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Sustainability

Beavers were brought to the desert to save a dying river. 6 years later, here are the results.

Their engineering feats are pretty dam incredible.

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Can outsider beavers save this dried up river?

It's not easy being a river in the desert under the best of circumstances. The ecosystem exists in a very delicate balance, allowing water sources to thrive in the harsh conditions. These water sources in otherwise extremely dry areas are vital to the survival of unique wildlife, agriculture, and even tourism as they provide fresh drinking water for the people who live nearby.

But man-made problems like climate change, over-farming, and pollution have made a tough job even tougher in some areas. Rivers in Utah and Colorado that are part of the Colorado River Basin have been barely surviving the extremely harsh drought season. When the riverbeds get too dry, fish and other aquatic creatures die off and the wildfire risk increases dramatically.

About six years ago, one team of researchers had a fascinating idea to restore the health of some of Utah's most vulnerable rivers: Bring in the beavers.

 beavers, beaver dam, animals, wildlife, ecosystem, nature, earth, sustainability, deserts, waterways, rivers, pollution, climate change Beaver in water.  Photo by Svetozar Cenisev on Unsplash  

In 2019, master's student Emma Doden and a team of researchers from Utah State University began a "translocation" project to bring displaced beavers to areas like Utah's Price River, in the hopes of bringing it back to life.

Why beavers? It just makes dam sense! (Sorry.)

Beaver dams restrict the flow of water in some areas of a river, creating ponds and wetlands. In drought-stricken areas, fish and other wildlife can take refuge in the ponds while the rest of the river runs dry, thus riding out the danger until it rains again.

When beavers are present in a watershed, the benefits are unbelievable: Better water quality, healthier fish populations, better nutrient availability, and fewer or less severe wildfires.

It's why beavers have earned the title of "keystone species," or any animal that has a disproportionate impact on the ecosystem around them.

Doden and her team took beavers who were captured or removed from their original homes due to being a "nuisance," interfering with infrastructure, or being in danger, and—after a short period of quarantine—were brought to the Price River.

Despite the research team's best efforts, not all the translocated beavers have survived or stayed put over the years. Some have trouble adapting to their new home and die off or are killed by predators, while others leave of their own accord.

But enough have stayed and built dams since 2019 that the team is starting to see the results of the effort. In fact, beaver projects just like this one have been going on all over the state in recent years.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

The water levels in the river are now the healthiest they've been in years. The fish are thriving. Residents of Utah are overjoyed at the results of the experiment.

A column in The Salt Lake Tribune from 2025 (six years after the beaver translocation began) writes that the revitalization of the Price River "helped save our Utah town."

"A tributary of the Colorado River, the Price River runs through downtown Helper. On a warm day, you’re likely to find the river filled with tourists and locals kayaking, tubing and fishing along its shore. A decade ago, it was hard to imagine this scene—and the thriving recreation economy that comes with it—was possible."

Of course, it wasn't JUST the beavers. Other federal water cleanup investments helped remove debris, break down old and malfunctioning dams, and place tighter regulations on agriculture grazing in the area that depleted vital plant life.

But the experts know that the beavers, and their incredible engineering work, are the real MVPs.

 beavers, beaver dam, animals, wildlife, ecosystem, nature, earth, sustainability, deserts, waterways, rivers, pollution, climate change An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price RiverPublic Domain

In other drying, struggling rivers in the area, researchers are bringing in beavers and even creating manmade beaver dams. They're hoping that the critters will take over the job as the rivers get healthier.

Utah's San Rafael river, which is in bleak condition, is a prime candidate. In on area of the river, a natural flood inspired a host of beavers to return to the area and "riparian habitat along that stretch had increased by 230%, and it had the most diverse flow patterns of anywhere on the river," according to KUER.

It's hard to believe that beavers nearly went extinct during the heyday of the fur trapping industry, and continued to struggle as they were considered nuisances and pests. Now, they're getting the respect they deserve as engineer marvels, and their populations have rebounded due to better PR and conservation programs.

To that I say...it's about dam time!

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Joy

Woman is on a mission to find the girl who sent her a Sadie Hawkins invitation by mistake

“To not get an answer back and not know it was because it went to the wrong house would be so sad."

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Everybody is rooting for Katie in this situation.

It was a leisure-filled Sunday morning when Laurice Marier heard her doorbell ring and went to go answer it. But by the time she arrived at her front porch, all that was waiting for her was a Sadie Hawkins dance proposal.

The mystery sender named Katie clearly had a love for puns, writing, “I’ve BEAN meaning to ask you, wanna go to Sadies?” on a poster accompanied by four cans of beans and a bag of jellybeans. (How cute is that?)

Though the invite was clearly given to her by mistake, Marier told her local news outlet Fox KSTU that she had to try to reach the original sender.

"When I had crushes, or just people I was interested in, I often just took that very nervous step in trying to just reach out," she told KSTU. "I just remember when it wasn't successful how my heart just dropped, and I do not want that for Katie."

