The old ways are changing. Technology moves fast, and with it our methods and strategies for managing the landscape. Artificial Intelligence, or machine learning, presents an incredible opportunity in forest management. Better and faster data means more time spent on other values. Values like biodiversity, clean water, carbon storage and recreation. Today we find out how far we have come and what lies ahead! Hopefully not Skynet…

Resources

Collective Crunch

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Takeaways

Forest inventories (13.22)

Christof notes that forest inventories came into being after the overuse of forest resources in the industrial revolution and the realization that those resources are not unlimited. Country-wide inventories began only 100 years ago, and he claims Nordic and central European countries were the forerunners in this matter.

Forestry is an area where AI actually works (19.07)

Christof points out that LIDAR is done in 5-10 year cycles since acquiring data is expensive. They enrich data using their software to fill the gaps, making it cheaper. Rolf shares an example of how data can help track biodiversity loss to keep corporates accountable for their processes and offer transparency of ethics to consumers.

Data-driven baselining (27.52)

Rolf discusses one of their services, data-driven baselining for project management and bringing data into greenwashing conversations. Christof highlights that AI helps with squeezing the most out of the available data in a project. Rolf recognizes the benefits of this for a large landmass managed by a single entity.

The data you need (34.08)

Christof lists the various tools to acquire data at various levels of granularity and mentions that their customer segment usually looks for the medium scale of data. He talks about how modern AI systems are based on extracting and learning from existing data, the relationships between the data and what you want to predict.

Limits (39.24)

Rolf finds that the kind of data available can be limiting while Christof says ground measurements can be a limiting factor. Where LIDAR exists, technology can be used to augment the data between flights.

Valid and reliable (51.19)

Rolf talks about how data can provide a verifiable and scientific way to manage forests, and they are trying to convince the industry to become data-driven for scale. Their company can provide baseline analysis to help investors who are looking to invest in carbon credits.

The North American story (1.00.01)

Rolf foresees the carbon price continuing to go up in North America, which may incentivize forest owners to leave forests unharvested. Christof has observed change management initiatives in government forest organizations to embrace the new ways of managing forests. 

The data-driven future (1.10.08)

Christof believes more and higher quality data is a matter of time. They are seeing exponential growth in data, and his dream is to have a digital equivalent of the world’s forest cover, which would expand the possibilities of forest planning and management for the most economically optimal operations. Rolf adds that higher-resolution data is needed for biodiversity initiatives, but that we are on our way there.

Public forests hold a lot of value for people. Clean water, fresh air, organic food, rich ecosystems, recreation opportunities, and timber for our homes. Now, it is forest professionals job to manage the public resource for these values. Only, how do we know what the public values? Have we asked? This episode is about social license, and the idea of a forest profession that is forever moving forward to better protect the public interest.

Resources

Association of Alberta Forest Management Professionals (AAFMP)

Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance

The Myth of the Omnipotent Forester

Has the Myth of the Omnipotent Forester Become the Reality of the Impotent Forester?

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Quotes

33.06 - 33.11: “Our inherent nature is to read and seek information that supports our bias.”

Takeaways

For the people (13.00)

Carla defines the role of the regulator as protecting the public interest by ensuring foresters are qualified and pursuing continuing competence. In forestry, forest professionals are responsible to apply the values of the public in their work. She highlights the importance of ongoing public consultation, communication and relationship building.

The forestry industry (23.40)

Carla talks about how the industry is different today, with increased interaction with the public and the earning of social licences since most of what forest professionals do has a significant public impact. She encourages those looking to enter the industry to make the most of their time at school, selecting electives wisely and conducting informational interviews with professionals in the field to shine a light on their blind spots in the profession. She also celebrates reading about different perspectives in the field to broaden one’s horizons and ignite creativity.

“One of the core foundations of ethics is continuing competence” (36.10)

Carla laments that forestry has been accused of being stuck to old ways, but she finds foresters to be open and receptive. It is essential to be abreast with up-to-date science and apply it to one’s work, as due diligence. In the Friday notices she sends to all AAFMP members, she includes links to new information and Matt’s podcast.

Lifelong learning (55.33)

The continuing competence program is defined by the AAFMP council and is regularly reviewed. The intent is to move away from hours-based programs to competence profiles, which can lead to career growth. Carla gives the example of the Forest Technologist Standards they developed, which include soft sciences and an Indigenous component.

