Fire Resiliency
The idea that beaver dams can improve the resiliency of riverscapes to fire is common sense. That argument is made in Module 1's Principles Lecture. This page highlights examples, anecdotes, and the surprisingly small amount (but convincing) of published scientific evidence behind the idea that “It’s really not complicated: water doesn’t burn…” (National Geographic).
You will find resources on:
If you are looking for post-fire LTPBR case studies, check out:
Media Coverage
Recent media has highlighted how beavers improve fire resilience. A great summary is Emily Fairfax’s stop-motion explainer:
PBS Special
Want to Solve Wildfires and Drought? Leave it to BEAVERS! (November 2021)
News Articles
- Maughan R. 2013. Beaver restoration would reduce wildfires. The Wildlife News
- Stuebner S. 2018. Partners Pioneering on Post-Fire Project in the Pioneer Mountains - Idaho Soil & Water Conservation Commission
- Randall, B. 2018. Beavers, Water, and Fire—A New Formula for Success. National Wildlife Federation Blog
- Goldfarb, B. 2020. How beavers became North America's best firefighter. National Geographic
- Briana Randall, 2021. Simple hand-built structures can help streams survive wildfires and drought. Science News
- Rohrbacher, F. 2020. Les castors font barrage aux feux de forêt (in French)
National Geographic on Twitter:
Beaver dams slow the spread of wildfires, and in some cases, can even extinguish them
Radio
NPR All Things Considered
To improve wildfire resistance, researchers look to beavers (3 min segment)
NPR Science Friday
Beavers Build Ecosystems of Resilience (17 min segment)
Documentaries
Sara Tensegrity’s Beaver Believers (2018) describes how beaver ponds helped protect habitat during the 2015 Twisp Fire:
Presentations on Beaver & Fire
Emily Fairfax
Joe Wheaton
Documentation of Beaver Increasing Resilience
Beaver benefits are starting to be documented in the literature:
- Endter-Wada et al. 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.01.016
- Fairfax E, Whittle A. 2020. Smokey the Beaver: beaver-dammed riparian corridors stay green during wildfire
- Fesenmyer et al. 2018. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208928
- Hood & Bayley. Multiple studies on beaver and fire resilience
- Alexa S. Whipple, 2019. Thesis link
- Wheaton, J.M. et al. 2019. Chapter 2
Potential Sources of Funding
Public Fire Information
- InciWeb
- Managing Wildland Fires
- Fire Enterprise Geospatial Portal
- National Interagency Fire Center
- Fire Weather and Avalanche Center