Protect Your Shoreline With An Itasca Waters Shoreland Advisor

Presented by: Emily Fairfax is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota and an affiliate faculty member at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory. Dr. Fairfax double majored in Chemistry and Physics as an undergraduate at Carleton College, then went on to earn a PhD in Geological Sciences with an emphasis in Hydrologic Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder. She uses a combination of remote sensing, modeling, and field work to understand how beaver ecosystem engineering can create drought and fire-resistant patches in the landscape under a changing climate. Her research has been featured internationally in National Geographic, the New York Times, the LA Times, BBC, Vox, and others.

Topic Summary: Beavers are powerful ecosystem engineers capable of radically transforming the landscapes they inhabit. From lakes, to rivers, to streams - beaver dam building, tree cutting, and canal digging influence a multitude of biological and physical processes. This, in turn, can improve things like water quality, fish and waterbird habitat, and even the ecosystem's resilience to drought, flood, and fire. It can also be a headache when it results in things like flooded roads or loss of ornamental trees. This talk will cover what the beavers here in the Great Lakes region do and do not do, how we currently manage them, and strategies for more sustainable management in the future.