Big Plans for Beaver Creek
- Deanna del Valle
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Beaver Creek is located in the Porcupine Hills, where the foothills meet the Rocky Mountains, a beautiful ecosystem that supports fish, wildlife and recreation. A portion of this creek is located within a Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ), where recreators enjoy hunting, fishing and off-roading. Outside of the PLUZ, Beaver Creek supports ranching and agriculture, and many families have lived along its reaches for decades. This watershed is also critical for fish populations, as it contains critical habitat for some of the easternmost populations of unhybridized Westslope Cutthroat Trout. These fish are one of four native trout species in Alberta, and are threatened by habitat degradation, introduced species and warming waters. Activities along Beaver Creek, both within and outside the PLUZ, have degraded riparian and stream habitat, further threatening Westslope Cutthroat Trout in the region.
Freshwater Conservation Canada is working with partners and landowners to address this degradation on public and private lands. In 2022, we contracted with AJM Environmental Inc. to assess habitat conditions and identify suitable areas for restoration work. 35 sites were identified, and in June 2024, we visited them to assess their current conditions and prepare for future work in the region.
In 2024, we hosted a meeting in partnership with the Beaver Creek Watershed Group (BCWG), ALUS and Cows and Fish. At this meeting, each group presented to several landowners in the region on their work and the watershed's condition. We received inquiries from landowners after this meeting, expressing interest in restoration work on their properties; many have witnessed the decline in stream health firsthand. Our first restoration workday took place in November on a property where one landowner has been fighting infestations of burdock, an invasive plant, since she bought it in the 90s. The group removed 4 large garbage bags of burdock and examined additional sites for future restoration efforts. In one corner of the property, there was riparian damage from cattle watering in the creek, but we were pleased to see that the rest of the creek was relatively healthy, with significant beaver activity.
The burdock we removed, and some good-looking beaver dams along Beaver Creek!
In early 2025, we held a second meeting with landowners to discuss potential rehabilitation areas along Beaver Creek. We heard lots of great ideas for future efforts and have created a list of projects to tackle when time allows.
Our work in the past year has prepared us to dive into hands-on restoration work in 2025! In the next year, Freshwater Conservation Canada plans to address three of the sites identified in the AJM report. Rehabilitation Activities will include bridge replacement, fence installation, culvert replacement, trail realignment, tree revetment and riparian plantings. We intend to host volunteer workdays for these projects, so keep an eye on our Eventbrite page if you want to get involved! Cows and Fish, one of our partners on this project, has identified two additional sites that they plan to work on next field season. We’re also looking forward to diving into our project list, created at the last landowner meeting, to complete more conservation work on private land.
All this conservation work is most impactful when paired with responsible recreation. If you recreate in the PLUZ, please stay on designated off-highway vehicle trails and follow responsible angling practices to give the trout in Beaver Creek a fighting chance!
This work is made possible thanks to a Fisheries and Oceans Canada Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) grant and the Government of Alberta’s Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program (WRRP). We are grateful to partner with Cows and Fish (Riparian Management Society) and the Oldman Watershed Council on this project. The Beaver Creek Watershed Group has also been a vital resource for bringing together and informing the local community.
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