Being open (1.02.23)

Carla believes curiosity forms a large part of successful competency training. When one approaches Indigenous consultation from a place of inquiry, it prevents missing the big pieces of the conversation. She shares how AAFMP revised their exam to better help entrants in the field.

“Public interest is a moving target” (1.12.00)

Carla believes in encouraging people to be a part of the process of this self-regulated profession and to volunteer for committees that help make it what it is. She explains how her work involves balancing the interests of the bulk of the people with protecting minorities and being fair to the fringes of the profession.

Good Fire podcast is back! This is a bonus episode where we get to listen to the very knowledgeable, very passionate, and very engaged Bhiamie Williamson. We talk about cultural fire in Australia and the difference between western and Indigenous perspectives on fire, and our relationship to it.

Episode highlight

In this podcast, Bhiamie Williamson discusses the connection of Indigenous peoples to the land, and how cultural burning is a way to preserve the environment and cultural heritage.

Resources

Strength from perpetual grief: how Aboriginal people experience the bushfire crisis

Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements

Sponsors

The Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science

Support from:

●       California Indian Water Commission

●       Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation

Quotes

12.00 - 12.10: “There is so much trauma in our communities, people have never had the opportunity, I feel, to kind of pick themselves up and dust themselves off from colonization.”

Takeaways

Fire is a shared resource (5.58)

As an Aboriginal child growing up in Australia surrounded by his culture, Bhiamie “always had a love for country”. He studied environmental and political sciences at university, and discovered the benefits of cultural burning.

Land is at the center of healing (11.26)

Bhiamie points out that fire plays an important role in Indigenous healing practices. Cultural burning can also prevent wildfires, thus preventing the trauma of losing ancestral lands.

Sharing the load (19.04)

Bhiamie has written an article that has inspired governments and agencies to provide trauma-informed support to Aboriginal peoples after natural disasters.

The land is a living museum (24.42)

Bhiamie informs that Aboriginal peoples have connections to land, and the animals, trees, stones, and petroglyphs are all part of the cultural heritage.

“The best form of protecting is prevention” (30.22)

Bhiamie recommends engaging Indigenous peoples in emergency management and prevention conversations which can help in high-pressure conditions.

“Think ahead and be happy to be unsettled” (38.37)

Bhiamie comments on the impacts of colonization and “centuries of oppression”, and the need to overturn it.

True reconciliation (46.59)

Bhiamie expresses his preference to have Indigenous peoples design their own emergency management programs across different lands in Australia.

Children of the future (59.19)

A majority of the Aboriginal population is young, which brings up the need to provide educational and developmental support along with family and social support.

“It’s just not good enough to ignore us anymore” (1.02.37)

Bhiamie observes that even when Indigenous peoples are invited to share their opinion, they are marginalized, with tokenized opportunities that contain the impact they can have.

Indigenizing masculinity (1.08.41)

Bhiamie’s Ph.D. research is on Indigenous men and masculinity, exploring masculinity from an Indigenous perspective.

“You can call that decolonization, I just call that common sense” (1.14.13)

In Bhiamie’s opinion, the first step to decolonization is to employ Indigenous peoples in senior roles. Land justice and repossession by Indigenous peoples, as well as cultural burning to manage climate change, are the next steps.

You can get in touch with the hosts of this podcast via email: [email protected] and [email protected].

Many of us have heard of invasive species. We may even know a few species that are wreaking havoc in your local area. You have heard the doom and gloom of extinct species and ecosystem collapse. However, have your heard the success stories? How people have successfully managed to reclaim native landscapes and return species from the brink of extinction? Well, this is the good news story for you! We talk invasive species eradication on islands, and what we can learn from it.

Resources

Wes Jolley

Dena Spatz

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Quotes

46.02 - 46.12: “Eradications are not just done by one group of people; it is an incredibly collaborative effort that really comes from the people that live on the islands first.”

Takeaways

“Biodiversity is concentrated on islands” (18.55)

Dena differentiates between non-native species, a species that has been introduced outside of its native range, and invasive species, a non-native species that causes harm to that ecosystem.

Island species (22.25)

Dena highlights that island species lose their defences. Islands are hotspots for endemism, which makes them epicenters for extinction.

The human element (27.14)

Humans are carriers of invasive species, inhabitants of the island, creators of its culture and the victims of damage by invasive species.

Invasive species cost over a trillion dollars (32.00)

A one-time action and then opportunities for human-assisted recovery create a long-term sense of biosecurity through financial and conservation investments.

