I Won Money To Build Beaver Dams in the Desert

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In this episode, I started to tackle a new project for my desert forest, one that will have a great impact if it succeeds: building beaver dam analogs (BDA) - to enhance water retention on my isolated ranch.
Creating a sustainable ecosystem in such a challenging environment requires innovative solutions. With the help of a grant from the NRCS, I’m setting up BDAs to capture and infiltrate water more effectively. This new structure will complement the dirt bathtubs, terraces, and check dams that we've previously established.
Despite the difficulties of rocky soil and unpredictable rain, progress is being made. We aim to establish a robust underground water flow to support plant life. I'm just trying to make the most of every opportunity to learn and grow.
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Why This Grass is a Game-Changer for My Desert Ranch
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[@dustupstexas]

Invest your values with Harvest Returns. Find projects that you want to support at www.harvestreturns.com/dustups

[@sidA-l8x]

bro has become the bever

[@Wyonsvd]

What were your reasonings for picking this particular plot of land?

[@ShaneSaxson]

Just remember after doing every project on the property. It will still take years for water to infiltrate and charge the aquifers. That being said. When that happens you should have springs that flow at certain points in the year and hopefully all year. But if you can fill the dams with gravel or your road side organic material. You will be storing water if you can fill the back sides of the dams. And you will be producing good soil to plant grasses and trees. I would go with verde trees. They will grow like weeds. And you can make flower out of the seeds as well as spread them all over the property. They also make great shade to allow other species of plants and animals to thrive.

[@ShaneSaxson]

Just make sure if you put your roadside organic material in the damn. Make sure to break it up so it can compact.

[@ShaneSaxson]

Don’t forget the fungal side of rehabilitating your soil. Fungi hold a crap ton of water and rehydrate if they dry out. If you grow fungus in your soil it will help breakdown your organically into healthy soil.

[@Jeffrey-tv1dv]

Hey bro I was lucky enough to have a beaver move into my parents property. So there's a flaw in the engineering of your beaver dams I know you had a government guy teach you how to do it but he obviously didn't notice one of the main engineering factors in a real beaver dam. So what it is is the branches have to point upstream and the trunk has to point downstream in this way when water pushes on the branches it pushes the trunk down into the ground that's the main principle behind the Beaver dam. they do add rocks and mud but the branch is also helped to capture debris.

[@raresaturn]

You should set up trail cams at every dam site so you can monitor the performance of the dam under rain conditions

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

Should set up trailcams on the side he hasn't touched, and the side he has cleared, and compare visitation numbers.

[@Karred2]

"rain conditions"🤣

[@dummyaccount.k]

If that dam overflows left and right you basically created a meadow isle. Build those in sequence, pile them up real high and have plants and animals and fungi live there. You go sir

[@edl653]

You should "organize" the layering of the woody material. First longitudinally across the dam, then a layer in the direction of the flow. You don't want it fall apart after a moderate rain. Also try to compact its, jumping on it, then adding another couple of layers. Next don't shovel dirt from what would be the bank to the center. Get dirt from higher up. Lastly, it looks like the banks are not reinforced outwards enough so that if water starts flowing around, it will erode the soil and cause dam to failure.

[@iwanabana]

Exactly. Craig Sponholtz is one important resource. Always make the center of the dam lower than the sides, so that water doesn't erode the banks. Quivira Coalition's videos of his lectures are great. The other is "01 Low Tech Structures; Building BDAs" by Restoration Consortium. This one video contains the "evolution" per se of trial and error and finding out what works better and what doesnt.

[@phillipErskine-jk1jt]

@@iwanabana thank you.

[@mikewood8680]

Did I miss a point? Would weaving the wood twigs through the posts not capture more debris? Confused.

[@iwanabana]

@@mikewood8680 By having a layer of woody debris going parallel with the flow, it dissipates the energy of the fall after going through the dam, minimizing risk of scour and compromising the structural integrity behind the dam.

