Preston Rancher Jay Wilde had a dream â to restore beavers to Birch Creek.
His goal was to make Birch Creek a perennial stream. And provide water â for his cattle and horses.
But each time he released beavers â on his own nickel â they vanished.
âThey didnât stay. They didnât survive or the predators got them, we donât know,â Jay said. âIt got pretty obvious to me that I didnât know what I was doing. As far as restoring beaver.â
Then, Jay met Joe Wheaton from Utah State University. A professor of Watershed Sciences, Wheaton specializes in using beavers and low-tech woody structures to restore streams.