Oregon Youth Red Crew kicked off their summer with one of our favorite annual projects: building Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) with the Powder Basin Watershed Council and Trout Unlimited at Trout Creek. This long-running partnership has become a highlight of NYC’s summer season, giving crews hands-on experience in stream restoration. BDAs are simple, low-cost structures made from natural materials like branches, posts, and mud. They mimic real beaver dams by slowing water, reducing erosion, improving water retention, and creating better habitat for fish and wildlife. In parts of Oregon where beavers have declined, BDAs help repair stream function and support drought resilience. The long-term goal is to encourage beavers to return and maintain the habitat themselves. In these photos, the crew is using a manual post pounder and water jetting hose to install wooden posts into the streambed. The water softens the soil, making it easier to set the posts and build the base of the BDA. By installing these features and reinforcing fencing along Trout Creek, Red Crew helped support healthier, more self-sustaining ecosystems, one post at a time 🦫💧🌿 (fb)

Our June Field Update just dropped! ☀️🛠 From backcountry trail restoration and forest thinning to beaver dam analogs and invasive species removal, our Camping Crews in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho Conservation Corps have been making serious progress. Meanwhile, our Urban and Community Forestry crews focused on tree pruning and habitat restoration in urban green spaces. We’re also spotlighting interns like Macie, who’s preserving microfossils and prepping camel skulls at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, and Athena, who joined a native bee survey at Whitman Mission while interning with Nez Perce National Historical Park. Check out the full update to see the amazing work happening across the Northwest! 🔗 https://www.nwyouthcorps.org/field-news-recap-may-2025/ (fb)