In addition to calling nearby high schools, Marier also posted to her community Facebook Page in an attempt to find more information.

“This was left on my doorstep in the Traverse Mountain area yesterday but there is no one at my household who is Jr. High or High School age," her post read. “I feel bad for Katie… does anyone know her?”

sadie hawkins dance

Katie's adorable invite shouldn't go unnoticed.

Laurice Marier/Facebook

Though no one could provide Katie’s whereabouts, hundreds shared Marier’s concern.

“Asking someone to a dance is scary enough, but to not get an answer back and not know it was because it went to the wrong house would be so sad.Thank you for being a caring person!” one person wrote.

As of Oct 9, no one knows if Katie is aware that her sweet invite landed at the wrong address. But, as Marier wrote in an update, “it wasn’t because of the incredible effort of this community.”

She remains hopeful that because of the amount of widespread coverage the story has gotten, perhaps Katie is just “nervous of coming forward.” So the new plan is to wait a week, and if there is no response, Marier will “make a little chili and eat some jellybeans in her honor. 😊"

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Community

Salt Lake City is leading with compassion by building a tiny home village for the homeless

Other cities could adopt this approach.

Photo by Karl Hedin on Unsplash

Salt Lake City is building a tiny home village.

Homelessness is a problem that plagues many cities and there are so many different approaches to address the issue. Salt Lake City is trying a compassionate approach by building a tiny home village to address its homelessness problem. The city council is looking to lease eight acres of land to build 430 tiny homes as a safe place for homeless people to get on their feet.

There's more.

Salt Lake City isn't just placing people into tiny homes and calling the job done. It's also providing services and resources to help residents succeed in eventually being able to move on from the village and into permanent homes. The village is expected to cost around $13.8 million to complete and the city council voted 7 to 0 in favor of moving forward. City council member Alejandro Puy told Fox 13, "We need to do everything in our power to mitigate not only the consequences but bring good things to the westside."

In 2020, there were 580,466 people experiencing homelessness in America, which far out numbers the amount of beds available in homeless shelters. Since there are so few beds available compared to the number needed, there are large numbers of people who are forced to sleep completely unsheltered. Depending on where someone finds themselves without a home, their treatment may be different as there's no universal plan to address the issue.

Hostile architecture.

Wikicommons

Some cities don't exactly embrace empathy and compassion when planning how to handle their homeless population. Several large cities in America, including New York and Philadelphia, have spent millions of dollars on what has been coined "hostile architecture." It's where they make park benches slanted or awkwardly divided to discourage people from sleeping there. Some places have even placed spikes and boulders under overpasses that are often used to escape the elements for people without other means of shelter.

But not all cities are attempting to make it difficult to be homeless. Columbus, Ohio, has been working to keep people off the streets in a more effective and compassionate way for nearly 40 years. In 1986, Columbus created a Community Shelter Board, which controls the funds, programs and homeless response, and in 2000 the city took it a step further by building permanent supportive housing. The Community Shelter Board also makes sure the requirements to enter their shelters are extremely lenient to make it easier for people to get the assistance they need.

Soup kitchen.

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Thanks to the gentle and humanitarian approach to homelessness, Columbus maintains a lower homeless population. As Salt Lake City continues to move forward with its tiny home village, it will likely follow closely in the steps of Columbus ensuring that everyone who wants a home has one.

Ending homelessness isn't something that can happen overnight and won't be an easy task because it's not a straightforward issue. Seeing cities lean more heavily into understanding the root causes of homelessness and doing their part to fix it is heartwarming. For now, it's unclear what will come next in the process for building the tiny home village, but when it's complete, lives could be changed for generations.

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Identity

Native American halftime performance shows how college sports and tribes can get along

The Utes and the University of Utah have a great relationship.

via The University of Utah

"Ute Proud" game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

On Saturday, September 17, the University of Utah played its ninth annual “Ute Proud” game against San Diego State at Rice-Eccles stadium. The game featured recognition of the Ute Tribe Business Committee and a traditional performance by the Ute tribe.

In the 1600s, the Ute tribe inhabited what is now Utah, Western Colorado and parts of Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico.

The University of Utah uses the Ute name with permission from the tribe and is careful to note that the team’s mascot is Swoop, a red-tailed hawk. This understanding is an example of the positive relationship between the university and the tribe.

The win-win relationship stands in contrast to many college sports programs and professional teams that have appropriated Native American tribal names and customs.

In 2020, the Utes and the university signed an agreement where the tribe “encourages the University of Utah to use the Ute name for the University's sports programs with its full support.”

In return, the University provides scholarships for Ute students and educates its students on Ute history and the tribe's ongoing cultural and economic contributions to the state. It’s a wonderful example of what can happen when a sports program celebrates the positive aspects of Native American culture while also giving back to the tribe.

To celebrate this warm partnership, members of the Ute tribe shared a traditional performance during halftime of the “Ute Proud” game. The Utes beat San Diego State 35 to 7.

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