Beavers provide a wide range of ecological benefits, including wildlife habitat creation, pollution filtration, and the attenuation of both drought and flooding. In recent years, researchers have begun to explore another crucial beaver service: wildfire mitigation and post-fire recovery. A growing body of evidence suggests that beaver-created ponds and wetlands offer fire refugia and even fire breaks, and aid the recovery of post-fire landscapes by capturing debris and aggrading incised stream channels. In this Earth Day symposium, we heard from experts from the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council & University of California Cooperative Extension, California State University-Channel Islands, Utah State University, and the Methow Beaver Project. Learn about research, insights, and management recommendations. Participants will develop a greater understanding of how these two keystone ecological processes, beavers and fire, interact on North American landscapes.
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Buy Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
Lenya N. Quinn-Davidson
Area Fire Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension & Director, Northern California Prescribed Fire Council
Dr. Emily Fairfax
Assistant Professor, California State University Channel Islands, Environmental Science and Resource Management
Join the people who protect and manage our natural areas.
