Contact Us

Reach us

Phone
If you find yourself in need of assistance with beavers or have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us.

Nate Norman: (435) 757-3815

Email
Please feel free to email us for any inquiries or questions you may have regarding beaver relocation or our facilities. We are here to assist you and provide information about our services and resources related to beaver relocation.

Find us

We are located in Millville, Let us know if you are planning to visit the facility.  We are a locked facility and not open to the general public.  If you are a volunteer or have an appointment to meet us, you can get directions by clicking on the map below.  

The Beaver Ecology & Relocation Collaborative Team

Nate Norman's headshot
Nate Norman | Lead Field Biologist

Nate has been working in monitoring and restoration in upland and aquatic ecosystems for the past 25 years. He has been working with beaver-related stream restoration for the past 5 years and has received training in several beaver management activities including the capture, holding, and release of beaver. Nate was the first non-agency person in the state of Utah to become legally certified to perform these duties. He has been working closely with both the UDWR and the U.S. Forest Service to develop protocols for managing beaver translocations. He is also one of the first to become legally certified in the State of Washington to perform these services.

Nick Bouwes's Headshot
Nick Bouwes | Director & Lead Biologist

Dr. Nick Bouwes is an adjunct faculty in the Department of Watershed Sciences (WATS) in the Quinney College of Natural Resources where he teaches classes on fish ecology, management of fish habitat, and stream restoration. Dr. Bouwes is also the owner of Eco Logical Research, and a co-owner of Anabranch Solutions.

Nick has been studying the effects of beaver on stream ecosystems and their effectiveness in stream restoration for over 13 yrs. He has taught workshops and webinars on beaver-mediated restoration and beaver relocation to over 1000 people that has led to wide-scale adoption of the use of beaver by stream restoration practitioners. Nick also is one of the few people in the state of Utah certified to capture, hold, and transport beaver for stream restoration purposes.

Becky Yeager's headshot
Becky Yeager | Volunteer Coordinator

Becky Yeager serves as the Volunteer Coordinator and Facility Manager for the Beaver Ecology and Relocation Collaborative. She enjoys being involved in the diverse duties, including caring for the beavers, coordinating efforts of staff and volunteers, live-trapping, and especially learning about beaver ecology and conservation.

Becky earned her BS and MS degrees from NMSU in Las Cruces, NM, and came to Cache Valley in 1992 when she accepted a position as a wildlife biologist. During that time, she specialized in federal and state-listed rare species. She has extensive experience in the field conducting surveys for rare plants, spotted, owls, black-footed ferrets, and other critical species. She is actively involved in monarch conservation where she monitors naturally occurring populations of monarchs. Becky has most recently been involved in developing pollinator habitats for the state of Utah, cities, and other organizations and helped developed a state-wide program aimed at getting more native plants in the ground.



Alex Fortin
Alex Fortin | Research Associate

Alex is a Research Associate with the Beaver Ecology and Relocation Collaborative investigating experimental monitoring methods for relocated beavers and integrating habitat and animal data. He enjoys using GIS to visualize data that BERC has collected over the years and performing geospatial analyses to guide relocation efficacy. He also loves to get into the field and help live-trap beavers.

Alex earned a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Management from Utah State University and is currently pursuing a GIS certificate and Masters of Natural Resources from USU. He has experience surveying for and working with threatened and endangered species in California in both the public and private sector, namely the Mojave desert tortoise.  Recently, he has been involved managing fish and wildlife species with the U.S. Forest Service in northern Utah. He has also participated in the research of pollinator species in Utah, Idaho, and Washington.



Natalie D'Souza
Natalie D'Souza | Research Associate

Natalie D'Souza is a Research Technician at BERC and is monitoring relocation sites. Natalie conducts field work, GIS analyses, and statistical evaluations to research the status of beavers that BERC helps to relocate. Natalie also supports basic operation at the facility.

Natalie earned a B.S. at Utah State University (USU) and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Ecological Restoration at USU. Her background is in fish and wildlife management with experience in managing human-wildlife conflict with coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions. She has also assisted in research projects focused on the population survival of sage-grouse, invasive species management, and efficacy of wildlife overcrossings. Natalie became beaver-obsessed after volunteering at BERC during her undergrad and has now assisted in multiple research efforts throughout Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Oregon.