Before Cache Valley was settled, it was “wall-to-wall” with beavers.
That’s how Troy Cooper, director of Logan’s local zoo, Zootah, describes the area’s past — and one reason he believes residents should have a deeper appreciation for these natural engineers.
“The water was everywhere,” he said, “and so that is part of our history.”
Now, that beaver legacy is helping to shape a new exhibit at Zootah.
Right inside the zoo’s entrance, construction is underway on a space filled with water and willows that will educate visitors about the important role beavers play in the environment. It will also provide the critters a temporary home.
The exhibit is part of a partnership between Zootah and Utah State University’s Beaver Ecology and Relocation Collaborative, which works to relocate beavers to areas where their dam-building skills can help restore wetlands, improve groundwater, and benefit local agriculture.
While most beavers captured by the collaborative are released back into the wild, some — those that are injured, orphaned, or trapped before water is available in the spring — need extra care.
That’s where Zootah comes in, offering a facility where these animals can be housed safely with year-round running water and room to heal. When completed, new exhibit will feature a viewing window where guests can watch the beavers up close as they prepare for release.
At the exhibit, zoo staff will educate visitors about the species’ presence in Cache Valley, provide guidance on how to coexist with them and share ways to support conservation.
While in Zootah’s care, staff will also track the beavers’ nutrition, behavior, and social interactions to better understand how to successfully introduce them into new groups, he added. That research could help improve the survival rates of relocated beavers and support conservation efforts.
“What can we learn from them that we didn’t know before?” Cooper said. “That one gives me a really big buzz.”
A way to save the beavers
Becky Yeager, a wildlife ecologist and program facilitator of the Beaver Ecology and Relocation Collaborative, has flown over Cache Valley many times in small planes as part of her research.
“This used to be one huge wetland,” Yeager said. “You can imagine what it looked like back then, largely because of the topography, but also because of the beavers that lived in the area.”
But as agriculture and residential development expanded into the valley, it became increasingly difficult for beavers to coexist, especially in urban areas, Yeager said. In the past, this often led to beavers being killed or completely driven out of their habitats.
The relocation program was created as a way to find a better solution — one that allows beavers and their essential ecosystem skills to remain in the area while minimizing conflicts with people. Since 2017, the collaborative has captured and released about 60 beavers each year, Yeager said.
“It’s a way to save the beavers,” she said. “They are amazing at restoration, and there is a need in the state for restoration projects with beavers.”
When a nuisance beaver is reported to the collaborative — usually for damming up pipes or culverts — teams set traps, often navigating through wetlands and muck to find signs of activity. Once trapped, the beaver is taken to the “beaver bunkhouse” in Millville, where its habitat is recreated for a transitional stay.
There, they undergo a mandatory quarantine period of at least three days, following Utah Division of Wildlife Resources guidelines, to ensure they are free from parasites and diseases before being released to suitable sites across the state identified by the agency.
Yeager said demand for relocated beavers has grown — not only are agencies eager to restore populations in forests and waterways, but some landowners and ranchers are asking to bring beavers back onto their land.
Occasionally, a beaver will be injured or too young to be released right away, she said. Some beavers require extensive quarantine, while others simply need more time to grow before they can survive on their own.
“If it takes a while, it’s better to have them in a smaller environment here [at Zootah],” Yeager said. “And the idea is to still reunite them with the family.”
Exhibit requires more funding
The partnership has also allowed the relocation season to extend. Previously, freezing nighttime temperatures limited when beavers could be safely held in captivity. Last fall and this spring, the zoo cared for a pair of beavers in the unfinished exhibit that were later successfully released. Zootah doesn’t anticipate taking in any new beavers in the near future.
The beaver exhibit at Zootah is still being planned and built. Roy Hales, a board member and the zoo’s chief engineer, said officials are raising money through a gala and private donors to help pay for the project.
He said the exhibit was supposed to have sewer and utilities connections this spring, but the work is about a year behind. How fast the zoo finishes depends on how quickly it can raise around $200,000, he added.
Hales, who has worked on most of the zoo’s projects, is particularly excited about this exhibit.
“It lets people know that the zoo is not only just to come and see animals,” he said, “but we’re also adding some kind of a benefit to preserve animals.”