[@minutemangangplank8599]

@@iwanabana plus it gives much more area for sediment to be deposited capturing even more sediment and debri

[@carstenvestergaard8628]

I hope that you fenced in the terras that you invested so much time, seeds and money in to. Those cows wont be shy to destroy hours and hours of work. I love what you do and I hope you will succeed.

[@denisebennett3144]

Thank you for explaining BDAs. I had visions of you transporting beavers to the middle of the desert.

[@melaniedeare5427]

That's what I thought at first too! I thought, Oh, no! Now he's really gone "round the bend!" Ha!

[@gavinhansen6823]

Hello, I encourage you to keep charging no matter how hopeless it feels. I am out here in Nevada and I’ve been watching your videos for a couple months now and getting a lot of value just watching you be a human in an arid environment. Please let us know how followers and viewers can help support your research… because that’s what this is.

[@Harlan-ub4tn]

I have a suggestion. I may be wrong and will be the first to hear why or why not you should consider what I'm about to suggest. That said how about square hay or strawbales.easy to load easy to build check dams, soaks up plenty of water,breaks down to bio mass i.e. soil ,will have some seeds in the bales.no chiping or grinding. Just a crazy idea but please give me your feed back good or bad. Thank you and lots of luck on your channel.

[@continuousself-improvement1879]

Next time you go home, you can try to source some burlap bags. Maybe there are gardening centers or big grocery stores who will give them away for free. Bring just empty burlaps, fill them with sand and gravel then stack them as a wall around the dams. If sand bags are effective in holding back floods, they should be effective as well in holding back the water in the dams to help with absorption and retention.

[@robertdampier9710]

Here in the Jackass Flats of Terlingua we’ve had great luck with Death Vally bamboo, grows extremely well in the desert if planted next to a swale. Just thought I’d throw that out there, planting in the desert is definitely a challenge.

[@HPDrifter2]

I have done the T-post and peeler log thing in desert soil, so every time I drive through the countryside on a long trip, I marvel at those 70 and 80-year old ranch fences that are still standing, the labor it took to build them, and the labor it takes to maintain them.

[@michaelnaak]

From watching Post10, the only thing I think you might add over the weeks, months, and years to follow is more and more rocks. Beavers use a lot of rocks to hold their organic matter in place. You will eventually have to add more organic material as what is there breaks down, but this is a great start.

[@kayayala9091]

I also recommend watching the post10 channel to get an idea of structure

[@everythingability]

Yeah.. I'd "wire the posts together" so they "support" each other too... say three runs ...

[@stu4576]

My word, could post10 be called in but for the reason of reversing his lifes work clearing beaver dams?

[@skerriesrockart]

There's no water though..soil won't work properly unless it's regularly soaked..one rain a year isn't enough..besides there's no organic matter..the soil is bare rock and gravel

[@Baumscheibenkunst]

And lots of moose poop. Not sure where to find this in texas though

[@drvanon]

Never have I been so disappointed to learn that I am a day early.

[@EmberIess]

Same lol😂

[@Golden_SnowFlake]

yep.

[@artmosley3337]

I thought at least some water after a storm… I was left high and dry 😂😂😂😂🤙🏻 but I really like how he is actually doing something.. people who protest and destroy stuff should be sentenced to work for on projects like this!!!!

[@makisp.1428]

B​@artmosley3337 yes indeed!

[@dustman96]

It is important to build rock dams far out to the side and up the slope so you don't get water cutting around it, which will destroy your dam very quickly. Also, if water flows through the rocks under the dam it will erode the soil at the base and cause collapse. Likewise, for water flowing over the rocks if you don't have a splash pad of tightly woven rock on the downstream side the water will erode the soil at the base and cause collapse that way. The concepts are simple but successful implementation requires careful thought. In my years of work in water harvesting I have seen countless seemingly well founded systems fail due to lack of attention to detail. It is pretty amazing how the littlest thing can undermine an entire water harvesting feature.

[@dustupstexas]

Watching them work with water is the best feedback. I was in the wash fixing them as they flowed last summer

[@dustman96]

@@dustupstexas Absolutely, it's good fun running around in the rain watching them work. I'd love to see your conclusions as to what worked and what didn't.

