Tales of the Beaver: Learning to Coexist with Ecosystem Engineers

Tales of the Beaver: Learning to Coexist with Ecosystem Engineers

By Adam Gebauer

For a long time, The Lands Council has known the value of beavers on the landscape. They are tenacious wetland engineers who create habitats for all kinds of water loving species as well as improve the hydrology; connect streams to their floodplains; recharge water tables; and add complexity that improves fish habitat. But sometimes the industrious nature of beavers comes into conflict with the built environment. 

Sequestering Carbon Through Conversation and Community Burning: Converting Forest Fuels to Biochar

Sequestering Carbon Through Conversation and Community Burning: Converting Forest Fuels to Biochar

By Adam Gebauer

We all enjoy telling stories around a campfire, but what if that campfire was also a tool to improve timber practices and reduce carbon emissions? The Lands Council partnered with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and others on a pilot project to reduce forest fuels and transform them to beneficial biochar. These pilot burns were a chance for the forest community to come together and look at the many potentials for biochar on the landscape along with some of the limitations to large scale implementation.