Emily Fairfax Explained

Emily Fairfax
Education:Carleton College (B.A.), University of Colorado Boulder (Ph.D.)
Occupation:Professor, ecohydrologist, beaver scientist, science communicator
Employer:University of Minnesota
Known For:Research 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.

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

See also: Environmental impacts of beavers. 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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Emily Fairfax . Natural Areas Association . NAA . August 5, 2023.
  2. Web site: Beaver dams and wildfire, a stop-motion demonstration . The Kids Should See This . 18 February 2019 . August 6, 2023.
  3. Web site: Kearns . Faith . From being an engineer to researching nature's engineers . UC ANR Forest and Research Outreach . August 5, 2023.
  4. Web site: Fairfax . Emily . How a Beaver Became a Twitter Star . Edge Effects . 7 March 2019 . August 5, 2023.
  5. Web site: Kearns . Faith . From being an engineer to researching nature's engineers . UC ANR Forest and Research Outreach . August 5, 2023.
  6. Web site: New faculty joining GES . UMN GES News . 7 April 2023 . August 5, 2023.
  7. Web site: SAFL Affiliated Faculty . SAFL . August 5, 2023.
  8. Foundation . Walton Family . Ahead of Earth Day, Walton Family Foundation Announces Emily Fairfax and Meaghan Parker as New Environment Fellows . 2024-05-14 . www.prnewswire.com . en.
  9. Fairfax . Emily . Whittle . Andrew . Smokey the Beaver: beaver-dammed riparian corridors stay green during wildfire throughout the western United States . Ecological Applications . September 2, 2020 . 30 . 8 . e02225 . 10.1002/eap.2225 . 32881199 . 221475263 . free . 2020EcoAp..30E2225F .
  10. News: Goldfarb . Ben . How beavers became North America's best firefighter . https://web.archive.org/web/20210222085512/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/beavers-firefighters-wildfires-california-oregon . dead . February 22, 2021 . Aug 5, 2023 . National Geographic.
  11. Web site: Our Changing Planet . 12 April 2023 . BBC . August 5, 2023.
  12. News: Blackman . Stuart . Beavers' activities can create oases and limit spread of US wildfires . Aug 5, 2023 . BBC Discover Wildlife.
  13. News: Beavers can teach researchers a thing or two about improving wildfire resistance . Aug 5, 2023 . NPR Morning Edition.
  14. News: Beavers Build Ecosystems of Resilience . Aug 5, 2023 . NPR Science Friday.
  15. News: How beavers are helping restore wetlands and create buffers against wildfires . Aug 6, 2023 . NPR Morning Edition . July 31, 2023.
  16. Web site: Changing Planet: Beavers Help to Control California's Forest Fires . PBS . August 5, 2023.
  17. Web site: Want to Solve Wildfires and Drought? Leave it to BEAVERS! . PBS Terra . August 5, 2023.
  18. News: Powell . Tori . From pest to protector: How beavers are helping fight climate change . Aug 6, 2023 . CBS Mornings . August 31, 2022.
  19. News: How beaver dams can help fight wildfires . Aug 6, 2023 . ABC News . April 6, 2023.
  20. News: An unlikely ally in the face of wildfires and droughts: the humble beaver . Aug 6, 2023 . CBC News: The Current . September 14, 2022.
  21. News: Taxin . Amy . California aims to tap beavers, once viewed as a nuisance, to help with water issues and wildfires . Aug 6, 2023 . AP News . July 24, 2023.
  22. News: Cusick . Daniel . The Beaver Emerges as a 'Climate-Solving Hero' . Aug 6, 2023 . Scientific American . July 11, 2022.
  23. News: Whitcomb . Isobel . Beaver Dams Help Wildfire-Ravaged Ecosystems Recover Long after Flames Subside . Aug 6, 2023 . Scientific American . February 7, 2022.
  24. News: Solis . Nathan . California says the beaver can be superhero in fighting climate change . Aug 5, 2023 . Los Angeles Times . September 7, 2022.
  25. News: Einhorn . Catrin . It Was War. Then, a Rancher's Truce With Some Pesky Beavers Paid Off. . Aug 5, 2023 . New York Times . September 6, 2022.
  26. Jordan . Chris . Fairfax . Emily . Beaver: The North American freshwater climate action plan . WIREs Water . April 2022 . 9 . 4 . 10.1002/wat2.1592 . 2022WIRWa...9E1592J . 250316459 . free .
  27. Web site: HB 3464 Testimony List . Oregon State Legislature . August 6, 2023.
  28. Web site: Millman . Katherine . Beaver Management Along Roads and Within the Rightof-Way: Report and Recommendations for the Colorado Department of Transportation . August 6, 2023.
  29. Web site: Spreading Like Wildfire: the Rise of Extraordinary Landscape Fires . 22 February 2022 . United Nations Environment Programme.
  30. Fairfax . Emily . Zhu . Eric . Clinton . Nicholas . Maiman . Stafania . Shaikh . Aman . Macfarlane . William . Wheaton . Joseph . Ackerstein . Dan . Corwin . Eddie . EEAGER: A Neural Network Model for Finding Beaver Complexes in Satellite and Aerial Imagery . Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences . May 27, 2023 . 128 . 6 . 10.1029/2022JG007196 . 2023JGRG..12807196F . 258952955 . free .
  31. News: Derouin . Sarah . Mapping beaver dams with machine learning . Aug 6, 2023 . Eos . June 16, 2023.
  32. Web site: EEAGER: A neural network model for finding beaver complexes in satellite and aerial imagery . Publications . Google Research . August 6, 2023.

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