[@waltershoults8803]

Think Gabiens .

[@esmith1771]

Congrats on receiving the $Grant towards your hard work! I love your channel and thanks for sharing your journey with us Shaun!!

[@laeotis1]

I went from loving your vision of a desert rehabilitation and not liking all your defeats and failures, to really loving what this project has become and achieved and how much more I honestly enjoy watching your videos! I love all the positive thoughts and actions you’ve taken in recent videos… I’ll just say it, you have inspired me🙏🏼 Please keep the good videos coming

[@Zt3v3]

This whole project is fascinating to me. There are so many tips and tricks that we can use on our own properties to try and encourage the change we want to see.

[@grimesy36]

Post10 tearing it down as we speak

[@firefoley]

Better not tell him the exact location 😂

[@hustle3011]

That comment is gold!!!

[@pauljackson171]

🤣😂

[@LD__]

👏👏👏

[@mattofsmegpoop3027]

I'm sure he has a rake long enough to reach all the way to texas

[@DanielH.Stillwell]

I'd recommend rocks sloping off the backside of the dam @ about a 45 degree angle. That will dissipate the water flow off the backside spreading it more evenly. I saw a video on it and don't remember quite where. There was a set design using just rocks and sand.

[@dannypowers4995]

Also hold the organic material in place. Great Idea.

[@adeimousragnarok8150]

12:15 that's the way Sir..."Sabi Wabi"...Imperfection is Perfect...its how I unintentionally designed my Community Gardens and its amazing

[@Tugedhel]

This is so cool. I own 20 acres in Beaver County that my father had taken as payment for an old business debt in 1970. Same story... old accounts were trees and beavers. Today it is just desert. I am watching closely to see if you can create enough of a riparian habitat that it can support beavers. My dream is to go take that "family treasure" property in my retirement and make it a relaxation/getaway location and do something like you are doing when I'm out there. Keep learning by doing my friend!

[@1klakak]

Over trapping since the 1800s has destroyed many desert oases. Would love to see some restoration on that front.

[@SaultheKing7]

This underground river is exactly what feeds cottonwoods. Even though we think of them as thirsty trees, they are always adapting root wise. Same for willows, they both will make shallow roots if the water table is high up and make deep roots if they have to reach the water deeper. Those trees feed all the life around them and actually stop evaporation. Love the videos and congrats on the grant!

[@raresaturn]

Willows are great! they provide shade and lost of organic matter

[@theunlearnedmind7374]

That is awesome! Congratulations!! I can't wait to see a rainfall update!!!

[@melaniedeare5427]

Your channel is incredibly inspiring. We can look back thousands of years to ancient cultures and how they managed to geoengineer the land to live off of it sustainably, but then again, we can imagine endeavors similar to this that may be used to terraform Mars! This is absolutely fascinating to watch. Please keep up the good work and steady video-posting.

[@chasbader]

Shaun- I really like how your are collecting all the dead scrub close in to that beaver dam... Use what you have right there and have a core that starts to grow... In the gully even if it gets washed away. Think log jams... Maybe get some hardware cloth and throw in in the mix to sieve out any twigs and sticks that might get washed down in a flash flood. Reminds me of a dry wash uphill from Kihei (Maui). There is a barbed wire fence but where the wash is they put in 6x6 stainless WWF (concrete mesh). That trapped so much stuff during recent floods. Lets the water through but keeps the beaver material. There were even dead deer and cattle wrapped around trees it was so sudden. Keep it up, we are all rooting for you! Hopefully some plants will too.

[@dustupstexas]

Thank you!

[@ziggybender9125]

Hand held power hammer with cold chisel attachment and not the super wide shovel one. Use it to dig down into your soil and break up the rocks. Also an idea I have is you could use it to carve little bowls into some of those hard limestone areas that are near plants, the bowls would collect water and hold it while the rock very slowly drinks from it and the rest evaporates. Having some evaporation near a plant could make a serious difference though since most desert plants can drink from moisture in the air. Also the animals would use them as drinking pools which attracts them to your area to help do some natural fertilizing and seed spreading.

