Water Management

The quality and quantity of water available in America is directly correlated to the condition of the land.

The land, when covered with diverse vegetation, also serves as a sponge, slowing rain as it hits the land, funneling it into aquifers below or filtering it as it runs into streams, rivers and lakes. Well-managed riparian areas, where the land meets the water, are crucial interfaces between the land and the water.

Land condition affects saltwater as surely as it affects fresh water. Rivers flow to the sea. The estuaries, some of the world’s most productive and important ecosystems, occur where fresh water meets saline water. Their long-term health is only as good as the fresh water flowing into them.

Latest articles

Dropping the Fences, Episode 2: RAIN

After reading the signs, Johnny’s predictions of good rain come true after seven years of drought. Within weeks the veld is transformed in a great renewal as seeds that have lain dormant for years come […]

What is Holistic Management?

From the Savory Institute. The Savory Institute’s mission is to facilitate the large-scale regeneration of the world’s grasslands through Holistic Management. The organization’s educational consulting activities are turning deserts into thriving grasslands, […]

Lake Powell is Filling Up – With Mud

The basins behind America’s dams are filling up with sediment and the dam structures are aging. As discussed in the article below, this problem is acute at Lake Powell, the enormous reservoir created by the […]

Releasing Beaver on the Fall River in Idaho, 5-Miles from Yellowstone Park

This video of Pitchstone Waters’ second beaver release during the summer of 2020 contains excellent remarks by staff of the Idaho Fish and Game Department. Releasing Beaver on the Fall River in Idaho, near […]

Cost-effectively Wildfire Grazing Steep Ground With Lava Flows (Talus Field) by Wild Horses

“As discussed in this video, so-called ‘invasive’ horses – actually North America’s oldest native species, can reduce wildfire and restore habitat in areas unreachable by any other large grazer. Watch this 1-minute video and judge […]

Re-Establishing Beaver in an Idaho Meadow

At Pitchstone Waters Ranch on the Fall River in Idaho, we have been preparing beaver release sites for over a year. Here are our first 4-transplant beavers. The big ones weigh 80-pounds! Our profound thanks […]

Artificial Beaver Dams Are Catching on in Idaho

How and why to build artificial beaver dams. Any property with small streams should consider these. The authors say, “We visited two very different streams in Idaho to learn how beaver dam-like structures can […]

Re-introducing Beaver on the Escalante River Watershed in Utah

An excellent explanation of the importance of beaver to any watershed. NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on July 13, 2020

Leave It to Beavers

“As discussed in the article below, “Beaver dams are why some ecologists insist that beavers may be able to help remedy the effects of climate change. Beavers build dams, which create ponds, which create ecosystems. […]

Releasing Beavers in Idaho

Fifth in a series about reintroducing beaver on the Fall River in Idaho, 5-miles Southwest of Yellowstone National Park. NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on June 15, 2020

Beavers in Arizona Deserts

Beavers are keystone species in desert ecosystems. NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on July 30, 2018. And again on May 27, 2020.

‘Momentous:’ US Advances Largest Dam Demolition in History

“Many people don’t realize that dams wear out, and dam reservoirs silt in. Often, dam reconstruction is not economically justified, as explained below.

To Save Salmon, U.S. Approves Largest Dam Removal in History

“Quoting the article below, “Faced with costly new regulations that included building fish screens and ladders, the company (power utility PacifiCorp, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway) instead entered an agreement with the tribes […]

Stewardship with Vision – Episode 2: Malpai Borderlands Group

In the high desert of southern Arizona and New Mexico, almost a million acres of important habitats and nearly 30 at-risk species are being protected and conserved…by a coalition of ranchers who manage from […]

Nearly 80 Gnaw-ty Beavers Move to Wilder Neighborhoods

“As discussed below, many landowners want to remove nuisance beavers from their property. And, when they do, they often turn to trappers, some of whom now turn to Wyoming Wetlands Society for payment — and to […]

Yellowstone Elk Migration Trail: Amazing Camera Trap Highlights

Like rivers, Yellowstone’s migration corridors have many tributaries. One of these passes through Pitchstone Waters Ranch. We see herds of as many as 100 elk exiting the national forest, passing through our meadows and […]

Pitchstone Waters Artificial Beaver Dams #4

At Pitchstone Waters in Idaho, we spanned an entire valley with two artificial beaver dams. Doing this presented special problems. Fourth in a series. NOTE: this post was originally published to this […]

Management Comparison – Allan Savory

One minute of your attention could save civilization as we know it.

5,000 Years Later, Beavers Return to the High Plains

“The Brazos is the longest river in Texas. Beavers were always found downstream. As discussed below, they are now colonizing the upper Brazos where dams have created large bodies of permanent water.

It Was War. Then, a Rancher’s Truce With Some Pesky Beavers Paid Off

The article below has an excellent discussion of the growing recognition that beavers are an essential part of habitat restoration. Quoting one expert, “It may seem trite to say that beavers are a key part […]

Relocated Beavers Helped Mitigate Some Effects of Climate Change

“As discussed in the article below, scientists have found that when beavers were reintroduced and built new dams, the volume of surface water — streams, ponds, wetlands — increased to about 20 times that of […]