Reducing nutrient runoff in streams is an important task to reduce algae blooms and associated environmental damage in large waterbodies. Beaver Dam Analogs (WTBDA) are an means to address this problem. These Water Tight Beaver Dam Analogs (WTBDA) present a novel approach to this technique that also aim to restore eroded seasonal creeks to perennial wetlands.

This thesis provides a Beaver Dam Surface Water Estimation Algorithm, a model that takes observation data of 500 beaver dams to quantify the distribution of dam sizes, then using that data to develop a model for predicting water storage. While the water storage provided by beaver dams is only a small fraction of expected snow water equivalent loss, it is not insubstantial and may prove beneficial for ecosystems where human-made reservoirs are not available to regulate hydrologic regimes.

We used a spatial survey of fish assemblage structure in streams and beaver ponds to: (1) determine the effects of beavers on fish assemblage structure at the reach and drainage basin scales, and (2) assess the influences of pond age, watershed position, and pond environment on fish assemblage structure within beaver ponds.

In this study, we modeled 12 beaver dam cascade scenarios in two catchments for eight flood events with a two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic model.

This research focuses on the hydrological effects of a series of six beaver dams on the Chevral River, a second order tributary of the Ourthe Orientale River in a forested area of the Ardennes.

Study to gather and produce human dimensions-inclusive, basin-centralized beaver knowledge through an explorative, benefits-maximizing approach to landscape-scale BAR opportunities assessment in the Salinas River.

In this study, we tracked beaver dam distributions and monitored water temperature throughout 34 km of stream for an eight-year period between 2007 and 2014. Our results suggest that creation of natural and/or artificial beaver dams could be used to mitigate the impact of human induced thermal degradation that may threaten sensitive species.

Study of flood dynamics created by American beaver (C. canadensis K.) in a southern boreal landscape in Finland in
1970–2018.

Testing the hypothesis that controlled floods intended to drive the fluvial geomorphic and hydrologic processes necessary
for native tree recruitment will simultaneously destroy beaver dams.

Idaho rancher, Jay Wilde, and Joe Wheaton from Utah State University use BRAT, beaver restoration assessment tool, and identified good beaver habitat to help restore Birch Creek to year-round stream flow.

Idaho rancher, Jay Wilde, partnered with Anabranch Solutions to build BDAs, and the USFS and Idaho Fish & Game to relocate beavers into Birch Creek to help restore year-round stream flow.

Dam building by beaver in degraded environments can improve physical and biological diversity
when viewed at a scale encompassing both modified and unmodified habitats.

Beaver activity (i.e., damming of streamflow) holds significant potential to impact water quality, specifically in-stream nutrient processing.

This review summarizes how beaver impact ecosystem structure and geomorphology, hydrology and water resources, water quality, freshwater ecology, and humans and society.

A comprehensive study evaluating how restoring beaver dams could significantly protect the city of Milwaukee from future flood vents and the significant cost savings of this nature-based management approach versus traditional flood prevention engineering.

Examines the long-term impact of historic beaver trapping in the United States on stream systems, the role of beaver trapping in arroyo formation in the American Southwest, why the significance of beavers was missed by the U.S. General Land Office surveys in the late 1700s to mid 1800s, and how that oversight impacted later researchers in the 1950s and 1960s as the study of fluvial geomorphology and hydraulic geometry emerged.

Tags:  erosion, arroyo formation, hydraulic geometry, channel incision, beaver trapping, General Land Office surveys

Study on how beavers effect water storage and drainage in Eastern Washington

To estimate the extent to which beaver dam building activity could provide transient water storage with a decreased snowpack.

A review that suggests that beaver activity can create substantial benefits and costs for conservation

This study quantifies the impacts of beaver on stream hydrologic and temperature regimes, and highlights the importance of understanding the spatial and temporal scales of those impacts.  We explored the impacts of beaver dams on hydrologic and temperature regimes at different spatial and temporal scales within a mountain stream in northern Utah over a 3-year period spanning pre- and post-beaver colonization.