Beavers rescued and released in Uintas to rebuild Carter Creek

SALT LAKE CITY — After they were relocated and lived in temporary housing for a few days, a family of beavers is now in their new home in Carter Creek.

The Beaver Ecology and Relocation Center (the Center) in Logan moved the family after UDOT called and asked for help. The beavers had built a dam in a covert under the road in Logan Canyon that was threatening the integrity of the road.

Beavers have a bad reputation that precedes them.  Nate Norman and his team at the Center are working to change that. Along with UDOT, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Utah DWR, the Center rescues beavers and releases them into the wild.

That’s what happened on Sept. 3, when a team from the Center gathered up the beaver family. The family included a male and a female adult, and three kits.

They were taken to the Center and housed in the “Beaver Bunk House.” While there, the beavers were checked for illnesses, fed, and cared for.

“The volunteers at the bunk house like to bring in snacks from their garden for the beavers like zucchini, pumpkins, apples and carrots,” said Nate Norman from the Center. “It’s fun for both the volunteers and the beavers.”

New beaver home in Carter Creek

On Labor Day weekend, the beaver family was ready to leave the bunk house for their new home — Carter Creek.

“They were tentative at first but once we put them in the stream and they started feeling the running water, they swam downstream and found the new pond we had made for them.” Norman said.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources created the new pond. It’s been working to reintroduce the beavers to Carter Creek since a mudslide damaged the habitat about five years ago.

“They seemed to like their new environment and hopefully they like it enough to build a house there, and to start restoring that area for generations.”

Norman told KSL NewsRadio that “beavers mate for life, and their offspring stay with them for more than one season.” Norman explained that beavers will become “teenagers” and then they will stay with their parents even after they have had a new litter of kits.

And the teens will help their parents by taking care of the babies and getting wood for their dams. For those reasons, Norman said he hopes this pond will stay in the family for years to come.

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