Yukon Wildlife and Wildfire

The charred trees Carrie and Karen see in the Takhini Valley are relics from a fire almost 70 years ago. The boreal forest is not a place of rapid change. This area abounds with Lodgepole Pine, which only the most determined animals can get into without the help of fire.

Show notes
Key themes
Animal bed (0:00)
Takhini Valley Fire of 1958 (2:18)
Fires of ’58 Yukon Nugget audio recording (3:15)
Succession in the Takhini Valley Fire (5:18)
Factors influencing succession (6:46)
Lodgepole Pine trees (9:02)
Forest decomposition (10:32)
Permafrost (12:05)
Spruce Grouse (14:35)
Crossbill (16:17)
Porcupine (17:39)
Fisher (19:43)
Mule Deer (20:11)
Elk (21:34)
Red Squirrel (22:00) 
Pinecone midden (22:19)
Lodgepole Pine relationship with fire (23:26)
Aspen parkland (25:39)
Takhini Elk herd (26:11)

Interviews and audio clips: 

• The fires of ’58, Yukon Nugget on CKRW (96.1 The Rush)
• Jill Johnstone, affiliate research scientist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and research associate with Yukon University
• Shyloh van Delft, birder and master’s student at Yukon University
• Tom Jung, senior wildlife biologist with the Yukon Department of Environment 

Music credits

• Acoustic guitar melody #001 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/733895/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Acoustic guitar melody #002 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/733902/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Acoustic guitar melody #006 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/734590/ – License: Attribution 4.0

Sound effects

• Radio dial: Mark Koepke
• Spruce grouse: Thomas Magarian, XC389928. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/389928
• Spruce grouse: Paul Marvin, XC205576. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/205576
• Red Crossbill: Stanislas Wroza, XC1013709. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/1013709
• Red Squirrel: Bram Piot, XC1060250. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/1060250

Yukon Wildlife/Wildfire is produced by the Government of Yukon’s Wildlife Viewing Program and hosted by Karen McColl and Carrie McClelland. Sound design is by Mark Koepke. The podcast logo was designed by Dan Bushnell and Department of Environment. 

The theme song, White Bark Pine, was written and produced in the Yukon by Dana Jennejohn and performed in collaboration with the Bennett Sun.

Learn more about Wildlife Viewing in the Yukon, including free events and publications. 

Sign up for the Wildlife Viewing newsletter.

Follow Yukon Environment on Facebook.

Music and sounds credits – intro:

• Thunder/raven: Mark Koepke
• Fire ignition: Lighting a Fire by plasterbrain—freesound.org/s/534702/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Black-backed woodpecker: Aiden Place, XC488401. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/488401
• Red Squirrel: Backyard squirrel by SoundsLikeYukon—freesound.org/s/820322/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Woodpecker: SMA13024_20230620_051500 
• Boreal Chickadee: Logan McLeod, XC610278. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/610278

The Fox Lake Fire of 1998 burned all summer. Almost 30 years later, the leafy forest growing back provides food and shelter for Snowshoe Hare (including a wrong-coloured one hiding from Carrie and Karen) and all the animals that eat hare — which is pretty much everything. This forest is also primed for Northern Flickers, which have a very important job. But the show stealer is a mysterious fungus-filled tree and the wily rodent responsible for it. 

Show notes
Key topics
Fox Lake Fire (2:10)
Fire mosaic (3:08)
Forest succession (3:50)
Fire cycle and the fire-resistant stage (5:06)
Fox Lake Burn rest stop (7:23)
History of the Fox Lake Fire (7:52)
Snowshoe hare (9:00)
Snowshoe Hare colour change (9:48)
Canada Lynx (10:30)
Hare and lynx cycle (10:55)
Hare predators (12:50)
Aspen versus spruce tree (14:07)
Forest understory (14:49)
Red-backed voles and predators (15:20)
Weasels and marten (15:45)
Elk (16:15)
Ruffed Grouse (17:35)
Northern Flicker (18:47) 
American Kestrel (20:07)
Nest trees (20:18)
Nest webs and tree cavities (20:51)
Hare browse (22:45)
Red Squirrel (23:23)
Mushroom tree (23:54)
Coyote (25:45)

Interviews and audio clips:

• Jill Johnstone, affiliate research scientist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and research associate with Yukon University
• Tom Jung, senior wildlife biologist with the Yukon Department of Environment 
• Katie Aitken, associate professor and program coordinator in the Northern Environmental and Conservation Sciences program at Yukon University and adjunct professor at University of Alberta.

Episode artwork
Photo of Canada Lynx by Cameron Eckert. 

Music credits

• Acoustic guitar melody #003 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/733990/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Acoustic guitar melody #010 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/734804/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Acoustic guitar melody #008 by GuitarStringTheory  – freesound.org/s/734793/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Baddum Tish - Comedy Rimshots - classic rim shot.wav by OverlookHotelRecords –freesound.org/s/271208/ – License: Creative Commons 0

Sound effects

• Ruffed Grouse: Logan McLeod, XC433034. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/433034.

Yukon Wildlife/Wildfire is produced by the Government of Yukon’s Wildlife Viewing Program and hosted by Karen McColl and Carrie McClelland. Sound design is by Mark Koepke. The podcast logo was designed by Dan Bushnell and Department of Environment. 

The theme song, White Bark Pine, was written and produced in the Yukon by Dana Jennejohn and performed in collaboration with the Bennett Sun.

Learn more about Wildlife Viewing in the Yukon, including free events and publications. 

