By Julie Johansen
The Utah Division of Wildlife is working on a habitat restoration project at Miller Creek on Dr. Leo Hardy’s property below Hiawatha. The Beaver Dam Analog Structures (BDAS) are being installed to help prevent any further erosion in this area. These man-made beaver dams are being installed along the creek to help improve the riparian areas by collecting the sediment and distributing the stream. This is done by hydraulic installing posts the width of the stream and then lacing them with juniper boughs similar to how beavers build their dams.
These structures are installed all along the stream at areas that seem advantageous to the environment and terrain of the creek.
“The exciting feature of this work for the DNR is that so many agencies and groups are working in cooperation with them to accomplish this important work,” stated Nicole Nielson, Restoration Biologist.
These agencies include Conoco Philips, Trout Unlimited, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Forest Service, National Wild Turkey Foundation, Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife, Utah Archery Association, US Fish Wildlife Service and Utah Habitat Council. These projects started in 2016 and where they have been installed much improvement in vegetation, stream flow and erosion has been witnessed. With the recent Seeley fire, it has been even more imperative to the area to make these restorations.
