Wildlife officials placed 76 fake beaver dams across a dying river, hoping to trick nature into restoring itself. The structures slowed the water and raised its level, which should have worked.
In 2009, a restoration project in eastern Oregon installed 76 simple wooden structures along a degraded stretch of Bridge Creek, a tributary of the John Day River. The goal was modest: provide a foothold for the beavers already living there so they could do the work they were already attempting. The project cost $374,000 and introduced no new animals.The creek had been in decline for decades. By t…