NORTH CAROLINA
OPEN SPACES
RESILIENCY PROJECT
the OPEN SPACES RESILIENCY PROJECT
Open Spaces Resiliency Project (“OSRP”) is exploring the use of North Carolina open spaces to improve resiliency to drought and wildfires through a proven approach to stream restoration and stormwater management. This approach focuses on slowing, spreading, and storing stormwater to restore and expand the state's wetlands and flood plains through nature-based methods. OSRP’s stream restoration efforts are achieved using low cost, low impact techniques.
Get to Know Us
OUR SOLUTION
What is a Beaver Dam Analog (BDA)?
OSRP’s initial projects use Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs)—low-tech structures made from posts and tree limbs that mimic natural beaver dams to slow water, trap sediment, reconnect streams to their floodplains, and restore wetland function.
Strategic live-stake plantings and beaver relocation help rebuild natural processes, improve stream health, expand wildlife habitat, and encourage beavers to return and maintain these systems naturally over time.
Why Beavers?
Beavers once shaped rivers and streams by building dams that slowed water, created wetlands, stored groundwater, and supported rich biodiversity. These natural systems strengthened riparian habitats and improved the health of surrounding landscapes.
By working with beavers, the NC Open Spaces Resiliency Project is restoring nature’s water management system to reduce flooding, improve drought resilience, rebuild habitat, and strengthen rivers and communities for the future.
OUR WORK
In the Broad, Catawba, French Broad, and New River Basins of Western North Carolina, OSRP aims to implement hundreds of low-tech process-based restoration (LTPBR) structures. These low-cost, low-impact dams are constructed from natural materials to mimic the ecological functions of beaver dams. Drawing on the experience gained in western states, OSRP utilizes LTPBRs (BDAs) as a primary tool to restore watershed health and aquatic habitats.