Beavers

Believe it or not, beavers are a common sight along the Chicago River! Surprisingly well-adapted to urban waterways, they den and forage along sections of naturalized riveredge, or areas where industrial infrastructure has sufficiently degraded. For the past few years, baby beavers have become a common summer sight at the Wild Mile. They feed on a wide range of plants, and chew bark off of low-hanging tree branches and riverside trunks. Anyone hoping to install trees in greenspaces near the river, ourselves included, tend to learn the hard way that beaver fencing is a necessity.

In 2024, we began working with graduate student Sammie Clark to monitor beaver activity, hoping to get a sense of where they prefer to den and feed. Sammie placed wildlife trail cameras at select locations along the Chicago River, with a focus on the South Branch’s Bubbly Creek area. These cameras are motion-sensitive, and will capture beaver activity in these regions. Specifically, Sammie will be comparing beaver activity between naturalized river edge and areas in which we’ve installed artificial floating wetlands, hopefully informing our future efforts to support these charismatic creatures with restoration projects.