When Smokey Bear says, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires,” he’s talking to humans. But humans aren’t the only ones who can help. Beavers, North America’s largest rodents, are succeeding at fighting fires and reducing wildfire destruction.
It’s common sense. Water, soggy ground and well-hydrated vegetation reduce fire’s ability to spread.
Beavers create deep ponds by building dams, then dig fingerlike canals to slowly spread that water throughout the flood plain. The stream’s reduced speed allows collected water to seep into the ground where it encourages deep plant roots and an abundance of wildlife to thrive.
Beavers’ water highways are not for our benefit, but theirs. The canals allow them to quickly escape predators. The water also lets them float logs and branches needed for food and construction projects.
Of course, beavers don’t know they are also creating very effective firebreaks, or obstacles to the spreading of fire. But scientists are taking notice.
Oh my goodness. My favorite topic written by a true beaver friend and written about a true beaver friend! Of course I had to check the byline. Ann Cameron Siegal has been a beaver buddy since Obama was president. A long time ago I saw one of her photos in the post and was so enamored I tracked her down like a dog (as have done every other friend of this website) and we’ve cooresponded ever since. She donated to the festival. We’re friends on facebook. Where we’re are probably the only California liberal and tea party friends in the entire world. But beavers. It’s for BEAVERS. With beavers all things are possible.
Emily Fairfax is a California-based ecohydrologist, that’s someone who studies how water interacts with soil and living things. She wondered whether beaver-created wetlands could survive huge wildfires, reducing the devastating damage done to large areas of land.
Fighting wildfires is a greater test of endurance as season gets longer
Scientists need data to convince others to consider workable solutions to problems such as rising average temperatures and drought.
“We used Google Earth to identify and map beaver dams and channels within fire perimeters,” Fairfax said.
By studying years of aerial photographs from five Western states where major wildfires and droughts occurred, her team showed that beavers create broad underground irrigation systems, decreasing erosion and soil loss. Most important, large beaver wetlands were still green and healthy after a fire
I am beaming. This was published in the “Kids section” of the WP because the world isn’t totally sure whether to take beavers seriously or not. But that suits me just fine. Kids are smart. They know why beavers matter.
“Areas without beavers averaged three times more damage than those with beavers,” Fairfax said. “Where you don’t have beavers or rain, plants dry out and become crispy fuel for fires.” Where beavers were allowed to do their thing, the wetlands also became lifesaving oases for wildlife that couldn’t “out fly, out swim or out waddle the flames.”
But what if there are no beavers in an area?
Many places prohibit the relocation of beavers, so an alternative is to create a beaver-friendly habitat through basic stream restoration before an environmental crisis occurs. Using local, natural materials such as logs to build man-made starter dams can increase water depth, creating conditions that encourage beavers to move in and take over maintenance of the dams while expanding the wetland habitat.
Beavers aren’t always wanted in an area because humans want to adapt the landscape to fit their needs, draining wetlands and building houses in floodplains.
Fortunately, there are many tools for flood control and tree protection to make coexisting with beavers easier for landowners. After identifying fire-prone areas, communities can reduce a fire’s capacity to become an extreme event by taking advantage of beavers’ low-tech, natural and free engineering abilities.
Fairfax said her original hypothesis shifted from “where can this happen” to “is there anywhere where this cannot happen?”
“The more rivers and streams you have in healthy conditions,” she said, “the more fire resistant a region will be.
I’ll tell you what. If there are no beavers in the area that area is suffering. Worst than drought. Worst than biodiversity crisis. Beaver shortage is the worst kind of shortage the land suffers. And we made it ourselves. Many times. We nearly made it in Martinez. We are living through it now.
- Many forest fires are inevitable and necessary to clear out overgrown vegetation and replenish soil nutrients. Beavers are protecting sensitive ecosystems that don’t need intense fire as much.
- Beavers don’t kill all the trees in an area. They selectively use logs and branches to create the wetlands that increase biodiversity for wildlife and vegetation. When they chew their favorite trees — aspen, willow, cottonwood, among others — those trees usually grow back stronger and healthier afterward.
- By slowing, spreading and storing water, beaver dams increase drought resistance and downstream water quality. Several research projects are underway to measure how effective beaver structures are in filtering out contaminants, ash and sediment, particularly after a wildfire.
- Beavers are herbivores or plant eaters. Twigs, grasses, leaves, bark and aquatic plants are on their menu, as is the soft inner-layer of bark, called cambium. They don’t eat fish but create fish-friendly habitats. Otters eat fish, so that may account for some of the confusion as otters and beavers often share habitats.
And on the seventh day, she rested. Whatever wonders the world has given me in my 57 years this is going to stay near the top. That for one day in one major newspaper in one country that all the other papers read I got exactly what I wanted. There were no nutrias, no beavers eating fish, and no living in the dam.
Thanks to Ann, Emily and beavers.
Now can we talk about flow devices?
Until Now.
