survey crews.

Outcomes and benefits from this proposal meet five main project objectives:

• A reliable assessment tool (BRAT) to inform the potential for beaver occupancy;
• A strategic plan built in part on #1 above, to inform beaver-based restoration opportunities throughout the watershed;
• Increased community awareness on how a return of beaver activities, and Beaver Managed Floodplains (BMFPs), can again benefit land health and more;
• Subbasin scale, ranch/landowner focused Beaver Management Plans to guide decision-making around beaver tolerance and recovery;
• Expand the capacity of existing beaver conflict services providing beaver exclusion devices.

Funds from OCRF will be combined with in-kind and match contributions from project partners and the watershed council (applicant) to complete this phase of the overall program aimed at reestablishing beaver habitat and expanding BMFPs in the watershed. In time, this phase of the project will pave the way for more beaver projects implemented on private lands in the target geography. With thousands of stream miles this area and many willing landowners, the future for beaver recolonization in our area looks positive.