Tag: Emily Fairfax

THE BBC CATCHES ON – FIRE

heidi08 Beavers and Fire Prevention December 10, 2020

Oh ho hoooo…the BBC Discover wildlife is finally catching the beaver train. This is a perfect headline for where we’re headed. Maybe even the perfect keynote address for a certain upcoming beaver summit in California?

Beavers’ activities can create oases and limit spread of US wildfires

Climate change, arson and forest mismanagement have all been implicated in the devastating wildfires that have swept through swathes of North American wilderness in recent summers.

But whatever the cause, a certain charismatic rodent may be at least part of the cure. New research demonstrates that, by damming watercourses, North American beavers create oases of wet forest that are spared from the flames.

Oooh ooh I can guess which one, call on me!!!

Emily Fairfax of California State University was studying the impact of beavers on drought prevention when she stumbled upon a photograph of a wildfire in Idaho. “There was char all over the landscape, except around the beaver ponds, which were bright green,” she says. “That felt like enough of a nugget of evidence to study this more formally.”

To do that, Fairfax used satellite images to map the vegetation around beaver territories before, during and after a wildfire. This confirmed her suspicions that trees growing in the wetlands created by beavers when they dam a watercourse are often spared when an engulfing fire sweeps through the area. “If nothing else, the beavers are providing patches that other animals can hunker down in and stand a better chance of survival,” she says.

That’s a lot already. but wait, there’s more:

But in some circumstances, beaver activity might even be capable of stopping a fire in its tracks. “I think it’s possible where there are higher populations of beaver,” says Fairfax. “I looked at five large wildfires and only once did I see what I would consider to be a fire-break. That was an absolutely huge, kilometre-wide dam complex, and there wasn’t enough wind to kick the flames over to the other side.”

Obviously we need more beavers. A lot more.

Fairfax says that beavers may be especially important now that so many wetlands have been drained and developed. “Historically, I don’t think these fires were scorching millions of acres without hitting a wet patch to slow them down, just because there was so much more wetland,” she says. “But today, beavers are one of the only things out there actively working to create and maintain these habitats.”

Oh yes, such dam promising research we should throw a conference in California to promote it! Whoohoohoo!

BEAVERS MAKE CALIFORNIA LESS FLAMMABLE

Yesterday was very productive! I lined up two beaver friends to help with the website and logo for the beaver summit and our domain name was renewed for another year. So I’m feeling like the world is pretty much my oyster now. You will have to listen to me even longer.

Join our friends at Watershed Guardians in Idaho at the Beaver Dam Jam tomorrow on zoom. Mike Settell says we’re all invited!

Topic: BeaverDamJam-Idaho-Home Edition

Time: Nov 21, 2020 03:50 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/92703691020
Meeting ID: 927 0369 1020

More good news stories like this from KCOY,

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CSUCI study shows beavers can help prevent wildfires

ATASCADERO, Calif.– What if beavers could help fight wildfires? A recent study from a Cal State Channel Islands professor indicates they can.

With much of California dry and brown, many experts say a year-round fire season is the new norm. But firefighters could get some help from an unlikely ally — beavers.

“These beaver ponds, they stay wet, they stay green and they are not burning anywhere as much as the places that don’t have beavers,” said Emily Fairfax, a Professor of Environment Science at CSUCI.

Fairfax just finished a four-year study which found beavers help rejuvenate dry land, creating patches of wilderness that are essentially fire-proof.
We followed her to some beaver ponds in Atascadero to see first-hand.

Oh how lovely to see Emily on the TV talking about beavers! Thank you for making this issue so easy for people to understand and think about differently!

Fairfax observed beaver dams before, during, and after wildfires, and her study found these wet patches don’t burn.

“The more places that we have that are wet the less place we have to burn,” said Fairfax. “If every creek all over California looked like this, fires wouldn’t be able to spread as far as they do.”

Beavers aren’t considered endangered, but their population numbers are low in North America. In California, it’s against the law to relocate them.

Nice. Keep the pressure on CDFW’s outdated policy and force them to explain why they haven’t learned at the same pace as their pacific cousins! Here’s my favorite part:

So the next time you come across a beaver dam, leave it be. These animals are on the clock, hard at work fighting fires.

Excellent work Emily! We are so proud that of all the colleges you could have come to you settled in California! If I remember correctly your husband’s mother lives in Alameda county so maybe that helped tip the scale. Whatever the reason. We need you and are grateful!

The beavers without borders film is available online now. Please Enjoy and share far and wide!