Nuanced conservation (41.15)

A value-based conservation approach considers the broader benefits of biodiversity restoration, like increasing productivity in surrounding areas.

Collaborative and holistic efforts (45.57)

Dena highlights the importance of recognizing the values and needs of the community where eradication efforts take place. The local community is mindful of preventing invasive species from coming to their islands. 

Considerations in conservation efforts (52.11)

Together, Pacific Rim Conservation and Island Conservation are creating ways to ensure restoration after the eradication of invasive species and build predator-proof fencing to prevent further invasions.

Global conservation efforts (1.04.29)

The Database of Island Invasive Species Eradications brings to light all the invasive species eradications and conservation efforts around the world over time. 

“We can only do what we have the tech to be able to do” (1.10.42)

Dena knows there is a lot more work to be done but that there are tools and information available to make it possible. The cost of harm by invasive species is a big driver for change.

It’s raining iguanas! (1.18.30)

Dena shares some examples of translocating native species to restoration sites instead of completely eradicating invasive species, sharing some techniques used and the behaviour pattern of the seabirds involved.

Taking a leaf from the island book (1.27.17)

Dena highlights that islands are insular systems due to their geographic separation by water, but the lessons from island conservation efforts can be applied to other insular areas like mountaintops.

Proactive control (1.32.53)

Dena acknowledges that a globalized economy with its import-export trade and travel brings with it invasive species. There are political controls in place to ensure biosecurity and protect agriculture and the economy.

In Honour of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada I am re-releasing one of my favourite episodes. Assistant Professor Matthew Wildcat breaks down the history and meaning of Canadian Treaties with Indigenous people. He explains that we are all treaty people and that everyone has a role to play in upholding the rights and freedoms treaties represent.

Resources

Matthew Wildcat

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Damaged Timber

Quotes

1.29.25 - 1.29.37: “In the Canadian situation, what decolonization means is that you have to shift from becoming somebody who is a colonizer to somebody who is a treaty partner.”

Takeaways

Governance (5.14)

Matthew is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Native Studies at the University of Alberta, interested in how Indigenous peoples govern today.

Laws (10.01)

First nations politics cannot be spoken about without addressing its relationship with Canadian society.

Two-way (17.13)

Treaties are the nuances of the relationship Indigenous peoples share with settlers.

Foundation (21.22)

Understand treaties as the reason for Canada’s creation, to prevent it from devolving into a story of conquest.

Symbiosis (29.09)

Hudson’s Bay Company relied on Indigenous peoples to perform their fur trade and sell them food.

Bison (32.57)

Bison herds were collapsing, which were the pillars of Indigenous economies and food.

Signing (35.36)

Not many Indigenous peoples spoke English, but many non-native people spoke Cree. Indigenous peoples used interpreters during negotiations, but a lot was lost in translation.

Understanding (38.32)

Indigenous peoples did not look to draw boundaries but expected that their permission be sought before sharing land.

The Indian Act (43.24)

The Indian Act was meant to enfranchise native people to become “full Canadian citizens” so there would no longer be “an Indian problem”.

Dishonouring (48.10)

The Riel Resistance of 1885 was bubbling with the general discontent with treaty terms not being honoured.

Barriers (54.30)

Many policies implemented by the Department of Indian Affairs undercut Indigenous farming efforts.

Trauma (1.00.43)

The ever-present trauma that residential school survivors suffer from makes life difficult.

Reserves (1.04.02)

Reserves isolate people and prevent communities from linking. Many Indian agents disallowed people to leave the reserve without a pass.

Difficulty (1.09.33)

Residential schools not only affected the students, but also the parents who had to live without children on their reserves. he can see how addictions could arise in such situations.

Relationships (1.15.05)

The most important aspect of this era is a willingness to have a relationship with Indigenous peoples, with their variety of life experiences and views.

Allyship (1.21.13)

As treaty partners, we all have to believe that Indigenous peoples have political rights, which will form the basis of the political relationships between us.

Partnership (1.26.07)

We have to put more effort into thinking about how Indigenous peoples will prosper and become true treaty partners in recognizing the political relationship.

Change (1.36.12)

The concepts of truth and reconciliation have allowed non-Indigenous peoples to tie the current situation of Indigenous peoples with its historical reasons.