[@ErRasmussen]

If you haven't already, check out the low-tech process-based restoration work that was done in the Gunnison basin in Colorado. It's basically using stones to rebuild the streambed one season at a time in order to return the streamflow to its original floodplain.

[@CleanNPristine2023]

Make the center point lower, weave lomger sticks between tposts and layer larger boulders + rocks on the back side in a stair effect to prevent erosion and ensure longevity

[@Charmian-and-Iras]

🎉🎉 I’m just here to say congratulations on the grant! I look forward to seeing the progress and how they work! (Shout out to your son, I love the beaver illustrations)

[@katjordan3733]

OMG! I'm so happy for you!!! Can't wait to see the BDAs get built, and how the water changes the vegetation.

[@derrick_builds]

I have built Gabion check dams out that way. After a good storm, the clay flows in with the water down to the dams. They fill up and flow over. Worked good for the areas where water was flowing deep and not wide. Now the water spreads wider and loses a bit of velocity on the way to the Rio Grande. Glad you know you have high-risk issues. Your dams are not packed in. Those will blow out just like Baldie Tank did. It is located on the Ninty-Six Ranch USGS Quadrant map - Jeff Davis County. How do you have sand in an area known for bentonite clay? Lucky you. Dropping water into the aquafer would be great. Then you can pump it back to the surface and drip irrigate your crops.

[@HarryJensen-kr4qz]

Land is rejuvenated in Africa by cattle grazing by day and penned at night. Their dung builds up in the penned area creating great biomass. The pen is eventually moved creating another biomass area.

[@simonsmith7319]

Just like the Al Baydtha project in Saudi Arabia the further up stream you can hold water the longer term potential for a spring ! Great news and best of continued luck. 🇨🇦

[@katjordan3733]

Watched that as it happened. It was AMAZING what they did there.

[@jordansme1234567]

Huh? It was a total failure.. they gave up and most of it died off after 2 years of no rain...

[@katjordan3733]

@@jordansme1234567 After 3 years it rained. Neal did a final video and it's stunning how much grass they ended up with on the mountain. You really need to see it, to believe it.

[@bergonius]

@@jordansme1234567 there's continuation. After they gave up thinking it died off, the rain finally came and it all came back to life. So Al Baydha is a success.

[@TheManfet]

@@bergonius the satellite pictures unfortunately look like a lot of the project got washed out. you can find it on google maps if you search a bit.

[@maus0292]

You should see if you can find a food plant near buy that will truck out food waste. They used orange peels in south America to fix soil and rebuild a forest. The food company was happy to have a place to ship tons of orange peels.

[@jeffrydemeyer5433]

it's in the middle of no where, there is nothing nearby and no infrastructure to get it there cost effectively. We need cargo blimps

[@webtrasher]

Respect to You, your effort and patience, would like to give you a bit of our rain 🌧️ that we have this summer here in Germany, and we have a lot 🤮

[@gsftom]

You are making a difference by doing the work and inspiring others to do the same.

[@danielvonbose557]

Look for the signs of water downstream of your dams in the coming years. Gain clues from your observations. There may be cottonwoods come up in places where water comes near the surface, or springs may appear.

[@ashc9437]

Just a thought, 50% shade netting is really cheap here in the UK, don’t know in your area, it would make a massive difference over your young plants with evaporation.

[@jackman6256]

Like ive said before use all the extra paper that you can get youre hands on its lite you can get bags of it at shoping centers dumpsters Paper that's run through shredder Just dig holes pour in let it do its work great compost wont stink up youre truck hauling it Paper egg cartons anything paper Will work like that it will hold down seeds under Ground stays wet longer wat seeds need also

[@phoule76]

I'm also not a beaver, but I can appreciate watching hard workers.

[@caseyjones4]

Before i became an environmental professional, I was a combat engineer in the army. I've driven thousands of t post to make miles of tripple strand razor wire fence. Using a heavier driver with 2 people is much more effective and consumes less energy in the long run. That little red one you have there is like using a rubber mallet to drive nails into brick. Itll work... eventually

[@martinhuhn7813]

Looks promising. Personally, I would add a bucket of loaded biochar, a handful of a seed mix and a bucket of freshwater to each dam. Adding some readily available nutrients (the nutrients in your building material will be released incredibly slowly) and inceasing the water retention within the structure itself, could kickstart plant growth around the dam and close by downstream of it. That should further strenghten the structure itself and catch additional water which leaks through the dam.

