Emily Fairfax

Last updated

Emily Fairfax
Education Carleton College (B.A.), University of Colorado Boulder (Ph.D.)
Occupation(s)Professor, ecohydrologist, beaver scientist, science communicator
Employer University of Minnesota
Known forResearch on beavers and wildfire, "Smokey the Beaver"
Website https://www.emilyfairfaxscience.com

Emily Fairfax is an ecohydrologist, beaver researcher, and assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota. She is best known for her research describing how beavers create drought and wildfire resistant patches in the landscape. Fairfax and her research have been featured internationally in numerous written, radio, and television media programs about beavers.

Contents

Early life and education

Fairfax double-majored in Chemistry and Physics as an undergraduate at Carleton College, then went on to earn her Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Colorado Boulder. [1] She was awarded a DoD NDSEG Fellowship for her doctoral studies, and completed graduate certificates in Hydrologic Sciences and in College Teaching while at the University of Colorado Boulder. Fairfax says that her interest in science developed at an early age—as a young child she told her that mother that wanted to walk on the rings of Saturn, but to not worry because she'd bring her car seat to be safe. [2] She was a Girl Scout growing up and spent significant time camping outdoors and leading canoe trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, which she says kindled her interest in environmental science and wetlands in particular. [3] [4] She began to seriously think about beavers and their relationship to climate change when she watched the PBS documentary "Leave it to Beavers". [5]

Career

Fairfax is an ecohydrologist, beaver expert, and science communicator. She was an assistant professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management at California State University Channel Islands from 2019 to 2023. In 2023, she started a new position as an assistant professor of Physical Geography at the University of Minnesota [6] and is affiliated with the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory. [7] She was selected as an Environment Fellow by the Walton Family Foundation in 2024. [8] Fairfax received the G.K. Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research from the American Association of Geographers - Geomorphology Specialty Group in 2024.

Research

Fairfax studies how ecosystem engineering by beavers increases the drought and fire resistance of wetland and riparian ecosystems in North America. She primarily uses remote sensing, modeling, and field work to quantify changes in ecosystem health before, during, and after disturbances in areas with and without beaver activity. Her study titled "Smokey the Beaver: beaver-dammed riparian corridors stay green during wildfire throughout the western United States" [9] was the first scientific study to document beaver-created fire refugia and has garnered significant attention worldwide. Fairfax and this research have been featured in National Geographic, [10] BBC, [11] [12] NPR, [13] [14] [15] PBS, [16] [17] CBS News, [18] ABC News, [19] CBC News, [20] AP News, [21] Scientific American, [22] [23] the Los Angeles Times, [24] and the New York Times, [25] amongst others.

Fairfax argues in her research that riverscape restoration and beaver conservation are necessary components of building landscape-scale climate resilience. [26] She has testified before the Oregon State Legislature on the science of beaver-driven climate resilience and her studies are referenced in global, regional, and state-level land management planning documents. [27] [28] [29] Fairfax worked with a team of engineers from Google to build a machine-learning image recognition model called EEAGER (Earth Engine Automated Geospatial Element(s) Recognition) that can identify beaver dams in satellite and aerial imagery, in hopes of expediting the field of beaver research and the implementation of beaver-based restoration projects. [30] [31] [32]

Notable publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaver</span> Genus of semiaquatic rodents that build dams and lodges

Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver and the Eurasian beaver. Beavers are the second-largest living rodents, after capybaras, weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb). They have stout bodies with large heads, long chisel-like incisors, brown or gray fur, hand-like front feet, webbed back feet, and tails that are flat and scaly. The two species differ in skull and tail shape and fur color. Beavers can be found in a number of freshwater habitats, such as rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. They are herbivorous, consuming tree bark, aquatic plants, grasses and sedges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drought</span> Period with less precipitation than normal

A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing, with subsequent increased wildfire risks. Heat waves can significantly worsen drought conditions by increasing evapotranspiration. This dries out forests and other vegetation, and increases the amount of fuel for wildfires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Forest Service</span> Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, as well as Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and is the sole major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildfire</span> Uncontrolled fires in countryside or wilderness areas

A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, prairie fire, vegetation fire, or veld fire. Some natural forest ecosystems depend on wildfire. Wildfires are different from controlled or prescribed burning, which are carried out to provide a benefit for people. Modern forest management often engages in prescribed burns to mitigate fire risk and promote natural forest cycles. However, controlled burns can turn into wildfires by mistake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme weather</span> Unusual, severe or unseasonal weather

Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weather history. They are defined as lying in the most unusual ten percent. The main types of extreme weather include heat waves, cold waves and heavy precipitation or storm events, such as tropical cyclones. The effects of extreme weather events are economic costs, loss of human lives, droughts, floods, landslides. Severe weather is a particular type of extreme weather which poses risks to life and property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keystone species</span> Species with a large effect on its environment

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance. The concept was introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community. Without keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Some keystone species, such as the wolf and lion are also apex predators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain National Park</span> National park in Colorado, United States

Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately 55 mi (89 km) northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and Grand Lake to the west. The eastern and western slopes of the Continental Divide run directly through the center of the park with the headwaters of the Colorado River located in the park's northwestern region. The main features of the park include mountains, alpine lakes and a wide variety of wildlife within various climates and environments, from wooded forests to mountain tundra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riparian zone</span> Interface between land and a river or stream

A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaver dam</span> Dam constructed by beavers

A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers; it creates a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way that the overall ecosystem builds upon the change, making beavers a keystone species and ecosystem engineers. They build prolifically at night, carrying mud with their forepaws and timber between their teeth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in California</span>

