Oaks are valued for the food and shelter they provide to wildlife. Songbirds, birds of prey, vultures, and numerous small animals such as squirrels and rabbits are abundant. Beavers frequent the streams at lower elevations. An occasional bear may be found in the pine forests, and mountain lions and bobcats prowl the rocky canyons. Deer, elk, and turkeys are the major game species.
Deer occur at all elevations in summer, whereas elk prefer the higher forests.
When winter snows come, both deer and elk move lower. Turkeys stay in the pine forests all year. These patterns of wildlife use are repeated in mountain areas throughout the Southwest. Annual precipitation on the Beaver Creek Watershed varies. On the average, the pinyon-juniper woodlands receive 18 to 20 inches, and the ponderosa pine forests receive 20 to 25 inches of water a year from rain and snowfall.