Research at Rinker Rock Creek Ranch explores how beaver dams impact sage grouse survival and songbird habitats

Data from beaver dam research is influencing the future of wildlife management and ecosystem health

Rinker Rock Creek Ranch is an epicenter for student research, offering a hands-on approach to rangeland management and conservation.

Graduate student Walker Field is working with Simona Picardi, assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management, on a project that measures the effects of beaver dams on sage grouse, which are rangeland species.

“We hope to link the way that sage grouse move across the landscape when they have chicks to the survival of those chicks,” Picardi said.

An important part of sage grouse chicks’ diets are forbs and insects in forb communities, meaning they need moist areas to obtain their food. Beavers are widely known as ecosystem engineers because of how their dams completely alter the shape of waterways. Upon starting their project, Picardi and Field speculated that beaver dams may increase the availability of food for sage grouse chicks.

“There’s a huge gap in the literature in terms of studies that have looked at this intersection,” Field said, meaning that this project could have big implications for habitat conservation as rangeland ecosystems have limited water resources.

Lots of animal species use water to fulfill some or all of their life processes, and Field sees the potential for future research to look at other relationships between beaver activity and various wildlife species inhabiting the land.

The project is being supported by a grant from the Department of Education in conjunction with a federal community earmark project. This is the same grant supporting the construction of a barn and two additional graduate research projects at Rock Creek Ranch.

In April, Field entered Rock Creek Ranch to capture sage grouse and put trackers on them to monitor their movements and daily vitals. In Summer 2024, he set out to track those birds, collecting quantitative data on the survival of their broods.

Twenty of the tracked birds attempted to nest, and 50% of those nests hatched at least one chick. Of those 10 broods, four were successful, for a total of 22 surviving chicks. As for the beavers, 286 dams were surveyed on Rock Creek Ranch and surrounding public land. Of these, 217 are natural beaver dams and the other 69 are beaver dam analogs (BDAs).

“The landscape at Rock Creek Ranch is quite healthy, and the ecosystem provides resources for innumerable species of flora and fauna, including a robust population of greater sage-grouse,” Field said.

Many agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management and Rinker Rock Creek Ranch leadership, are interested in building artificial dams or BDAs that mimic the form and function of real dams. The data collected from this year and next year will provide baseline information regarding the implementation of BDAs. Picardi is thankful for the support from the BLM, the University of Idaho Rangeland Center and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game as this project progresses.

For Picardi, this project links movement with survival and fitness, supports implementation of these management systems, and provides science-based information.

Annie Vaage ’24 is an undergraduate researcher who entered the field to collect data on the impact of beaver dams on songbird occupancy. Vaage completed her research as part of her summer internship, which she conducted under Picardi’s mentorship. Vaage was funded by the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, offered by the Office of Undergraduate Research at U of I. The program is a ten-week summer program that allows students to work full-time on faculty-mentored projects in any field of study. Vaage was also selected to receive the Adele Berklund Award, a private grant given through the Adele Berklund Foundation.

Vaage’s project tests the hypothesis that beaver activity increases songbird occupancy in riparian areas of western rangelands. Her research has important management implications, not only because beaver populations can be managed to provide habitats for other species, but also because managers are increasingly using beaver dam analogs as a tool to replicate the benefits of beaver activity on the landscape.

“This project directly supports management at Rinker Rock Creek Ranch by informing the placement of the BDAs that the ranch plans to build along Rock Creek in the next several years,” Vaage said.

Ultimately, this whole experience has been very valuable in terms of setting me up for conducting my own research and fine-tuning my data collection and data analysis skills.Annie Vaage ’24, wildlife resources major

Integrating these two research projects has created a model of cascading mentorship, where Field can be mentored by Picardi and in turn help to mentor Vaage.

Field confirms the highly collaborative nature of the study.

“Receiving support from Rinker Rock Creek Ranch, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management, the University of Idaho Rangeland Center, the University of Idaho Office of Undergraduate Research and the Berklund Family Foundation have introduced lots of opportunity for experiential learning and mentorship from top levels down,” he said.

Field and Vaage both had successful research seasons for each of their projects.

“Highlights of my summer fieldwork include seeing the most beautiful sunrises, identifying new bird species, stumbling through riparian areas looking for beaver dams, battling packrats in my trailer, and making wonderful memories with my ranch crew. I feel very blessed to have been able to work alongside so many talented ranch hands and researchers this summer. It felt like one big family,” Vaage said.

In her final semester as an undergraduate at U of I, Vaage is analyzing data, preparing to share results at upcoming conferences such as the Idaho Chapter of the Wildlife Society Meeting in Spring 2025. She hopes to begin a graduate program of study after completing her bachelor’s degree.

“Ultimately, this whole experience has been very valuable in terms of setting me up for conducting my own research and fine-tuning my data collection and data analysis skills,” Vaage said.

She is thankful for the experience and its ability to open doors for a successful future.

Field reflects upon his return from tracking grouse in the summer similarly: “I am beyond grateful to all those who I worked with and am very excited about the data we collected and the work that still has to be done,” he said.

Article by Megan Lolley, CNR writer in residence

Photos provided by Walker Field and Annie Vaage

Published in January 2025