Climate change in California has resulted in higher than average temperatures, leading to increased occurrences of droughts and wildfires. Over the next few decades in California, climate change is likely to further reduce water availability, increase wildfire risk, decrease agricultural productivity, and threaten coastal ecosystems. The state will also be impacted economically due to the rising cost of providing water to its residents along with revenue and job loss in the agricultural sector. Economic impacts also include inflation from rising insurance premiums, energy costs and food prices. California has taken a number of steps to mitigate impacts of climate change in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildfires in the United States</span> Wildfires that occur in the United States

Wildfires can happen in many places in the United States, especially during droughts, but are most common in the Western United States and Florida. They may be triggered naturally, most commonly by lightning, or by human activity like unextinguished smoking materials, faulty electrical equipment, overheating automobiles, or arson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asmeret Asefaw Berhe</span> Eritrean-American soil biogeochemist

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a soil biogeochemist and political ecologist who served as Director of the Office of Science at the US Department of Energy from 2022 to 2024. She was previously the Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and the Ted and Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology in the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences; University of California, Merced. Her research group worked to understand how soil helps regulate the Earth's climate.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impacts of beavers</span>

The beaver is a keystone species, increasing biodiversity in its territory through creation of ponds and wetlands. As wetlands are formed and riparian habitats enlarged, aquatic plants colonize newly available watery habitat. Insect, invertebrate, fish, mammal, and bird diversities are also expanded. Effects of beaver recolonization on native and non-native species in streams where they have been historically absent, particularly dryland streams, is not well-researched.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 California wildfires</span>

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References

  1. ↑ "Emily Fairfax". Natural Areas Association. NAA. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Beaver dams and wildfire, a stop-motion demonstration". The Kids Should See This. February 18, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  3. ↑ Kearns, Faith. "From being an engineer to researching nature's engineers". UC ANR Forest and Research Outreach. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  4. ↑ Fairfax, Emily (March 7, 2019). "How a Beaver Became a Twitter Star". Edge Effects. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ Kearns, Faith. "From being an engineer to researching nature's engineers". UC ANR Forest and Research Outreach. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ "New faculty joining GES". UMN GES News. April 7, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ "SAFL Affiliated Faculty". SAFL. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  8. ↑ Foundation, Walton Family. "Ahead of Earth Day, Walton Family Foundation Announces Emily Fairfax and Meaghan Parker as New Environment Fellows". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  9. ↑ Fairfax, Emily; Whittle, Andrew (September 2, 2020). "Smokey the Beaver: beaver-dammed riparian corridors stay green during wildfire throughout the western United States". Ecological Applications. 30 (8): e02225. Bibcode:2020EcoAp..30E2225F. doi: 10.1002/eap.2225 . PMID   32881199. S2CID   221475263.
  10. ↑ Goldfarb, Ben. "How beavers became North America's best firefighter". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Our Changing Planet". BBC. April 12, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  12. ↑ Blackman, Stuart. "Beavers' activities can create oases and limit spread of US wildfires". BBC Discover Wildlife. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Beavers can teach researchers a thing or two about improving wildfire resistance". NPR Morning Edition. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Beavers Build Ecosystems of Resilience". NPR Science Friday. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ "How beavers are helping restore wetlands and create buffers against wildfires". NPR Morning Edition. July 31, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Changing Planet: Beavers Help to Control California's Forest Fires". PBS. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Want to Solve Wildfires and Drought? Leave it to BEAVERS!". PBS Terra. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ Powell, Tori (August 31, 2022). "From pest to protector: How beavers are helping fight climate change". CBS Mornings. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  19. ↑ "How beaver dams can help fight wildfires". ABC News. April 6, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  20. ↑ "An unlikely ally in the face of wildfires and droughts: the humble beaver". CBC News: The Current. September 14, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  21. ↑ Taxin, Amy (July 24, 2023). "California aims to tap beavers, once viewed as a nuisance, to help with water issues and wildfires". AP News. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  22. ↑ Cusick, Daniel (July 11, 2022). "The Beaver Emerges as a 'Climate-Solving Hero'". Scientific American. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  23. ↑ Whitcomb, Isobel (February 7, 2022). "Beaver Dams Help Wildfire-Ravaged Ecosystems Recover Long after Flames Subside". Scientific American. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  24. ↑ Solis, Nathan (September 7, 2022). "California says the beaver can be superhero in fighting climate change". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  25. ↑ Einhorn, Catrin (September 6, 2022). "It Was War. Then, a Rancher's Truce With Some Pesky Beavers Paid Off". New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  26. ↑ Jordan, Chris; Fairfax, Emily (April 2022). "Beaver: The North American freshwater climate action plan". WIREs Water. 9 (4). Bibcode:2022WIRWa...9E1592J. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1592 . S2CID   250316459.
  27. ↑ "HB 3464 Testimony List". Oregon State Legislature. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  28. ↑ Millman, Katherine. "Beaver Management Along Roads and Within the Rightof-Way: Report and Recommendations for the Colorado Department of Transportation" (PDF). Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Spreading Like Wildfire: the Rise of Extraordinary Landscape Fires". United Nations Environment Programme. February 22, 2022.
  30. ↑ Fairfax, Emily; Zhu, Eric; Clinton, Nicholas; Maiman, Stafania; Shaikh, Aman; Macfarlane, William; Wheaton, Joseph; Ackerstein, Dan; Corwin, Eddie (May 27, 2023). "EEAGER: A Neural Network Model for Finding Beaver Complexes in Satellite and Aerial Imagery". Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 128 (6). Bibcode:2023JGRG..12807196F. doi: 10.1029/2022JG007196 . S2CID   258952955.
  31. ↑ Derouin, Sarah (June 16, 2023). "Mapping beaver dams with machine learning". Eos. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  32. ↑ "EEAGER: A neural network model for finding beaver complexes in satellite and aerial imagery". Publications. Google Research. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
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