Brilliant Beavers: Cultivating Climate Resilience

Join us at Oregon Natural Desert Association’s first online event of the 2026 High Desert Speaker Series with an evening all about beavers. Come learn about the important role of beavers in helping wildlife adapt and ecosystems thrive in a changing climate with Dr. Emily Fairfax, Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota and beaver researcher. Dr. Fairfax will elaborate on how beavers support a healthy environment, particularly their ability to retain precious desert water and combat drought. She will also outline a natural history of beavers and why we should care about helping them recover their populations in Oregon’s high desert. Jefferson Jacobs, ONDA’s riparian restoration manager, will join to share how our stream restoration work is grounded in creating beaver habitat to support the health of the entire ecosystem.