How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Beavers Fight Floods, Droughts And Wildfires

Google, the Nature Conservancy and the state of California have teamed up to use the Earth Engine Automated Geospatial Elements Recognition (EEAGER) to map beaver habitats across California. The project is part of Google’s corporate water stewardship program and could help reduce the impact of flooding and wildfires. It was inspired by Alice Outwater’s book Water: A Natural History, which highlighted the ecological importance of beavers. The project is headed up by Emily Fairfax, a University of Minnesota beaver researcher, and Google mechanical engineer Eddie Corwin.