Cultural Fire is something we have discussed quite a lot on this podcast. Today, we get to hear from some folks in Parks Canada about how they will be opening up the door to cultural fire. Some really open minded and thoughtful people at Parks have made it possible for Indigenous voices to be heard and for real change to be made. Getting Good Fire back on the land, in a place that is synonymous with “wilderness”, is a huge step in the right direction for understanding our relationship to land.

Resources

A Time For Burning by Henry Lewis

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Forest Proud

Quotes

27.02 - 27.08: “If we look at cultural burning just from a fire perspective, you are missing the whole picture about… mental health and other things.”

Takeaways

Cultural burning differences (11.02)

Each Indigenous community burns for different reasons, using different techniques.

Impact of colonization (12.26)

Cultural burning was carried out till settlers brought in fire exclusion policies.

Truth and reconciliation (13.30)

Parks Canada is honest about its history of removing people from the landscape.

Relearning cultural burning (15.30)

Amy began learning the importance of fire on the landscape from Métis Elders.

Creating more fire-keepers (19.18)

There is a need to train more Indigenous peoples to become fire-keepers.

Prescribed vs. cultural burning (21.54)

Amy points out that prescribed and cultural burning are not the same. 

Using cultural practices on the land (25.33)

It can only be up to Indigenous peoples to define cultural burning and come into Parks Canada to do that.

Making meaningful strides with reconciliation (33.18)

Pierre’s ex-wife is Miꞌkmaq and he is inspired to bring back their cultural practices, like burning, to the land to maintain ecological integrity for his 2 daughters.

Indigenous ways of knowing (41.34)

Indigenous peoples feel frustrated by fire policies that were created by non-Indigenous people who had no connection to cultural burning.

Long road ahead (45.05)

Some challenges in bringing Indigenous knowledge into the mainstream are official processes, oral records, cultural appropriation and multiple land claims.

Enabling Indigenous collaboration (47.25)

Amy has been brought in as a dedicated resource to help fire managers remove barriers to Indigenous participation with Parks Canada.

Programs, people, personalities (52.21)

Amy is working on a cultural burn program, a series of workshops, associated field trips, and coordinating with the Métis nation on re-writing fire policy and conducting workshops.

Removing barriers (1.01.00)

Amy assessed the barriers to managing fire and claims there is work to be done to remove those.

Knowledge keeping (1.06.00)

Involving Indigenous communities and Elders keeps the knowledge protected so they can burn with support from Parks Canada.

Looking ahead (1.14.00)

Recent fires have made people nervous to put fire back on the ground, but researchers have affirmed its need. 

Be a good ally (1.18.18)

Being a good ally is “using your power to make space for Indigenous peoples”.

Wildfires and Climate Change… what a combo. Dr. Susan Prichard came on the show to talk about how we might start to adapt our forests to the impacts of a changing fire regime due to a rapidly changing climate. What tools and methods can be used to help mitigate some of the most dangerous aspects of the fire reality we live in today.

Episode highlight

In this episode, Susan Prichard talks about using prescribed burning as a way to prevent runaway wildfires and manage climate change.

Resources

Dr. Susan J Prichard

Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Damaged Timber

Forest Proud

Giveaway

Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!

Quotes

16.24 - 16.35: “Indigenous knowledge persists and… Indigenous people throughout western North America had a really good handle on living in fire country.”

Takeaways

At the cusp of management and research (04.28)

Susan thinks of herself as a forest ecologist more than a wildfire ecologist. Wanting to be the best scientist she could be has inspired her throughout her career.

The case for adaptive management (07.42)

Susan is interested in adapting forests to a warmer climate. She’s been noticing similarities in fire intensity increases, fire loss patterns and fuel loading.

Active management of wildfire (14.00)

Susan notes that there are polarized views even in forest ecology. She highlights the need for active management of wildfires.

The change conundrum (20.29)

Susan describes how forests have changed due to the loss of Indigenous fire tending and how climate change is impacting the nature of fire.

Balancing priorities (27.02)

Susan talks about how “management is always very place-based” and that some tools work in certain places, not others.

Thinning vs. burning (29.23)

Susan observes that prescribed burning works well to clean up the fuels that carry high-intensity fire. Combined with thinning, it helps forests achieve more drought tolerance.

The rewards of patience (35.04)

Susan has noticed burn crews practice patience so that fire can be restorative instead of aggressive. She also respects firefighting crews for the work they do in wildfire incidents.

Broker a new reality with fire (45.47)

Susan’s “number 1 priority for society is to cap greenhouse gas emissions”, though we would still be living in a warm or dry climate.

