This is a four-day project to bolster potential beaver habitat on public land near Sisters, OR. Join us for one day or all four days!
Difficulty level: Medium
Itinerary: Volunteers are welcome to arrive on-site for the day, carpool from Think Wild starting at 8 am, or camp at our reserved site at the nearby Indian Ford Campground. BDA maintenance will take place between 9AM and 5PM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Tasks will include trimming limbs of nearby trees, transporting vegetation and soil to the instream work area, and working in the stream to act like a beaver – securing sticks in a human-made dam. We will be hiking off-trail on uneven terrain and carrying moderately heavy loads of supplies.
What you’ll need: A positive attitude, strong work ethic, and collaborative mindset. Plan to bring clothes and food to keep you comfortable throughout the day, as well as camping equipment if you aim to camp. There are no bathrooms on site, so be prepared to leave no trace.
About the location and project: The loss of beaver presence in the Indian Ford Creek Watershed has been evident, with several wetlands on Forest Service lands becoming severely degraded in recent history. In response, the Sisters Ranger District recently implemented the Lower Black Butte Swamp Restoration project, constructing and maintaining 26 beaver dam analog structures to re-wet 42 acres of wetland habitat. Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) are hand-built structures that mimic and promote beaver dam activity. They are permeable, temporary structures built using natural materials, often from onsite. A key to the long-term success of efforts on Forest Service lands is the return of beavers to the landscape. Our partnership with the Deschutes National Forest, which includes restoration and outreach, supports this goal.
Volunteers will be an essential part of this project and will increase the return on investment on works already initiated by the Forest Service in Black Butte Swamp. We will learn about and discuss beaver, wildlife habitat, barriers to habitat connectivity, and riparian restoration.
We’ll need about 10 people each day for this project – so share this with your friends and make a fun week out of it while helping to restore beaver habitat!
