What kind of impact is the North American beaver having on the landscape of the Mountain West? An article by Stacy Passmore MLA ’18 published in the July issue of Places Journal takes on this question. Supported by a 2017 Penny White Project Fund grant and recipient of the GSD’s Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship, Passmore chronicles her travels examining the work of the animal that has “gained something of a cult reputation as an environmental engineer.”

“I had heard stories about humans and beavers working together to restore wetlands and river systems, and I wanted to see for myself,” writes Passmore. “That might sound weird — working together — but as a landscape designer you have to be open to unusual collaborations. If farmers and ranchers were turning into ‘beaver believers,’ I could respect that.”

When she’s not scouting such altered landscapes, Passmore is a landscape designer at Civitas in Denver, Colorado.

Read the full article, “Landscape with Beavers.”

Image: Concept sketch of a “beaver deceiver,” a flow device to limit pond depth. [Stacy Passmore]