The Black Institute For Environmental Studies at Bosque School

Beaver In The Bosque
By: M. Reynolds

Bosque School students in the Advanced Wildlife Studies class are taking an active role in the tracking and recording of beaver activity along the west bank of the Rio Grande between Montano Blvd. and interstate 40 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The survey protocol for the monitoring of this keystone species was developed in consultation with Dr. Paul Polechla Jr., of the University of New Mexico’s Museum of Southwestern Biology and was refined by a team of educators involved in the study.

The surveys involve the collection of such data as the presence or absence of various native and exotic woody stem plant species, and the amount of apparent beaver activity as indicated by the number of bank slides, track sets observed, as well as the number of woody stems utilized by the beaver for chewing.

Additional surveys will be conducted adjacent to existing Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) sites. Each area will be surveyed both on foot along the river bank and by canoe. Over 100 students are involved in the project from area schools including East Mountain High School and La Cueva High School.

The PNM Foundation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the McKee Crawford Foundation, and Thomas Nichols provide Beaver project funding.