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“SOME SAY THE WORLD WILL END IN FIRE”

heidi08 Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Fire Prevention September 29, 2020

The horrible glass fire is threatening our friends at Safari West AGAIN, so if you have any leftover space in your thoughts and prayers please after praying for our constitution. our supreme court and asking to spare members of your family from Covid, please send some metta and loving kindness their way. Fire is very much on our minds in California. Like mercy it droppeth as the gentle rains from heaven. Ash is covering our decks and our gardens and the smell of smoke woke me up.

I’m so glad Rick Lanman updated his wikipedia page.

Beaver ponds as wildlife refugia and firebreaks in wildfires

Beaver and their associated ponds and wetlands may be overlooked as effective wildfire-fighting tools.^[145] Eric Collier’s 1959 book, Three Against the Wilderness, provides an early description of a string of beaver ponds serving as a firebreak, saving the home of his pioneer family from a wildfire in interior British Columbia.^[146] Reduction of fuel loads by beaver removal of riparian trees, increased moisture content in riparian vegetation by beaver-raised water tables, and water held in beaver ponds all act as barriers to wildfires. In a study of vegetation after five large wildfires in the western United States, riparian corridors within 100 meters of beaver ponds were buffered from wildfires when compared to similar riparian corridors without beaver dams. ^[147] Professor Joe Wheaton of Utah State University studied the barren landscape left one month after the Sharps Fire burned 65,000 acres (260 km²) in Idaho’s Blaine County in 2018. He found a lone surviving green ribbon of riparian vegetation along Baugh Creek,^[148] (see image) illustrating how a string of beaver ponds resists wildfires, creating an “emerald refuge” for wildlife.^[145] Lastly, two studies of the Methow River watershed, after the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire burned 256,000 acres (1,040 km²) in north central Washington State, have shown that beaver dams reduced the negative impacts of wildfire on sediment runoff, reduced post-wildfire sediment and nutrient loads, and preserved both plant and macroinvertebrate communities.^[149]^[150]

In addition to citing Emily and Alexis fantastic paper he also came across an outstanding thesis by Edin Stewart entitled: Beavers Buffering Blazes: The Potential Role of Castor canadensis in Mitigating Wildfire Impacts on Stream Ecosystems. I will add the whole paper to our library but suffice it to say it concludes whoppingly with the following sentence: “our study provides support for the hypothesis that beaver dams reduce the negative impacts of wildfire on stream habitats and communities.”

Yup.

Speaking of fire, one of the evacuations I heard on the news yesterday was the Oakmont region of Sonoma. This has been on my mind lately because of the famed Oakmont Symposium which is a dynamic and coveted and widely attended lecture series. I think we met a fellow from the group years ago at the dam watching beavers in Martinez.

Well, recently one of their influencers was vacationing out of state and wound up running into Bob Boucher of beaver fame in Wisconsin and they concocted the idea of a beaver talk for Valentine’s day. Zoom friendly, of course. Thinking it would be excellent to add a California beaver voice Bob asked me to ‘co-present’ with him. And the host recently asked for a thread that would tie it all to theme of the day.

So I spent yesterday working on this. Fire notwithstanding, I assume this will happen?

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Robert Frost

BEAVERS FIREFIGHTERS IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

heidi08 Beavers and Fire Prevention September 23, 2020

Now, you know I don’t drag out the star wars award scene for just ANY achievement. I save it for the best of the best. And this is better than that. Yesterday NPR was busy shouting that beavers create climate change, I got calls from Idaho and Wisconsin and my own mother. But National Geographic was doing this:

By Ben Goldfarb

PUBLISHED September 22, 2020

The American West is ablaze with fires fueled by climate change and a century of misguided fire suppression. In California, wildfire has blackened more than three million acres; in Oregon, a once-in-a-generation crisis has forced half a million people to flee their homes. All the while, one of our most valuable firefighting allies has remained overlooked: The beaver.

A new study concludes that, by building dams, forming ponds, and digging canals, beavers irrigate vast stream corridors and create fireproof refuges in which plants and animals can shelter. In some cases, the rodents’ engineering can even stop fire in its tracks.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s a wildfire right next door,” says study leader Emily Fairfax, an ecohydrologist at California State University Channel Islands. “Beaver-dammed areas are green and happy and healthy-looking.”

BOOM! And just like that not only is Emily’s research reported in National Geographic at the very time we need to hear it the most, the entire article is WRITTEN by our good friend Ben Goldfarb. So you know it’s going to be good.

