Working with Beavers on the Landscape *Oct 17 Tours Canceled due to Weather*

Working with Beavers on the Landscape

CANCELED: The tours scheduled for October 17, 2020 have been canceled due to forecasted winter driving conditions for the weekend.

Thanks to financial support of the Alberta Environment & Parks’ Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program, the Friends of Fish Creek are spearheading the Fish Creek Beaver Coexistence Project, with two main goals:

1. To mitigate the negative effects of beaver activity in the Marshall Springs area of Fish Creek Provincial Park.  We hope that this will lessen the impact on the park visitor experience, while allowing beavers to be the amazing ecosystem engineers that they are.  Four flow control devices were installed in the Marshall Springs area of Fish Creek Provincial Park.  The devices successfully alleviated the pathway flooding, and soon we will be training Friends of Fish Creek Volunteers to monitor and maintain these structures over time to ensure project success. 

2. To use this demonstration site to help transform the dominant narrative from “beavers as nuisance species” to “beavers as healthy ecosystem engineers”. Learn how everyone can benefit from working with beavers rather than against them. Participants will learn about the ecological benefits of beavers and innovative ways of managing their activity on the landscape. 

Photo courtesy of Rose Ratliffe