Beavers make good progress after Willard Bay leak

A Tuesday, March 26, 2013 photo provided by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah shows a baby beaver receiving its first bath just after it's arrival at the Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah. Gov. Gary Herbert is calling Chevron's latest pipeline spill unacceptable. Herbert appeared angry Thursday, March 28, 2013, telling reporters he will make certain Chevron cleans up the mess. The leak is Chevron's third in Utah in the last three years. State officials are crediting a beaver dam for containing the fuel spill at Willard Bay State Park, but it left a family of beavers with petroleum burns. (AP Photo/Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah)

OGDEN, Utah (AP) – The owner of a Utah wildlife rehabilitation center says six beavers are making good progress after being recovered amid a fuel spill in March.

Dalyn Erickson-Marthaler tells ABC 4 the animals still have health issues to work through before they can be reintroduced into the wild.

She says she hopes to send them back in the next month or two so they can make their homes and collect food before winter sets in.

A Chevron pipeline failed on March 18 and leaked about 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

A beaver dam is credited with holding back much of the fuel from drifting into Utah’s Willard Bay, but several beavers were burned by the petroleum.

They’ve been recuperating ever since at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah.

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