Connecting people and sharing resources to advance the beaver's keystone role

in watershed health

Photo Credit: Rob Rich

SRWG collaboration at work in a LTPBR Workshop at Arnold Coulee in the Sun River watershed. Photo Credits: Tracy Wendt

Solid Foundations: A Conversation with Tracy Wendt

The Montana Watershed Coordination Council joins forces with the Sun River Watershed Group this week. With MWCC reaching its 10th anniversary, and SRWG reaching its 30th, Montana's beaver restoration practitioners have much to learn from the multifaceted, collaborative, enduring operations of these nonprofits. Since these efforts have greatly inspired the Montana Beaver Working Group, we invited SRWG Executive Director Tracy Wendt to share a conversation, and her thoughts serve as a complementary preview to the depth and breadth of experience that Watershed Tour attendees will encounter this week.

How did you find your way to the Sun River watershed, and why did you stay?

I went to college at UM in Missoula and my mom lived in Great Falls, so I had spent a lot of time in the area, though I’d never paid any attention to the Sun River. After graduating, I took a job in Wyoming as an Aquatic Habitat Biologist, then in Colorado for a nonprofit working on flood recovery projects on the Big Thompson River. I continued to visit family in Montana often and after a couple years in Colorado, I decided it was time to go home to stay. Through my prior boss at Montana Trout Unlimited, I learned that SRWG was hiring so I applied for the Coordinator position. I love the challenges of managing our resources for multiple uses, working with farmers, ranchers, anglers, and others who work and play outdoors, and the variety of tasks that comes with working for a small nonprofit. In addition to loving the work itself, SRWG’s board of directors and project partners have been so great to work with and so supportive of SRWG’s mission, it’s really been no question whether or not to stay in the Sun River watershed.

If you were a beaver, what would you find appealing about the habitat and ecology of the Sun River watershed? 

The Sun River watershed is tricky for beavers. There are many places where beavers aren’t wanted because of their tendency to interfere with irrigation infrastructure. However, there are a lot of folks who don’t mind beavers and have even contacted SRWG about how to attract beavers to their property. The catch is that often the people who want beavers don’t have sufficient food sources to make beavers want to stay long-term, then they wander off to places where they aren’t wanted. SRWG’s first LT-PBR project should help demonstrate some benefits of beaver-related activity in improving groundwaters storage and reliability.

The Montana Beaver Working Group draws inspiration from SRWG's own working groups, which are helping to address specific resource concerns in a welcoming, community-based way. What have you learned from convening and supporting this type of collaboration? 

Our working groups are really the core of why SRWG works and has been successful. Groups like our Water Management Working Group bring together stakeholders who don’t typically interact on a day-to-day basis and remind them that they need to communicate and consider each other’s needs when managing our resources. It’s important, for example, for the irrigation districts and Bureau of Reclamation to understand fish habitat requirements, and they do listen to FWP and try to accommodate those needs as best they can when making management decisions. And sometimes things go wrong – but at least because of these working groups, we know who to contact and it’s easier to reach out and work together to solve a problem. One of the best lessons from these groups is reminding people to listen – it’s not just about communicating what you want others to know, but listening to others as well.

You've helped bring the SRWG to its 30th Anniversary this year. What brings you gratitude during this milestone?

For the first 20+ years, this organization was run by Al Rollo. Since I joined SRWG six years ago, we have changed a lot while continuing to find “local solutions to local problems.” Al and SRWG’s early partners built a strong organization based on working together and communication. It’s because of this solid foundation that SRWG has lasted so long and been able to grow and change over the years. Many of SRWG’s board of directors and partners have been involved with SRWG since the beginning. I’m grateful for everyone who stays involved and supports SRWG as we enjoy our 30th year!

Step by Step with the Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution Program

The Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution Program recently partnered with Missoula County, local landowners, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to promote coexistence with beavers just outside of Seeley Lake. From building relationships and purchasing materials to assembling devices and securing the pipe, there are dozens and dozens of steps that make every project possible. Each requires a different set of skills, tools, and attitudes, and the Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution team brings them all together several times in several places each year. Here are a few of the ingredients that are crucial to a successful installation, and if you're keen to see one of these take place for yourself, reach out to Elissa Chott (chotte@nwf.org) and/or check out the "Beavers in the Madison" event below.

Flow devices rely on a corrugated pipe to drain some - but not all - of the water in a beaver complex. To succeed in such a balancing act, the pipes must be stiff, long, and durable. They are the keystone of the whole operation, and sometimes they arrive on their own trailer.

The intake end of the pipe needs extra care. Because it is the part that beavers are most eager to plug, the crew must completely protect it with heavy duty cattle panels. That requires bending the tense steel in a circular shape, outfitting that circle with a roof and floor, and binding it all together with hog ring clips (the "beaver bling"). To avoid sharp edges that could injure beavers, other wildllife, or the good folks who maintain the structures, the crew also clips and bends the wires into a safe, seamless unit. Photo Credit: Rob Rich

Before ferrying the device to the dam on makeshift pontoons, the crew saws perforations into the pipe to help it will sink and remain stable when they release the floats free. They also cut a notch into the end, which reduces the noisy whirlpool effect that could attract the beavers' interest.