[@lukitupi8643]

I still wanted to send out a comment about mulch, regarding your last videos. You mentioned, that grass works best to keep water in the ground, which is a reason to prefer it over woodchips. It is important to consider longevity though. In the mid European climate I live in, woodchips stick around for approximately 5 - 8 years while grass will be gone within months. So if you put so much time and effort into getting your mulch to the ranch it might make sense to consider this. Love your project btw, very inspiring!

[@dustupstexas]

Yes and no. The grass turning into soil isn't exactly a bad thing. That and I really don't think it'll disappear that quickly. I need grass to stick around long enough for the plants growing under its protection to replace it faster than it decomposes.

[@youaregodspursuit]

@@dustupstexas Research huglekulture

[@michaelsorensen7567]

It's quite possible that mid European climate would have different rot rates than the desert. When everything's dry, there's not much for microbes to get by on, so microbe dependent processes move much slower, as I understand it Also there's a weight differential, if he's paying for shipping.

[@MosenMasoumi]

you need a grader to use rocks and soil to build high dams, plus behand the dams, use pipes to guide water to the flat land to your ponds on the flat land. then plant your trees and fruit trees burry trees inside the ponds.

[@OublietteTight]

Driving posts manually can be a bit easier... if the handles to the post driver are cushioned. I use plumbing pipe insulation wrapped with cloth / gaffers tape. Less spine rattling. Less angry arms.

[@davidpetersen5287]

Shaun…I’ve been watching your work since the beginning. Here are three reasons I think your shows are so popular. 1. The drones shots make It look like you are working on another planet….not Earth. 😳 2. Your side themes with your son’s creative videos & the cameos of Brandon (like asking him to sing) keep things fun and lively. 3. Your background theme of “if I can do it here…you can do it anywhere” keeps us cheering you on. That future first cottonwood tree in Cottonwood canyon is the dream we all can see thanks to you! Best Wishes, David in Houston (where we are getting record rainfall amounts for July due to low pressure systems and Beryl) I’ll try to send some rain west for you! 🎉😊

[@dustupstexas]

Send it on over!

[@CarlosSanchez-jg6zk]

Shaun keep it up! Love your vision, purpose and drive. Cheers!

[@abrighterday508]

When u drink that much water, keep a soft drink or energy drink to take a sip of after you quench your thirst with water..it helps retain fluids and not wash out

[@knoll9812]

A teaspoon of sugar and quarter teaspoon of salt in a quart jar of water is electrolyte solution for cheap.

[@drekfletch]

In my experience, energy drinks are diuretic. They help expell fluids.

[@abrighterday508]

@@drekfletch well your experience may be more extreme than jogging 25 kms a day 6 days a week, whatever works I guess

[@Landrew0]

We tried building dirt catch-dams like that, but they always washed out during big rain events. The only thing that eventually worked was building a dam out of solid rocks (that took years to pick). Most of the time, you could drive over it, but when water ran over it, it never washed out.

[@JohnDoe-id9hi]

Add a culvert and riser to your primary pond to regulate water level an prevent dam failure. Depending on your flow and fall measurements you could use a ram or bunyip pump to distribute the water around your property.

[@Iron-Clad]

As a fan who lives in El Paso it’s nice to see that something so cool is happening so close to me! ❤

[@davidknapp244]

lol I might be accidently adding to the aquifer 🤣❤‍🔥. best problem I have ever heard of, if we could just get 10 percent of land owners to accidently add to the aquifer! I love watching this project man!

[@IO-zz2xy]

You need to cut a sliver off the bottom of each post to make a sharp point, it makes hammering posts in much easier. The same for wooden posts. Regards from South Africa

[@brianhappynook3532]

This and the Why files are my two favorite shows.

