NPS Scientist Feature: Dr. Rebecca Beavers gives her expertise on the US Army Corps of Engineers’ podcast, Engineering with Nature Episode 5

Listen to the podcast on the Engineering with Nature website

Dr. Rebecca Beavers

The Engineering with Nature podcast is part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering with Nature initiative. This initiative focuses on developing and implementing nature-based solutions for water and infrastructure projects and collaborating with a growing international community of practitioners, scientists, engineers, and researchers, to harness the power of nature to innovate, solve problems, and create sustainable solutions. The podcast is an outreach project aimed at engaging more people by sharing the stories of the growing community, the knowledge that they’re developing, the projects they’re working on, and the benefits they’re delivering. They’ve talked with practitioners, scientists and engineers from many organizations who are transforming traditional approaches to infrastructure design and development by applying the principles and practices of Engineering with Nature (EWN) including our own Coastal Geology and Adaptation Coordinator, Dr. Rebecca Beavers.

In season 3, episode 5: Applying Engineering with Nature strategies at national parks and refuges, host Sarah Thorne and Jeff King, Deputy Lead of the Engineering With Nature Program at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, interview Rebecca Beavers and Scott Covington, Senior Ecologist for Refuges within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rebecca and Scott share a strong commitment to protecting our national parks and wildlife refuges by making them more resilient to the changing conditions exacerbated by climate change.

Nature-based solutions is an area that is gaining a lot of attention and funding as the effects of climate change – rising sea levels, intense rainfall and drought, heat waves, wildfires, and many other changes impact vulnerable natural resources, including national parks and wildlife refuges.

Elwha Dam (removed in 2011-2012)

NPS Photo

Rebecca sees the need for more natural infrastructure solutions in her work with the National Park Service: “Many of these parks are changing in tremendous ways. Drought in the west is often followed by wildfire, and following wildfire, we’re seeing landscape changes from major debris flows–cascades of water and rocks that come down the hillsides. These can affect homes, infrastructure, along with the habitats of the plants and animals which are very much affected.” Rebecca adds that the effects on natural features can be significant, “A freshwater marsh may become brackish where it has some of the saltwater components, or it may become a fully saline marsh–what we call a saltmarsh.” These changing conditions add complexity to the challenge of protecting and preserving the parks, along with the many physical structures of historical significance. “We also have to look at some of the other stressors that we put on the landscape. In some of these places we built dams that are great for hydroelectric power, but it also has an impact of holding up sediment further up the watershed.”

Gateway NRA scientist, George W. Frame, conducting fieldwork with two interns at Big Egg Marsh.

NPS Photo/Bridget Ye

Rebecca and Scott share several examples of EWN approaches being used to protect parks and refuges and make them more resilient. At Fort Pulaski National Monument, beneficial use (BU) of sediment reduces coastal erosion and returns beneficial sediment to the system. Thin layer placement (TLP) of dredged sediments builds up sinking wetlands at the Chafee Refuge in Rhode Island, and in turn, protects and preserves wildlife habitat. Rebecca adds that TLP was also used on the Big Egg Marsh Project in Jamaica Bay, Gateway National Recreation Area, New York in 2003. The marsh is currently being resurveyed to see if the project was effective and to collect insights about natural adaptation.

Fort Pulaski closure, November 4, 2021 from flooding along the Savannah River.

NPS Photo

Collaboration is a key theme throughout this episode. The leading-edge work is underway at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the adjacent Harriet Tubman Underground Railway Park in Maryland. It is a great example of U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S Army Corps of Engineers, and several other non-government organizations working together to protect the marsh and this important historical landmark. According to Scott, “This is a really good demonstration project to show what you can do when you work together with what nature gives you.”

Stay tuned for Episode 6 when Rebecca, Scott, and Jeff return to talk about working together on adaptive management strategies for parks and refuges, and what individuals can do to help protect and preserve these priceless resources.

Related Links

Coastal Adaptation Strategies Handbook

National Park Service Climate Change Response Program

National Park Service Coastal Geology Program