Three pond levelers manage water, support wildlife and reduce infrastructure risks
LOGAN CANYON, Utah (Sept. 10, 2026) — The Utah Department of Transportation is testing a different approach that allows beavers to remain in their habitat while protecting nearby roads and bridges from water damage.
Beavers build dams to expand their access to food and habitat. While these dams can benefit the surrounding environment, the water behind them can rise high enough to seep beneath roads, erode the road base and create safety concerns.
To manage that risk, UDOT recently partnered with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Sageland Collaborative and Utah State University’s Beaver Ecology and Relocation Collaborative to install three pond levelers in Beaver Creek in Logan Canyon. The levelers use pipes to carry water through the beaver dams, keeping the pond at safer levels. Because the intakes are designed so beavers do not detect the flowing water, they are less likely to block them.
“This gives us another tool to protect our transportation system while allowing the beavers to stay,” UDOT Natural Resources Manager Matt Howard said. “If the levelers work as intended, we can manage the water level without repeatedly relocating beavers or removing dams.”
In the past, managing conflicts at sites like this often meant trapping and relocating the beavers or having to remove the dams. However, when the habitat remains attractive, other beavers may move in and begin rebuilding. UDOT and DWR hope the pond leveler will help break that cycle by reducing the threat to infrastructure without removing the animals.
Beaver ponds also offer broad environmental benefits. They retain water, support native plant communities, reduce erosion and create habitat for many fish and wildlife species. Water stored across the landscape may also create natural firebreaks and help surrounding areas withstand dry conditions.
“What I see in this work is an opportunity to expand Logan Canyon’s capacity to support wildlife habitat, hold water, create wetlands, improve water quality and make the area more resistant to fire,” said Shane Hill, riverscape restoration project manager at Sageland Collaborative. “The challenge is the conflict beavers can have with our infrastructure. These pond levelers give us a way to coexist with beavers and keep their benefits on the landscape.”
UDOT will monitor the three pond levelers to see how well they manage water levels and protect the nearby road. The results will help the department determine where pond levelers or similar approaches may be useful in the future.
“This is about finding practical solutions that protect both Utah’s transportation system and its natural resources,” Howard said. “The beavers can stay in productive habitat, and we can help keep the road safe for everyone who uses it.”