Fire and smoke-adapted (49.36)

Susan talks about how people are using indoor air purifiers to be prepared for the next smoke event, to protect themselves from volatile organic compounds.

Fire-wise and Fire-smart (53.36)

Even though it is difficult for fire-impacted communities to deal with more smoke, there is an increased acceptance of prescribed burning. Communities are learning from one another about cultural burning too, and Susan hopes to do her part as a good ally to empower Indigenous voices to be a part of land management decisions.

A can-do attitude (1.02.31)

Supportive management, tolerance for mistakes and a certain risk appetite help fire stewardship, which will prevent any runaway wildfires.

“Prescribed burning gets an excelled report card” (1.10.45)

Susan states that prescribed fire escapes are less than 1% in the USA. She wants prescribed burners to be as supported and appreciated as firefighters are.

That’s right, logging Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. Blasphemy you say? We have to protect the resource! We have to keep it “pristine”, “untouched”, “wild”! Well…you are not alone in that thought. However, we are now realizing that maybe “letting nature take care of itself” is not the best strategy. Time to think outside the box. Jasper had a problem, they took a risk, and a lot of people learned a lot of neat things.

Resources

Canfor

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Damaged Timber

Forest Proud

Giveaway

Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!

Quotes

1.14.49 - 1.14.57: ”The more collaboration and… open and honest work that you can do with people upfront, the better off the project’s going to be.”

Takeaways

Then and now (04.56)

David speaks of the change in perspective from putting fires out in the early 1900s to shifting to Indigenous fire management and how fire protects the forest.

Reducing fire risk (07.11)

David’s team began considering removing the fuel load from Jasper National Park mechanically to reduce fire risk in the community.

Protecting the community (11.34)

David mentions that logging in a national park has become more common to deal with fire risks in the community. Landon recounts the history of logging in Jasper National Park.

Doing right by the people (25.43)

They wanted the logging to be at the lowest cost to the public, so they used the value of the wood logged to cover the cost of the project. They picked Canfor for their ecological focus.

The right people for the job (32.19)

Kari knew Canfor had the right equipment and experience from working on different projects with different organizations. Kari also has extensive experience and education in ecology.

The top two objectives (37.59)

The two objectives - to reduce the canopy fuel density to reduce the risk of severe wildfire and to maintain ecological integrity, were equally important to David and Landon.

Wins and challenges (40.29)

Kari describes the equipment, season and process used which protected the ground from disturbance.

Protection and forestry (44.20)

For Jasper National Park and Canfor, arriving at a common point of view and language was a necessary undertaking to achieve goals in time.

Finding the balance (55.45)

Those involved with this project wanted to leave a good legacy, to have the soil be as unaffected as possible while logging. Canfor suggested some procedures in order to do so.

The know-how (1.02.18)

Shelley viewed the logging project as a good fit for her to take on, given her experience navigating the complexities of contractual agreements and speaking the loggers’ language.

Finding a way out (1.06.35)

Shelley believes in the non-prescriptive approach with loggers so new possibilities can show up for both ecological and economical sustainability to be achieved.

The memories etched onto the land (1.10.45)

Different parts of the landscape are meaningful to different people, and balancing that with the economics of the task is challenging, Kari acknowledges.

The path forward (1.18.56)

Some areas of Jasper National Park are marked for Indigenous partners to use for ceremonies and gatherings. Reducing fire risk in the area is part of a continuing conversation to bring cultural burning back on the land.

Bear safety information is more riddled with opinions and ego than twitter. Guns vs spray, brown bears vs black bears, run vs play dead, climb a tree vs run down hill. Let the science of bear safety clarify things for you. Kim Titchener has nearly 2 decades of working with bears doing research, education, and even babysitting the big furry animals. She lays the groundwork and dispels the myths you have been hearing your entire life. Clarity is found here. This is not your fathers bear safety tips.

Resources

Bear Safety & More

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Damaged Timber

Forest Proud

Giveaway

Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!

Quotes

9.59 - 10.05: “It shocks me… the grace at which these animals let us continue to live with them.”

Takeaways

Finding her bearings (05.13)

Kim’s family, early jobs and education set her on the path of working with bears. 

Bear safety and more (12.41)

Kim helps industries create courses on safety with black, grizzly and polar bears. However, she has to prove her expertise as a woman, using science and experience.

Things Kim can’t bear (17.22)

Kim laments that people still think they can outrun a bear or climb a tree to escape. She points out that guns cannot be loaded and shot precisely as bear sprays can.

