Forest Service describes Soda Creek restoration: 154 beaver-dam analogs installed and maintained

Olivia Gilmer, partnership coordinator for the Dillon Ranger District, briefed the council on a Soda Creek wetland-restoration project that used beaver-dam analogs (BDAs) to rewet an incised stream channel.

"There are 154 of those between the Keystone Golf Course and where the road crossing to the homestead is," Gilmer said, describing the structures as earth-and-stick installations intended to slow flow, raise water tables, and encourage willow growth so beavers will eventually maintain the site themselves.

Gilmer said the project was funded by mitigation credits administered through the National Forest Foundation's Wetland in LUCI program; the BDA construction occurred in summer 2024 and moved into a maintenance period this year. She said Forest Service hydrologists advised contractors to scale down some taller earthen dams to improve aesthetics and safety near resort recreation routes.

Council members asked technical questions about erosion, whether BDAs would be visible after three years, and whether beavers could be trapped and relocated. Gilmer and others explained that BDAs can fail during heavy snowmelt and that the goal is to establish vegetation and attract beavers from the same watershed rather than translocate them due to tularemia and watershed integrity concerns.

Why it matters: the project aims to restore wetlands and their biodiversity, improve local trail-user experience and reduce unsustainable long-term maintenance by enabling beaver-driven habitat upkeep. Staff encouraged the public to report concerns about visible structures so contractors can adjust installations.