Northern Front Range • Entered by Anne Dal Vera on August 28, 2023
Beaver Monitoring hike 2
August 18, 2023
Participants and Hours
| Pre Planning hours | 9 |
| Post Admin hours | 1 |
| Activity Hours | 9 |
| Participants | 3 |
| Total Hours | 37 |
Key Issue: Wildlife Protection
Activity Type: Stewardship (monitoring, sampling, planting, etc.)
Key Partners: Canyon Lakes Ranger District
Landscape/area: Roosevelt National Forest (814090 acres)
Measurable Outcomes
Outcome 1: Wildlife monitored (8 sites/plots)
Outcome 2: Hiked (3.51 miles)
Short Description of Activity
Observed 1 beaver lodge and 8 beaver dams. Did not see beavers. One possibly active dam was upstream of the bridge over Laramie River leading to the Tunnel Campground. Driving to the site took 2 hours each way. We hiked upland areas in hiking boots, then switched to rubber boots to go through wet areas to a beaver dam. The dam was waist high, and held back sediments and some water. It was not an active dam.
Reflection/Evaluation
To prevent the spread of chitrid fungus (which can kill endangered boreal toads and other amphibians), we used rubber boots in wet areas and scrubbed them after with a 10% bleach solution. Brought a 10-gallon bucket, bleach and scrub brush for cleaning. We hope to check out other areas in the future.
Photos/Uploads
Photo Captions
1 Jan and Jeannie observe a beaver dam
2 Jan, wearing rubber boots, examines a beaver dam with silt behind it.