Summer Field Work 2026

Wallowa River - Northeast Oregon

How do you beat the smoke when it has been lingering for nearly a month? Head to the water, or more specifically, build like a beaver. That is exactly what we did on a late July summer day on the Wallowa River. We had folks join us from all over the Blue Mountain Ecoregion, including Halfway, Baker City, and Walla Walla. The goal: build a post-less beaver dam that mimics the appearance and, more importantly, the function of a beaver dam. Post-less beaver dams more closely resemble beaver-built dams because they are built by hand and recreate techniques beavers use in construction using mud, sod, rocks, and complex layering of sticks. The end product raised the water level by a foot and reactivated a side channel. The best part was that beavers came by a few weeks later and left their stamp of approval, chewing some willows. A big thanks to our volunteers from the Powder Basin Watershed Council - Sandra Mayne, Stella Carlson and Molly Berg, as well as Pam Beaty, Emrys Hobbs and Katy Boyce.

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Members of the beaver team add material to the dam while smiling. 

Titus Creek - Southeast Washington

I feel lucky to have a job that, when called upon, I look forward to going to work. This was certainly the case when I received an email from our friends at Walla Walla Community College informing me that the beavers were back at it in Titus Creek, which runs right through the heart of the campus. What were they up to? Building dams, of course, that raise the water level, giving them safe passage to their food and security from predators. However, these behaviors, while beneficial to the beavers themselves, can cause problems for the people who live near them. In this case, one of the main campus buildings was located not only in the floodplain, but actually lower in elevation than the adjacent Titus Creek. Because of this, a small rise in water level causes water to enter the basement of the main building through some old conduit pipes. At last, there is a solution that does not involve removing the beavers, but rather tricking them. I installed a pond leveler that controls the water level so that it does not flood the building, while keeping enough water around for the beavers to have security and access to their food. This system works by running a pipe through the beaver dam with an inlet on the upstream side that the beavers are not able to get into. The result is a set amount of water that flows downstream unimpeded by the beavers. In this case, Titus Creek was lowered by 7 tenths of a foot. A true win-win in a world where living together is key. 

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A pond leveler on Titus Creek viewed looking upstream with a footbridge and campus in the background (left) and looking downstream with an enclosure protecting the pipe inlet.