Riparian Landscapes - Mountains and Plains: The Ecology of Wyoming Landscapes - page 58

Fig. 4.12. centuries of beaver
activity have created a rela-
tively flat riparian ecosystem
in what once might have
been a steep-sloping valley.
common plants in this
area are water sedge; beaked
sedge; resin birch; and several
species of willows, including
diamondleaf, Wolf's, Geyer's,
and Booth's. Photo taken
along the upper reaches of
Lake creek in the Medicine
Bow Mountains, southwest
of Dry Park. Lodgepole pine
dominates the forested up-
land, though many trees have
succumbed to the mountain
pine beetle. elevation 9,100
feet. Persico and Meyer (2009)
discuss the variable effects of
beavers and climate on ripar-
ian landforms.

Fig. 4.13. Prior to the construction of this new beaver dam,
a deep gully existed along Muddy creek near the town of
Baggs. the alluvial soils might have been deposited originally
behind previous beaver dams, which could have failed after
the beaver population was reduced by trapping in the 1800s.

it is possible that the current beaver population will continue
building dams higher and higher, eventually filling the gully.
Willow shrublands and meadows could become re-established
where there are now shrublands with greasewood and big
sagebrush. elevation 6,000 feet.