with Cheryl Bradley and Kirby England

August 17, 2024
1 p.m.
Waterton Reservoir and Cottonwood Creek
Difficulty: 5 km, Easy+ 
(Though we will not be hiking far or gaining significant elevation, the travel will be off trail and require fording a creek)

Join wetland ecologist Kirby England (a.k.a. the beaver guy) and cottonwood biologist Cheryl Bradley, both advocates for healthy rivers and streams, as we experience two dams– one built by beavers and one by humans. Learnings will be woven into conversations about the differences for aquatic ecosystems and water management in southern Alberta.

With a backdrop of our Rocky Mountain headwaters, this adventure provides a beautiful setting to compare and contrast two fundamentally different approaches to water storage and management. The first, the Waterton Reservoir, is massive and human-engineered.  Differences in the ecosystems upstream and downstream of the dam and in the diversion canal will be observed and implications for biodiversity and water management discussed.

As a contrast to the man-made behemoth, we will hike along Cottonwood Creek to another dam, this one much smaller, beaver-engineered and built, and broadly nature-based. At this beaver wetland complex, we will see the water storage system put in place by beavers and discuss the relative differences for aquatic ecology at this site. We are planning to visit towards the early evening where we might see the best dam water managers doing some beavering! Participants will also have the option to experience the beaver wetland complex on a small boat to see it from the beaver’s usual perspective (within the water). We will also have the opportunity to see and learn about a beaver coexistence project at the Palmer Ranch, completed with the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association and You Betula Environmental Inc.

Please note this tour will run into the evening (likely ending around 7 p.m.). Directions to the meeting point will be emailed to registered participants a few days before the trip.

Kirby England is a wetland ecologist specializing in beaver coexistence and adult education. Working alongside the original ecosystem engineer in Alberta he aims to preserve or restore aquatic and wetland habitat and provide water security for the shared needs of humans and the environment. Borrowing inspiration from the tireless work ethic of beavers, he is a full-time instructor in the School of Environmental Sciences at Lethbridge Polytechnic, owner and principal ecologist of You Betula Environmental Inc., a husband to a very understanding wife and father to two young children that also find great joy in wetland ecosystems and the wonderful world of beaver works.

Cheryl Bradley has found inspiration along rivers in southern Alberta as a biologist and a paddler. Believing that the health of aquatic ecosystems reflects the health of our society, she advocates for greater awareness of our connection to rivers and for improved management of rivers and watersheds. Like the beavers we may see on the adventure, Cheryl profoundly understands and is extensively familiar with cottonwood trees and the riverine forest ecology of southern Alberta.

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