For decades, scientists have recognized that the North American beaver, Castor canadensis, provides a litany of ecological benefits throughout its range from northern Mexico to Alaska. Beaver ponds and wetlands have been shown to filter out water pollution, support salmon, sequester carbon, and attenuate floods. Researchers have long suspected that these paddle-tailed architects offer yet another crucial service: slowing the spread of wildfire.

“It’s really not complicated: water doesn’t burn,” says Joe Wheaton, a geomorphologist at Utah State University. After the Sharps Fire charred 65,000 acres in Idaho in 2018, for instance, Wheaton stumbled upon a lush pocket of green glistening within the burn zone—a beaver wetland that had withstood the flames. Yet no scientist had ever rigorously studied the phenomenon. (See California’s record blazes through the eyes of frontline firefighters.)

“Emily’s study couldn’t be more timely,” says Wheaton, who wasn’t involved in the research. “This points toward the importance of nature-based solutions and natural infrastructure, and gives us the science to back it up.”

BOOM BOOM BOOM! The beavers marches right into the headlines and every single depredation permit is suddenly an act of arson and vandalism.

A green, hydrated plant, of course, is also less flammable than a desiccated, crispy one. And that’s what makes beaver ecosystems so fireproof. In beaver-dammed stream sections, Fairfax and Whittle found, vegetation remained more than three times lusher as wildfire raced over the creek. Beavers had so thoroughly saturated their valleys that plants simply didn’t ignite.

These lifeboats don’t merely protect beavers themselves: A broad menagerie—including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals—likely hunker down in these beaver-built fire “refugia,” Fairfax says. Although wildfire is a vital force that rejuvenates habitat for some creatures, like black-backed woodpeckers, it can devastate other animal populations.

How much does California need beavers? A whole dam lot I’d say. And I am hoping this article is open on the desk of the governor and everyone at CDFW.

In addition, beavers may help an ecosystem recover from a wildfire. In northern Washington State, Alexa Whipple, the director of the Methow Beaver Project, found that beavers promoted the recovery of native species, like willow and aspen.

Beaverless streams, by contrast, were more likely to become colonized with invasive plants after a burn. Whipple also found that beaver ponds improved water quality by capturing the phosphorus-laden sediment that runs off torched hillsides. (Learn how wildfires are increasing worldwide.)

“If we have a wetter landscape, we are going to resist fire and recover from it better,” says Whipple, whose results haven’t yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. “My hope is that wildfire can be the gateway for people to understand the whole suite of benefits that beavers offer.”

Oh my god. Chills. I’m getting actual chills. Is it just me or is this BIG.

Despite all the good that beavers do, thousands are killed every year for flooding roads, cutting down trees, and causing other damage to human property. Employing smarter, more humane policies—using nonlethal flood-prevention devices like “Beaver Deceivers,” for example, and relocating trouble-making individuals instead of killing them—could heal our relationships with beavers and wildfire alike, Fairfax says.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!!!!! I’ve been waiting for this moment for 13 years, Tears of joy are making it hard to type. I cannot wait to see the fall out from this.

“Strategically embracing beavers in local watersheds could provide reassurance that you have wet soils and wet plants around your town,” Fairfax says. In fact, as her paper’s title suggests, the U.S. Forest Service might want to consider a new animal mascot: Smokey the Beaver.

That’s me. Grinning from ear to ear. Great work Emily and Ben and Joe and Alexa. We could not be prouder. And hey half of them have been to our beaver festival and since Joe’s sister came a couple years more than half. Beavers are finally getting the credit they deserve, and I for one could not be happier.

Cue the very finest fireworks I know.

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JUST BETWEEN US AND THE GOLDEN STATE

heidi08 Beavers and Fire Prevention, Beavers and Forests September 4, 2020

When Emily Fairfax became assistant professor at Cal State Channel Islands, I knew the beaver world was in for a treat. But I couldn’t have possibly guessed how much of one. Emily and beavers are the subject of a glossy new pair of articles in Ojai & Ventura Co Edible, and she just published her fire research in the journal of Ecological Applications. I can’t decide which one to write about first, but I’ll just give a preview.

Smokey the Beaver: beaver‐dammed riparian corridors stay green during wildfire throughout the western USA

The articleS in Edible are a two fold, one is a slam dunk look at whether beavers belong in Ventura county (they do) with a fantastic discussion with Rick Lanman and look at our research lovingly written by Leslie Baehr. The other is a walk and talk with Emily about the good things beaver dams bring. Well save the first one for another day.