Bearing the brunt (21.32)

The media blames bears for any mishap, but Kim highlights that most of the time, it is the people’s fault, and she believes the media needs to be mindful of its narrative.

Bear necessities (31.15)

Be loud, carry bear spray, stay in large groups, and don’t leave children unsupervised or dogs unleashed. Avoid being outdoors at dusk and dawn, and never approach a bear!

Every season is bear season (40.53)

Kim’s course teaches about bears’ seasonal behaviours and what they feed on at different times of the year, so you can be mindful of those plants.

Defensive bears (42.21)

If you run into a bear with cubs or a carcass or if you surprise a bear at close range, they become defensive, huffing, jaw popping, paw pounding, foaming and drooling. Back away.

Bear down (48.41)

If a defensive bear is not appeased by your backing away and charges toward you, use your bear spray. If you do not have any or can’t spray it in time, drop to the ground and play dead.

Bare your teeth! (52.50)

Kim warns against playing dead in a predatory attack! Instead, use bear spray and fight back. Hit the bear with rocks or branches in their eyes or nose.

Not your average bear (57.38)

Predatory bears show different signs than defensive bears - they will approach you in any pattern - directly, zig-zag or appear next to you. They may pull their ears back sometimes.

No use bearing arms (1.06.18)

Bear bangers can further aggravate a defensive bear or go off behind them, causing them to charge toward you. Many gun encounters have led to the loss of human lives.

Bear spray for the win! (1.14.27)

Bear spray inflames the mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs and skin, causing involuntary eye closure, making the bear cough, gag and have difficulty in breathing.

Our forests are being stolen! One tree at a time! And it can all be blamed on poverty. After logging towns are surrounded by protected areas and all of the industry has stopped, what are the people who have created a life there for generations supposed to do? It is their identity, who they are, it is all they know, logging, and it has been taken away. Some of those desperate people continue to do what they know, and it is costing the rest of society dearly.

Resources

Lyndsie’s profile

Lyndsie’s book Pre-order now!

Sponsors

West Fraser: https://www.westfraser.com/

GreenLink Forestry Inc.: http://greenlinkforestry.com/

Damaged Timber: https://www.damagedtimber.com/

Forest Proud: https://forestproud.org/

Quotes

32.43 - 32.52: “Because old growth is a carbon sink,... For an old growth to be stolen has quite an impact on the environment and a forest’s ability to adapt.”

Takeaways

Tree sleuthing (8.43)

The first time Lyndsie heard about tree poaching was when one of the largest red cedars in Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park on Vancouver Island was poached in 2012.

Following the trails (17.21)

On Vancouver Island, Lyndsie shadowed natural resource officers and discovered that old growth douglas fir and cedar are the most poached there.

Drugs and poaching (21.33)

There is widespread drug use in the poaching community, so the poacher takes the wood directly to the drug dealer.

The damage (29.24)

In the USA, poaching of forest service land is valued at 20 million dollars a year, accounting for 1 in 10 felled trees being poached, which has reduced the amount of old growth left.

The person, the poacher (34.15)

The poachers shared the challenges of living in a community that never recovered from stopping industrial logging in their interviews with Lyndsie

Lumber families (37.49)

Lyndsie shares that one of the towns she went to had families who had moved there for logging and saw it as a part of their lineage and identity.

Revenge poaching (50.25)

In the pacific northwest, logging towns that were once stable economies degenerated into hubs of unemployment, homelessness and drug use after logging was stopped.

Million missteps (56.05)

Lyndsie believes that the poachers need to be listened to and systems changed since many mistakes have been made over the history of conservation to lead to this place.

Multinational economy (1.01.01)

Lyndsie found some similarities in her research in Peru and BC. Immediate financial security from poaching has taken away from the consequences of reducing old growth.

Whose land? (1.05.29)

Hiring people in desperate poverty to poach a tree on a foreign land who may not question what they are being asked to do, damages the Indigenous people’s ancestral property.

Trees changing hands (1.09.39)

Lyndsie outlines the many places a tree goes when it is poached, and how difficult it is for investigators to intercept the process, due to its transport process and proving the source.

Community (1.19.01)

There is a community forest right outside Lyndsie’s door and she sees community forests as providing a way to conserve that also incorporates use.

A perfect storm (1.25.58)

A poacher acknowledged that the history of clearing land in North America is associated with disenfranchising Indigenous peoples.