Eagle Scouts and Boy Scouts worked together to build a beaver dam in the Indian Creek area at The Nature Conservancy’s Dugout Ranch on Saturday, Aug. 11. Pictured are Jeff Adams (left) and Eagle Scout Johnny Campbell, from Morrison, Colorado. The teams of scouts built a beaver dam analogue by pounding vertical wooden posts into each side of a stream. They wove willow branches between the posts across the channel and then packed soil, small rocks, and organic material on the upstream end of the structure to make it less porous and to help pool water. Beaver dams create wetlands and reconnect rivers and streams with their floodplains and increase water storage, according to The Nature Conservancy. [Photo by Kristen Redd]
