Hardware Ranch is a state-managed, 19,000-acre wildlife refuge in Blacksmith Fork Canyon. This month, its wildlife education center has been transformed into a special beaver exhibit.
“A beaver is nature's engineer. They are North America's largest rodent, and they have an unbelievable ability to create their own habitats," said Marni Lee, the refuge's wildlife recreation programs coordinator. "They're one of the few animals we have that can enter an area and create their own wetland and get everything they needs in order to survive."
“Beavers are great partners in wildlife management. They increase biodiversity when they move into an area," she said. "So just the mere act of them creating a dam and backing up that water, which then later turns into a wetland, increasing the biodiversity of plants and animals.”
Visitors to the Hardware Ranch Wildlife Education Center can actually see some of these dams themselves.
“So, we have Curtis Creek that flows along the elk meadow where we usually do the sleigh rides," Lee said. "And you can view Curtis Creek from the windows in our visitor center, and you can see the beavers’ progression of making dams as they move in family units down the river.”
For the month of March, the center has been transformed into a beaver-themed exhibit featuring graphic displays, interactive activities, and information about beaver adaptations, history, and ecology. Visitors can also learn more from Lee and her team about how beavers shape wetland habitats and participate in family-friendly crafts, games, and hands-on activities.
The free exhibit Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. until March 22.
