Where does your drinking water come from? What protects your home from floods? Where is 60 percent of all the carbon stored in Canadian soils? What provides habitat for countless species of ducks, songbirds, insects, and rodents? … Wetlands.

The National Boreal Program of Ducks Unlimited Canada watches over the roughly 1 million square Kilometers of wetlands in Canada’s Boreal Forest. If you want an answer about wetlands, you talk to them. So that’s what I did. The National Manager for the Boreal Program Kevin Smith and a Remote Sensing Specialist Michael Merchant came on the podcast to discuss their work and the importance of wetlands to society and the integrity of our natural world.

Photo credit to ©DUC

An ice age relic living among us, Caribou are perhaps a remnant of an age long gone. Woodland Caribou are a beautiful, important, and yet many claim, a very poorly adapted species. In the cold northern wetlands of the Boreal forest, they have survived by living out of reach of predators. Woodland Caribou occupy a delicate niche that is highly susceptible to change. As such, they are at increased risk of extirpation. In Canada, there is a growing effort to help restore Woodland Caribou habitat to a state that allows for sustainable populations to exist. One major hurdle facing restoration is the vast network of seismic lines that riddle the Boreal forest from oil and gas exploration. Millions of kilometers of straight lines through the forest canopy open up travel for predators. Couple that with climatic changes and low birth rates, and this delicate species is facing a challenging future. Luckily, there is hope. Many companies have dedicated funding to research and restoration efforts to find answers to the caribou problem. Scott Nielsen’s Applied Conservation and Ecology Lab has found some answers.

Many people spend much of their time in the outdoors hoping to achieve something. Whether it’s hiking to the peak of a mountain, catching the biggest fish, harvesting an animal, or running the furthest distance, we often forget to enjoy the little things. Bruce is a lifelong outdoor writer, and he prides himself on being able to capture the emotion of a moment, allowing his readers to feel that moment again. His attention to the little details allows readers to journey to memories they forgot they had. Bruce is not trying to sell an idea or opinion, just providing a connection to our own memories of the outdoors. His book “One Last Cast- reflections of an outdoor life” is an incredible journey for all readers to find their own wilderness ideas within themselves.

Outro song “The Creek” was written by Edmonton musician Sarah Masterman and performed by herself and Nadine Veroba.

Living harmoniously with wildlife is not something western society has been able to do very well in the past. That being said, in the last few decades we have witnessed a societal push for more sustainable management of our wildlife species and wild places. With these values in mind we find ourselves asking what can we do better? How can we alter our own behaviour in a way that makes living with bears easier. Courtney Hughes has been researching the social dimensions of bears, and other wildlife, for years now and has some thoughts on how we can create successful interactions between bears and all land users.

Climate change has already begun to cause problems for forest management in Canada. These challenges can be difficult to recognize, and even more daunting to solve. However, with some change in perspective, we can begin to find simple solutions to large problems. Sheri and Mark have dedicated their professional lives to finding ways to help industry, and other stakeholders, tackle this seemingly overwhelming challenge of adapting to climate change. This problem does not require a new management system, just a new perspective and real engagement.

Indigenous people have lived in the Boreal forest since time immemorial, depending on the land for the health of their culture and community. Since colonization, it has become increasingly more difficult for them to acquire what they need as more and more people utilize the resources for their own purposes. As environmental professionals we have a professional and moral obligation to, first and foremost, protect the public resource. Those resources include indigenous rights and traditional use. More needs to be done to create an environment of cooperation and trust so that we can move into the future together to create a better tomorrow for everyone. During this conversation, we do an overview of a conference put on by the Canadian Institute of Forestry regarding indigenous consultation. Lots of emotion, frustration and great conversation.

How can we sequester more carbon, reduce the use of herbicide, produce more wood fibre, all while approaching a more "natural” method of forest regeneration? Phil thinks there may be a way. We discuss how the Boreal forest regenerates naturally, how we have historically regenerated after forest harvest and why there is such a gap between these two things. The first 27 minutes is just an overview of natural succession, setting the foundation for this discussion. Then we jump into the nitty gritty details of why it may be important to start transitioning cutblock regeneration into something more approaching natural forest succession, and how we can start to do that.

Grizzly bears are the second-largest land predator on the planet, next to the polar bear. They hold such mystique and wonder in our society and have come to represent "true wilderness" in the eyes of many. They are a truly incredible animal that needs to be protected for future generations to enjoy. Scott and I discuss the state of grizzly bears in Alberta, population levels, habitat, etc. We eventually get to talking about the effects of human disturbance on grizzly population numbers and how we can better manage our forests for these massive creatures. The answer may be more complicated then you think.

Forests hold many values for human kind. From housing species at risk and cleaning our water supply to economic prosperity and cultural empowerment. Objectivity, in deciding which of these values needs attention, is needed to make sure we don’t get over-focused on one specific issue while neglecting the others. The Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) is an organization dedicated to improving forest resources for the people of Alberta. This means staying objective while deciding which programs to fund. Todd Nash is the Manager of FRIAA and came in to talk about how the success of this non-profit has lead to better forests for everyone and how we can maintain objectiveness in management.

‘Good Fire’ is a podcast series about cultural burning around the world. I was fortunate enough to get to be a part of the conversations, even though my contribution was often one of ignorant questions. It is a great series that delves into the conversations around cultural burning and its impacts on local communities and environment. Today’s episode is the second of the ‘Good Fire’ series, we spoke to two gentlemen in Australia about their connection to the land and what burning means to their mobs and the larger Australian public.