Giant Beaver Dam on Oak Creek, by Kathleen Westly (Marys River Watershed Council)

Who is the MWBP?

The Mid-Willamette Beaver Partnership (MWBP) is a multi-basin group of partners that is exploring where and how beaver-based restoration would make the most sense - both ecologically and sociologically. The MWBP includes:

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• Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF)
• Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC)
• Marys River Watershed Council (MRWC)​​​

• ​South Santiam Watershed Council (SSWC)
• North Santiam Watershed Council (NSWC)
• Calapooia Watershed Council (CWC)

Tribal MWBP partners:

• Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR) Natural Resources Department
• Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) Natural Resources Department​

Project partners beyond the MWBP include:

• Utah State University (USU)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA - NMFS)
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

• ​​Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

• U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
• Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service
• Benton County
• Freshwaters Illustrated

What is the Goal of the MWBP?

​The MWBP seeks to expand the ecological and social benefits that beaver habitats provide while mitigating the potential negative impacts beaver behavior can cause. One component of the work involves a stakeholder engagement (SE) process to understand how landowners, land managers and community members perceive beaver behavior and beaver dams.  In addition to the SE process, the MWBP is working with a team of researchers to conduct an extensive beaver habitat assessment of all year-round waterways in the five basins represented by the partnership. We look forward to sharing more information with you as we move further along in this process, but in the meantime, read on below for more information about these buck-toothed ecosystem engineers. If you are interested in learning more about how the MWBP was formed and how it is funded, click here to visit the MWBP background page. 

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Why Beavers?

​The North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is one of the few species that deliberately and profoundly alters its environment for its own benefit. Beavers often construct dams in order to slow the flow of water and create an open water habitat. These pools provide a safe place for beavers to build their home lodges and access their favorite food – the inner bark layer of certain species of trees, including willow, alder and cottonwood. The ponds and wetlands that are created behind beaver dams do more than provide beaver with a safe place to live, they provide a vast array of benefits to the surrounding landscape and their resident plant and wildlife communities. Some of these benefits we’ve known for a long time, while others are only just beginning to be fully documented. Below are just a few of the many benefits of beavers and their dams:

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1. Beaver ponds create new high-quality habitat for fish and other aquatic life, as well as countless species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, insects and plant-life which depend upon a reliable source of water.
2. The slower-moving waters behind a beaver dam allows sediment to build up at the bottom of the pond, improving water quality. When the beavers eventually move on and the dam breaks down, the water recedes, leaving a lot of nutrient-rich soil behind.
3. Beavers build canals into the neighboring woodlands that radiate out from their home pond. Along with their ponds, these canals allow water and nutrients to flow over the landscape, which creates off-channel habitat for fish and increases water storage, recharging aquifers and raising water tables.
4. Beaver dams and their ponds can filter toxins and pollutants from the water.
5. Beaver ponds and wetlands provide refuge for wildlife during wildfire, and help increase the resilience of the surrounding land to wildfire damage.
6. Wood and sediment buried in beaver ponds and marshes act as a carbon sink and may play a role in preventing this greenhouse gas from contributing to climate change.
7. During winter, the slower waters behind beaver dams provide refuge for fish and other aquatic life, preventing them from being swept downstream by strong currents.
8. In the summer, beaver ponds keep water in the rivers and on the landscape for longer periods of time by storing rainfall and snowmelt, then gradually releasing it downstream.
9. During the rain and snowmelt seasons, beaver dams and ponds reduce peak flows and dampen the effects of flooding downstream. 

Beaver dams create wetland habitat rich in biodiversity. Photo credit: Emily Fairfax

Beaver ponds and wetlands in Baugh Creek, ID act as a wildfire refuge. The green ribbon is the riparian zone, protected from wildfire by a string of beaver ponds. Beaver dam visible in lower center of photo.

You can learn more about how beavers create ponds and wildlife- rich wetlands by visiting the High Desert Museum’s interactive beaver stream website at https://highdesertmuseum.org/beaver-interactive/.

MWBP Partner News

Luckiamute Watershed Council highlights beavers at 2023 and 2024 events with "Beavers in the Basin" theme

During 2023 and 2024, the theme for the Luckiamute Watershed Council's Love Your Watershed education and outreach program is Beavers in the Basin! The LWC is looking forward to bringing the watershed community events that highlight the history of beavers in the watershed; dispel some beaver myths; give details about the many positive effects that this industrious rodent can have on the health of our rivers and lands; and offer strategies to help reduce beaver-related impacts and increase coexistence opportunities. Click here to learn more!

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This page is under construction, and will continue to be developed in the coming months. Come back soon for more beaver info!​

Thank you to our funders!

We are grateful for the generous support of the following organizations and foundations: