Watershed Management

We promote watershed management through collaboration with the Powder Basin Watershed Council and other partners, supporting the restoration, improvement, enhancement, and sustainable use of watersheds within the Powder Basin, and providing related educational and engagement opportunities.

Stream Restoration

Host: Eileen Gyllenberg

For a week, 2021 interns created streambeds to connect springs to streams and ponds and cleared the overcrowded surrounding forested areas. Excess tree material was used to build a maze gate to allow easy access to a fenced area that keeps buffalo at bay. Overall, the land is more resilient to insect pests and wildfires, while supporting greater diversity of wildlife and vegetation.

Camp Creek Beaver Habitat Restoration

Think Like a Beaver!

Interns have collaborated on a project with the Powder Basin Watershed Council, multiple state agencies, and federal agencies to restore Camp Creek to its historic potential. Camp Creek was once flush with beavers! Beavers provide various ecosystem benefits, including water and sediment retention, diversified aquatic habitats, stream complexity, floodplain connection, fish and wildlife habitats, and much more. Interns learned about the restoration technique of installing human constructed dams, known as Beaver Dam Analogues, to mimic the ecosystem services provided by beavers. This is an ongoing project, and future interns can look forward to helping construct their beaver dam analogues!

Pictured Below: 2022 Interns Collecting Water Quality Data

67e48f_f55ca7ed7be34fd8b6ff86049e9c97cc~mv2

67e48f_d12ca2e987d94dd38df20465c7b670e9~mv2

Pictured Below: 2023 Interns Begin Beaver Dam Analogue Construction

67e48f_d9d2a625d5e54d8a88c8574a16d29640~mv2

67e48f_cf36fc74ff314375b34976a2746e175c~mv2

67e48f_4b2d65a3d97242a6ad6598aa10ef7e99~mv2

67e48f_553d79a39fd340be93439d9ff63d2c7a~mv2

2025 Trout Creek Beaver Project

The valley floor of Trout Creek was once an active floodplain with abundant beavers and willows. Still, historic land use practices resulted in channel incision and widening, causing the stream to be disconnected hydrologically from the valley floor. Degraded hydrologic function limits groundwater recharge, the abundance of riparian vegetation, the duration of summer stream flows, and the system's resilience to climate change. This project will use low-tech process-based restoration techniques to restore ecosystem function and to set the stage for beaver recolonization of Trout Creek. During summer 2025, the Northwest Youth Corps and the BRC interns will help construct beaver dam analogues and post-assisted log structures throughout the 2.5-mile project reach. These structures will mimic the natural benefits of beaver dams to restore hydrological processes while improving habitat for beavers already present in the system.