[@user-fe3mt4qo8o]

We weld up fence posts pounders that are about 30-40 lbs to get through ground that is similar

[@kyleandrewburgess]

Driving posts by hand will really get you in shape

[@mitchdavis8622]

Subsurface moisture is critical, capture all the water you can!

[@evantspurrell]

your dams need an apron a way for the water to slowly spread over the damn when it overflows it will overflow

[@martinhuhn7813]

Congratulations. Improving water retention (and, to an extent, nutrient retention) so much quicker, should have a big impact. The whole project depends on your ability to create a robust enough positive feedback loop in which increased water retention enhances plant growth and more plants further improve water retention.

[@Enonymouse_]

Beavers are the hydrological engineers of animal world, contrary to what people think or thought about them being a nuisance they create new habitat and improve existing habitat. Its tough on tree populations though, i will say that.

[@stevewinwood3674]

Hoping for sucess. Been waiting for a big rain after the terraces, big earth dams, and now beaver dams. Been watching since the beginning.

[@gregorybstewart]

This is great! Can’t wait to see what it looks like and does in the rains.

[@13Nagash13]

One thing i would adjust, when placing branches parallel to the water flow, put the base of the branch downstream, jammed in the dirt where possible, and the branch forks facing upstream. Beavers do this as the forks facing upstream ore more likely to catch leaves and twigs flowing downstream adding to dam strength. Also when the forked branches are buried in compated mud it requires much more force to move them thenks to the greater area causing greater friction, compared to the mostly straight base or stem of the branches. Branches without forks are best candidates to be placed perpendicilar to the water flow, weaved into the T-posts. Good luck on this project, im enjoying your channel. I hope those of us who cant afford to donate can at least pr9vide you with views and comments to get you those youtube dollars.

[@charlescole-p9v]

Looks like a mighty big project. Best wishes in accomplishing your goals.

[@MageSkeleton]

what you could try is cancel the order, and reorder it. Sometimes, doing this brings the attention of the higher ups to incompetent delivery. They'll see that the item you canceled and repurchased is that same item they're supposed to deliver. Good luck!

[@jamesduston9292]

Regarding input:move things as little as possible. Each time you ‘touch something’ it costs you. you moved the rock check dam to built t the BDA. In the future it would be better to simply build the BDA one or three feet downstream of the existing check dams. This may not only prove to be the most cost-effective solution, but could be a better result because the water could hit the rocks and slow, and thus prevent the washing out of the beaver Dam analogues.

[@gubbins1933]

That sounds like quite valuable advice.

[@dustupstexas]

The check dams in the spot are less than 10 feet apart.

[@dustupstexas]

But I agree with the general comment

[@TurboLoveTrain]

Never move piles of anything more times than you absolutely have to.

[@halporter9]

Just a thought. Pile some rocks for several feet on far side of “spillway”. Might slow any longer term erosion, especially if BDE rots away leading to a many release. Or maybe you are way ahead of me. Great stuff, I’ve learned a lot.

[@dc8man2]

enjoying your videos. In case you missed it, Cardboard and paper makes great ground cover and mulch. Worth a look for your applications I think.

[@threeriversforge1997]

I think my first comment on the very first video was about building BDA's. They work, that's for sure. The key is always to start at the top of the channel, as far up the elevation as you can get. You'll even benefit from putting BDA's on the smaller tributaries to that channel. Anywhere you can slow the flow. In your instance since organic matter is so scarce, I would recommend focusing on using rock and dirt. It's what you have in abundance, and it works perfectly well. Of course, saying that is easy and we often have to do very silly things because of government regulations. So whatever that grant order tells you to do.... that's what you do. Even if it means rolling your eyes and gritting your teeth while you do it. There's a lesson to be learned here. There's no functional difference between a "check dam", "beaver dam analog", or "leaky weir". They all do the same job, and the only difference is the material that they're constructed with. If you have lots of woody debris and few stones, like my land, then building a BDA is the only logical plan. In your case, logic dictates the opposite - using the plentiful rock and dirt to create obstructions to the flow of water. In the end, I'm just glad that my advice was taken and BDA's are going in. 😁

[@saddletramp1860]

Where there are ample rocks beavers use a lot of them in their dams.

