Below is a Facebook post from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supplied funding to help the project at the Cinnamon Creek Wildlife Management Area in northern Utah. RMEF was among a coalition of groups providing financial support to put the 8,107-acre property into the public’s hands in 2021.
Thanks to a recent habitat project, deer, elk and other wildlife should have a more resilient summer range in the Cinnamon Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA). And we’ll be able to see the benefits of these efforts for years to come.
This past summer, we built 45 beaver dam analogs (BDA) along a stretch of Red Rock Creek. The BDAs will slow the water flow through the creek, raising the water table, improving forage for wildlife and reducing erosion. BDAs mimic what beavers do naturally. In time, we hope beavers will take over the maintenance of the dams and continue to improve the habitat.
To give vegetation near the stream a jump-start, we planted a variety of plants this fall, including cottonwoods, willows, roses, currants and serviceberry. Eventually, a thriving, diverse plant community will take hold, providing deer, elk and other wildlife with cover and highly nutritious food.
This project is a great example of people and partners coming together to help wildlife. A neighboring landowner brought his front-end loader to the WMA and pounded posts into the ground for the BDAs. He also allowed us onto his property to obtain the materials needed to build the dams. We also appreciate Utah Forestry, Fire & State Lands, which supplied the posts used to construct the BDAs!
(Photo credit: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)