Yakama River Beaver Project

Project Sponsors: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife & Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group (MCFEG)
Project Manager: William Meyer, WDFW; Melissa Babik, MCFEG
Grant Amount: $89,650
Year: 2014

The Yakama Beaver Project’s goal was to increase stream complexity and riparian system function in priority salmon recovery watersheds in the upper Yakama River Basin, one beaver complex at a time. This was accomplished by capturing “problem beavers” that were being lethally removed from irrigation ditches and urban settings lower in the Yakama Basin. We relocated them to high-priority upper Yakama tributaries on public land for restoration purposes. We proposed to relocate 30-50 beavers in 2014. Restoring riparian habitat in priority watersheds directly implements salmon recovery plans. Our target watersheds in the upper Yakama were Major Spawning Area (MSA’s) for Steelhead, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, and Bull trout. Beaver ponds are closely linked to healthy Coho salmon production. Juvenile Coho salmon have repeatedly been shown to benefit from beaver ponds/activity. Coho that rear in beaver ponds have better fitness, and improved survival.