[@octaverouge2148]

I think using organic matter has the added advantage of trapping more water in the the material itself, I might be wrong though.

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@saddletramp1860 Sure, but that's never the mainstay of their build. In the context of the DustUp project, I'd eschew the use of organic material almost entirely because I believe that it could best be used elsewhere as mulch. And, there's not a lot of it to begin with. This being a site-specific recommendation, and the goal being to create obstructions to the flow of water.... well, rocks and dirt are in abundance and it's only logical to use them.

[@kellysizemore172]

I was so wrapped up and thought I forgot to tell you congratulations on your grant🎉🎉🎉

[@chucklitecky2181]

Good for you! Other artificial beaver dam builders are on KZbin - they interweave their sticks between the uprights.

[@mrMacGoover]

You can take limestone rocks and bake them in a chimney kiln to make lime powder which you mix with sand to make mortar to build stone walls.

[@h20bymotorcycle]

Congrats on the grant. This is just a very cool process to watch.

[@PorchGardeningWithPassion]

Congrats Shaun! Keep up the good fight 👊🏻🌻👊🏻

[@joanaramos6510]

Love watching the progress of your project. As a land owner I aspire to work as hard as you in my own piece of nature. BTW, you should check the Mossy Earth projects that they're doing with beaver dams! Good luck and thanks for the content!

[@johnenoch2874]

Shaun, this is an enjoyable episode. HOWEVER, I think it would be more exciting for us (as we think your plans through) if we knew more of what you know. For example: 1. Why have you not decided to build earth damns all over the place? (That seems an obvious thing to do); 2. Why is it "inevitable" that your huge earth damns will fail? 3. Why will that be "catastrophic?" 4. Why would you not simply build more earth damns in the same gullies -- upstream to slow the filling of damns in heavy rain, and also downstream to catch overflow? 5. How could tiny "beaver damns" be nearly as effective as the much more massive earth damns? 6. You seem to be actually planning for the "beaver damns" to fail at some point. That's a good thing?

[@dustupstexas]

1. I explained it in the video. They're high risk. High reward. 2. Failure isn't inevitable. The spillways flowing is inevitable.

[@dustupstexas]

6. Because every beaver dam in history fails. They are leaky, so of course a leaky dam will fail

[@BlayneSukut]

Put a pipe/s near the top of those large dams for overflow to relieve pressure and plant the banks with anything that will grow on them and or cover the banks with rock

[@twitchytwist3921]

You got a grant!? That's hella cool man!! Always looking forward to next episode

[@andrewbeetz2196]

Really love the thought you put into all of this, keep up the good work!

[@strahlungsopfer]

I think more gravel wouldn't hurt, and I don't mean the sandy stuff. just some small to medium sized rocks to weigh down some of the organic material, large enough to get stuck between the sticks when the next rain arrives. This one already had the base, and I imagine that'll prove to be vital.

[@mandranmagelan9430]

4:47 hahaha. understandable. for me from the old world, this is like driving quickly from Germany to Italy (and back) just to buy a pizza and some wood. :'-D

[@natbirchall1580]

When you honestly admitted that you were not a beaver I subbed immediately. My type of video great work!

[@suziegibson4427]

Re: someones comment about sourcing burlap bags to fill with sand, maybe look for fancy indy coffeeshops near you. We have some that get coffee beans delivered in burlap bags and they are always giving those things away. (San Antonio, TX)

[@asimovstarling8806]

bring rocks from up hill on both sides, and not just larger ones. small stones fill gaps and act as grit that wood binds against. large ones act as weights to keep it all in place, sediment and sand fill the spaces between an glue it all together.

[@toddablett4493]

Congrats and well done. The question "have you ever seen a real beaver dam" is a great one and definitely something you should look at Shaun. Its all about the interweaving of materials and different sizes of materials too. I am curious as most I have seen have a lot of mud mixed in with them but I am not sure as to whether that is a beaver building thing or a develops over time thing? And to try to encourage, those are small creatures with no power tools who eventually build dams big enough to change an area....one stick at a time. Keep going Dustups!

