EMBRACE-EAR-Seed: Reshaping Environments: Low-Tech, Process-Based Restoration with Beaver Dam Analogues to Enhance Watershed Resilience in Human-Modified Landscapes

Urban streams are "flashy," and have rapid fluctuations in water levels, leading to frequent flooding and pollution in urban areas. By mimicking the functions of natural beaver dams, beaver dam analogs (BDAs) offer a sustainable alternative to conventional, often costly, stormwater systems. BDAs may enhance the ecological resilience of urban streams by improving their ability to withstand and recover from adverse effects such as flooding and pollution.

This project, based at Susquehanna University’s field station, evaluates newly constructed BDAs and their efficacy in improving the health and management of urban streams overwhelmed by stormwater. The outcomes will inform whether adoption of low-cost, low-tech, process-based BDA restoration methods is effective in controlling stormwater. By evaluating effectiveness of BDAs, the study will support decision making about the broader adoption of BDAs by city planners and policymakers as a new approach to urban stream management.

Through field-based investigations at an on-campus demonstration site, this project will determine how BDAs can stabilize flashy urban streams and improve their capacity to absorb and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events such as storms, droughts, and floods, as well as other urban stressors. Detailed monitoring of changes in water flow, retention, and quality will be used to assess the effectiveness of BDAs.

The project will also evaluate the cost-effectiveness and ecological benefits of BDAs in comparison to traditional stormwater management solutions like concrete channels and culverts, which are typically more expensive and offer limited benefits for ecological health and stormwater management. BDAs may demonstrate significant economic and environmental advantages.

Furthermore, this project will broaden its reach beyond academic research by partnering with local organizations to provide BDA-focused educational programming. This will enhance community involvement and promote sustainable stormwater management practices.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.