The number of animal and bird species that can be found here has gone up dramatically. Here you can see a beaver dam in the Hanson stretch of Bear Creek.

While beavers may cut some of the trees in a riparian management system, they are very valuable. The dams that beavers make act as grade control structures and help slow water down so sediment isn't washed away and the stream doesn't erode so quickly. This also helps reduce flood severity downstream.