Can branches, mud, and posts heal watersheds?

Through low-tech, beaver-inspired methods, Emma, a Restoration Practitioner with the B.C. Wildlife Federation (BCWF) explains how our team builds Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) and Post-Assisted Log Structures (PALS) to restore streams and wetlands. By raising water levels, reconnecting floodplains, and creating habitat, these simple structures bring resilience back to fish, wildlife, and communities.

The BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF), in collaboration with Slocan River Streamkeepers and Crooked Horn Farm, restored a riparian wetland on agricultural land along the Slocan River. Benefits include improved water quality, less risk of floods, and increased biodiversity. BCWF was a recipient of funding through the Regional District of Central Kootenay Local Conservation Fund (RDCK LCF), for their Crooked Horn Farm Phase 2 project.

The B.C. Wildlife Federation, in partnership with Cirque Ecological and the Golden Rod & Gun Club, is working to restore watershed health in the upper Columbia Valley, on a tributary of the Kootenay River. Installation of Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) help to kickstart natural processes and reconnect floodplains, resulting in more water being stored on the land.