2022 has been a bumper year for the busy little loggers who live on the Glen Helen Reserve. Over the past year, the beaver dam that impounded the flowing waters of Spruce Springs Creek in 2021 has greatly increased in breath, depth, height and sticks.
By damming the creek, the beavers’ impressive structure has inadvertently created a desirable habitat in this part of the Glen: a new wetland that, according to the preserve’s executive director, Nick Boutis, is a delight for waterfowl and thirsty native plant species.
Although the beavers’ handiwork has given him and his staff more work of their own — such as having to build a boardwalk that flooded — Butis said he’s content to continue organizing the hard-working furballs.
“We have this remarkable species that is second only to humanity in the ability to manipulate the environment,” Boutis said. “There must have been another beaver dam in what is now Glen Helen from the early 1800s.”
“I just want them to eat the honeysuckle,” he added.
In the coming weeks, Boutis said he and his staff will likely close the walkway that supports the boardwalk to keep it above the water’s surface again.
“Overall, our staff, our board and our visitors have come to terms with the fact that some of the beaver activity is causing us some inconvenience,” he said. “But we’re a nature reserve, and we’re intentionally providing habitat for them everything local species”.
https://ysnews.com/news/2023/01/dam-o-rama