After the assembly is complete, it is time to don the dry suits and set the pipe within the dam. The stream's bottom is rarely flat, and the beavers would never leave a ready-made notch for the pipe to fill, so some underwater smoothing and a bit of undamming is needed to secure a good fit. But, when done right, the device will sink, the beavers will swiftly patch over the temporary disturbance, and the quiet leak of water through the pipe in the dam will allow for an enduring beaver-human compromise. Photo Credit: Rob Rich

MWCC Fall Watershed Tour

Sun River Watershed

September 18-20, 2024

Registration for the Montana Watershed Coordination Council Fall Watershed Tour with the Sun River Watershed Group is open. The Sun River Watershed Group is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and the tour will travel from Great Falls toward the headwaters in the Bob Marshall Wilderness for three days of learning, peer exchanges, local storytelling, and on-the-ground project experiences that demonstrate the unique resource challenges and diverse conservation and partnership strategies implemented by local organizers across the region. With an anticipated audience of 80 attendees from across Montana, the event will allow opportunities for participants to connect and learn from practitioners, coordinators, and technical experts. Learn more and sign up here.

Beavers in the Madison: Fall Community Field Tour

National Wildife Federation / Madison Conservation District

October 2, 2024

Curious to see what the Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution Project is up to? Check out the attached flyer, showcasing a fun fall event where you can learn from the team!

BeaverCON 2024

Boulder, Colorado

October 19-24, 2024

BeaverCon is back for its third biennial gathering, set to meet in Boulder, Colorado for a diverse array of presentations, discussion, panels, storytelling, science & art, field trips, and workshops over five days. This conference is an opportunity for multiple paths, organizations, disciplines, and experiences to converge and collectively learn from, relate to, and realize a future of ecological balance with beavers. The full schedule is now live, scholarships are available, and you can learn more about it all here.

Summer 2024 NAWM Beaver-related Restoration Webinar Recap:

Beaver Restoration and Management on Tribal Land (August 21)

Beaver Restoration by Federal Agencies (June 5)

National Association of Wetland Managers

The National Association of Wetland Managers hosted two powerful presentations on beaver at the national scale this summer. Since Montana is lucky to have an abundant, diverse patchwork of federal land, as well as several sovereign Indigenous nations, these webinars are especially relevant and rewarding. They feature leading beaver practioners from across the continent, and PDFs of the presenters' slides are also available. You can check out these outstanding resources here.

Image Credit: Hooker J, et al. 2024. Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. Science of the Total Environment. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724058170.

Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity

Jack Hooker, Thomas Foxley, Emma L. Stone, Paul R. Lintott

Science of the Total Environment, November 2024

Of the 15 species of bats known to live in Montana, 12 are listed with special concern status protections. These flying mammals are highly vulerable to habitat loss, pesticides, and death from disease. One such disease, white-nosed syndrome, has killed over 6 million bats in the eastern United States, and was discovered in Montana in 2021. While the work of reversing these troublesome trends continues to evolve, one thing is clear: beavers can help. New research helps to validate the role of beavers in bat conservation, which provides a vital means to knit aquatic and terrestrial food webs. While this research takes place "across the pond" in the United Kingdom, it offers inspiration for the complementary work that is needed and underway closer to home. You can learn more about these fascintating beaver-bat connections here.

Natural beaver dams, potentially hundreds of years old, fostering well-watered plants in the prairies of Montana. Photo Credit: WWF-US, Sarah Mosquera

Artificial beaver dams help Montana ranchers restore streams and protect wildlife

Alison Henry, World Wildlife Federation

August 29, 2024

"Down a steep slope blanketed by knee-high native grasses and riddled with rattlesnakes, a small stream winds through Montana’s open prairie. A field crew, sporting hardhats and Wellington boots, makes its way upstream along the far bank. They stop periodically to consider water flow in a specific spot and stake neon orange flags in the ground." So begins a strong new story from the World Wildlife Fund, describing the work of the Sustainable Ranching Initiative and its partners working to restore streams in the Northern Great Plains. Who is on this field crew and what are they up to with those flags? Read on here to learn more, and if you're keen to be part of this action, make sure you check out the job opportunity below.

Conservation Project Manager

Bitterroot Watershed Partnership

Applications Due: Open Until Filled

The Bitterroot Water Partnership (BWP) is a community-driven nonprofit organization with more than 30 years’ experience serving the people, wildlife, and natural resources of the Bitterroot Valley. The BWP leads reliable and intentional conservation initiatives that promote and provide clean, ample water for people and healthy habitats by working with key partners and our communities. The Conservation Project Manager (CPM) will identify, develop, and implement projects that improve water quality, enhance aquatic and riparian habitats, and protect key tributaries on both private and public lands in the Bitterroot watershed. Key responsibilities include identifying water storage opportunities, supporting irrigated agriculture, and designing projects that strengthen the socio-ecological resilience of the watershed. Check out the full description here.

Sustainable Ranching Initiative Senior Specialist

World Wildlife Fund

Applications Due: September 20, 2024

World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, seeks a Senior Specialist for the Sustainable Ranching Initiative, based out of Montana. The Senior Specialist provides technical expertise to develop, prioritize, and coordinate private-land conservation projects for WWF’s Sustainable Ranching Initiative (SRI). The Senior Specialist will manage relationships with local ranchers, rancher-led collaboratives and agricultural communities, being the primary point of contact for SRI in the region. The Senior Specialist will also assist with fundraising proposals, individual project management, event coordination, and communications. Learn more here.

Photo Credit: Rob Rich

Please send photos, stories, upcoming events, opportunities, and other resources to:

Shelby Weigand - Riparian Connectivity Manager,

National Wildlife Federation

WeigandS@nwf.org

MT Beaver Working Group newsletters are posted online here.