Tour a Stream with a Beaver Expert

Emily Fairfax, PhD., is an ecohydrologist and assistant professor of environmental science and resource management at CSU Channel Islands. Emily researches how beavers, which are native to California, change waterways and riparian ecosystems. In particular, she studies how beaver damming makes drought and fire resistant patches in the landscape. Her students and colleagues can affirm that when Emily says she can talk about beavers for hours, she’s not kidding.

Click twice on the image to see it larger.

STREAMS WITHOUT BEAVER are mostly characterized by what you don’t see. They tend to be a single straight and deep channel that doesn’t meander much through the landscape. As a result, the water does not spread throughout the landscape and the vegetation tends to be a lot smaller, scrubbier, and drier. There is also a lack of wildlife.

Oh my goodness Emily, who do I thank at the Channel Islands for hiring you? You could have ended up in Wisconsin or Colorado and we are soooo grateful for you being in California!

Contrary to popular depiction, a healthy riparian ecosystem often looks less like a stream and more like a wetland. One of the first things you will notice about STREAMS WITH BEAVER is how green they are. Vegetation tends to be healthier, bigger, and more abundant. Vegetation also stays greener further into the dry season. In fact, vegetation in some of the local beaver areas I study has become even greener into the dry season.

The heavy ponds also push water into the ground, recharging our aquifers. This groundwater is then released to the surface when pond-levels are low, buffering drought and creating year-round stream flow.

Locally, in the Los Padres where I study, we see dams between one and three feet tall and maybe 20 to 50 yards long, which is not that big for a beaver dam.

Lucky, lucky beavers in Los Padres. And lucky, lucky people that get a chance to learn from her.

Beaver habitat is characterized by abundant wildlife. Birds, insects, and frogs all thrive here and larger mammals may use the ponds as a watering hole.

Many researchers are particularly interested in the habitat’s effect on fish like salmon and our endangered steelhead who are born in streams, live their lives in the sea, and migrate back to the stream to reproduce. The beaver ponds provide slow-water rest areas for fish swimming upstream, abundant food for the young swimming downstream, and deep water protection from predators for both. This results in increased fish numbers and size.

Oh my goodness. I’m officially hiring you as the new beaver publicist of the golden state. It’s so nice to think someone will take over for me when I retire.

It’s not just wildlife that benefit. Beaver make for great ranching buddies since they create watering holes for cattle and healthier grazing pasture. An ecosystem that captures water can act as a natural fire break with fires fizzling out when they encounter the wetlands.

You might also find humans in this verdant ecosystem. In many areas, such as wine country, beavers attract tourism.

Okay I’m sold. Where do I sign up? Check out Emily’s new article complete with some very good reasons for California to befriend beaver.

Abstract

Beaver dams are gaining popularity as a low‐tech, low‐cost strategy to build climate resiliency at the landscape scale. They slow and store water that can be accessed by riparian vegetation during dry periods, effectively protecting riparian ecosystems from droughts. Whether or not this protection extends to wildfire has been discussed anecdotally but has not been examined in a scientific context. We used remotely sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data to compare riparian vegetation greenness in areas with and without beaver damming during wildfire. We include data from five large wildfires of varying burn severity and dominant landcover settings in the western USA in our analysis. We found that beaver‐dammed riparian corridors are relatively unaffected by wildfire when compared to similar riparian corridors without beaver damming. On average, the decrease in NDVI during fire in areas without beaver is 3.05 times as large as it is in areas with beaver. However, plant greenness rebounded in the year after wildfire regardless of beaver activity. Thus, we conclude that while beaver activity does not necessarily play a role in riparian vegetation post‐fire resilience, it does play a significant role in riparian vegetation fire resistance and refugia creation.

I’ll post the full article or your perusal but here’s the whopping conclusion and my favorite part:

As it stands today, wetland habitat is very limited and beavers can create and
maintain wetland habitat that persists through flood, drought, and as we have shown in this study – fire. This has immediate relevance to scientists and practitioners across the North America and Eurasia – particularly in places with increasing wildfire risk and existing or planned beaver populations. Perhaps instead of relying solely on human engineering and management to create and maintain fire-resistant landscape patches, we could benefit from beaver’s ecosystem engineering to achieve the same goals at a lower cost.

And scene! Emily is our hero. I believe she can do anything. Here’s the famed researcher gamely trying out Bob Rust’s junior beavercycle at a certain beaver festival.

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Go read the whole thing. And share if you share any friends with the Governor.

FairfaxWhittle_2020_SmokeyTheBeaver