[@bergonius]

Cant interweave a bone dry stick. That makes me wonder if it worth soaking sticks in water for a while first, and then weave it into posts...

[@kayakyakyakr]

The mud is definitely a beaver thing. My beavers go in stages when they're trying to block up my dam. First it's big logs jammed up on the overflow, then it's small branches, then it's lily pads shoved in the holes and finally it's all blocked up by mud. He can build about a 6" tall, 12' wide dam in around a week, though I've seen one fill in 3 days. Upriver, where he lives, was about 2' tall and 50' wide last year. I haven't paddled up to check yet this year. Part of me wants to go climb on it and fish the pond behind the dam: the state has stocked trout up that way before, there's a decent chance there are some browns, Brooks, or even decent sized rainbow persisting up that way thanks to the beaver dam protecting them from the couple of 5lb bass in my pond.

[@toddablett4493]

@@kayakyakyakr thanks for the info, I have seen lots of beaver dams and even seen how they are constructed but...I have never been patient or lucky enough to observe the changes like you have. It makes sense, and I totally believe the size a quickness of that build. They are remarkable builders.

[@charleswieand4445]

My beavers when rebuilding start by using the butt end of stems downstream branches facing upstream that way they can pack weeds and mud into interlocking branches. Then as water pressure pushes the lattice work work together as pressure pushes foundation butts deeper into soil foundations

[@Mordorth]

Beaver dams are a lot more organized and thoughtful. Generally very successful holding the water and not leaky. They also heavily utilize mud with the wood. Pretty water tight structures.

[@dustupstexas]

They're also built where there's flowing water. It's much more difficult to build when you can't see leaks to get real time feedback

[@kimepp2216]

You need to find a cover crop like grasses or hemp (you can get a license to grow hemp in Texas) to start building up biomass.

[@MaxWolffeAlan]

This was a great episode! Congratulations on the grant and good luck with the water retention, seems like it’ll be key to improving vegetation on Dust Ups!

[@duanenavarre7234]

when farmers make ponds they make sure to add a high clay content layer and pack it, should help the BDA dams.

[@mryan6660]

Well done Sean,your content is great and well presented. Have you considered using bales of cardboard in your dams? They can be made to any shape or size you like & tied with jute string or whatever and would be 100% organic. Plus they’re free. Maybe it’s silly but maybe not.

[@dustupstexas]

It depends on the cardboard, but it's a valid material

[@theodoreramwell]

Hey Shaun your fence post knocker is quite lightweight, I've used a bunch of these in the past and found that the heavier ones make it a bit easier to knock the posts into the ground, the weight of the knocker adds to your strength as you're bringing it down on the post. Just a thought, good luck with the gas one :)

[@francvancanvas]

After construction of your swales with windowsills every 20m, maybe planthoney locust trees(Gleditsia triacanthos) on the berms about 8 m apart in order to promote and allow life under the trees?

[@gospelofchange]

Congratulations and you for this knowledge share!

[@darrellhuddleston5441]

The T-posts can be ground to a chisel point with a small grinder.

[@denniserdelac8359]

Buy a chop saw, hand grinder would take forever

[@travisbradshaw1000]

Use a SDS max rotary hammer and carbide concrete bit to drill a pilot hole for the T-post.

[@MallGrabMcTwist]

You are truly doing good work! It’s so reassuring to see things like this❤ can you (if you have the time to spare) make a video showing how to get the grant and how to choose the areas that this could be viable?

[@paulhowes5094]

Try wearing loose fitting long sleeve dress shirts. That's what we wore working construction in Midland. It really makes a difference!

[@paulhowes5094]

another thing we did was get some of the big restaurant tea bags and put them in a glass 5 gallon water bottle and at lunch time pour it into an igloo cooler filled with ice.(no sugar) Most refreshing drink

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

Look at how much habitat this guy has removed for this endeavour. One side of the valley is healthy and alive, the other side is a wasteland he has cleared.