Sign up for the Wildlife Viewing newsletter.

Follow Yukon Environment on Facebook.

Music and sounds credits – intro:

• Thunder/raven: Mark Koepke
• Fire ignition: Lighting a Fire by plasterbrain—freesound.org/s/534702/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Black-backed woodpecker: Aiden Place, XC488401. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/488401
• Red Squirrel: Backyard squirrel by SoundsLikeYukon—freesound.org/s/820322/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Woodpecker: SMA13024_20230620_051500 
• Boreal Chickadee: Logan McLeod, XC610278. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/610278

The boreal forest and wildfire tell a story of resilience that stretch deep in time. Wandering through a fresh burn, Karen and ecologist Jill Johnstone unearth clues about the forest’s future. They investigate tree corpses and itty-bitty plants and some amazingly fast-growing ones as well. In a few years, shrubs and small aspen will entice Moose, Black Bear and other animals, but these early stages of regrowth are ephemeral. Eventually, coniferous pine and spruce trees will take over, changing everything.  

Show notes
Key topics
Succession (3:25)Takhini Bridge Fire (5:22)
Fire mosses and liverworts (7:35)
Organic layer (7:55)
Conifer seedlings (8:27)
Lodgepole Pine (9:25)
Twinflower and Fireweed (10:00)
Sedges (10:45)
Willow (11:58)
Shrub-dominated forest (13:00)
Moose (13:18)
Grey Wolf (14:42)
Black Bear (16:25)
Soapberry (16:50)
Ants (17:52)
Trembling Aspen (18:45)
Climax forest (21:00)

Interviews and audio clips:

• Jill Johnstone, affiliate research faculty with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and research associate appointment with Yukon University; specializes in post-fire dynamics of boreal forests.
• Tyler Ross, ungulate biologist with the Yukon Department of Environment
• Tom Jung, senior wildlife biologist with the Yukon Department of Environment

Episode artwork
Photo of Black Bear by Gordon Court. 

Music credits

• Acoustic guitar melody #011 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/735192/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Acoustic guitar melody #005 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/734305/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Acoustic guitar melody #007 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/734660/ – License: Attribution 4.0

Yukon Wildlife/Wildfire is produced by the Government of Yukon’s Wildlife Viewing Program and hosted by Karen McColl and Carrie McClelland. Sound design is by Mark Koepke. The podcast logo was designed by Dan Bushnell and Department of Environment. 

The theme song, White Bark Pine, was written and produced in the Yukon by Dana Jennejohn and performed in collaboration with the Bennett Sun.

Learn more about Wildlife Viewing in the Yukon, including free events and publications. 

Sign up for the Wildlife Viewing newsletter.

Follow Yukon Environment on Facebook.

Music and sounds credits – intro:

• Thunder/raven: Mark Koepke
• Fire ignition: Lighting a Fire by plasterbrain—freesound.org/s/534702/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Black-backed woodpecker: Aiden Place, XC488401. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/488401
• Red Squirrel: Backyard squirrel by SoundsLikeYukon—freesound.org/s/820322/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Woodpecker: SMA13024_20230620_051500 
• Boreal Chickadee: Logan McLeod, XC610278. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/610278

Wildfire can be destructive, but that’s not the whole story. When two naturalists with the Yukon Wildlife Viewing Program walk into the 2023 Takhini Bridge Fire burn, it feels apocalyptic. But on closer examination, Carrie and Karen see grasses sprouting and scattered seeds that attract animals big and small. They learn about a fire-loving beetle and a beetle-loving woodpecker, and get schooled on a mysterious bird of prey that suddenly swooped in.  

Show notes
Key topics
The role of fire in the boreal forest (3:45)
The fire cycle in the Yukon (5:59)
2023 Takhini Bridge Fire (6:25)
Morel mushrooms (7:31)
Owl and hare sighting (10:07)
Lodgepole Pine (11:40)
Meadow Vole (12:24) 
Red Fox (13:40)
Boreal Chickadee (14:13)
Elk (15:10)
Elk bugle (17:04)
Tree cavities with Michael Quinn (18:06)
Black-backed woodpecker (18:33)
Fire-loving beetles (18:53) 
Northern Hawk Owl (20:12)
Edge habitat (21:25)

Interviews and audio clips

• Mike Flannigan, BC Innovation Research Chair in Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science, Faculty of Science at Thomson Rivers University.
• Tom Jung, senior wildlife biologist with the Yukon Department of Environment. 
• Michael Quinn, researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.

Episode artwork

Photo of Red-backed Vole by Alex Beatty/Government of Yukon.

Music

• Acoustic guitar melody #015 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/737877/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Acoustic guitar melody #013 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/735394/ – License: Attribution 4.0/
• Acoustic guitar melody #014 by GuitarStringTheory – freesound.org/s/735496/ – License: Attribution 4.0

Sound effects 

• Boreal Chickadee: Logan McLeod, XC610278. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/610278
• Elk: Danielle Munzing, XC971966. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/971966
• Phone dial and ring: Mark Koepke

Audio of beetles and woodpeckers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada
What: Audio files recorded using Song Meter Automated Recording Units (ARU)
Description: These audio files featuring woodpeckers, songbirds, and bark and wood-boring beetles were recorded in recently burned boreal forest in central Yukon in June 2023
Credit: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada

File name: SMA13011_20230604_091500
Notes: beetles chewing
Year: 2023
ARU: W15 (13011)

File name: SMA13024_20230620_051500
Notes: high abundance of woodpeckers
Year: 2023
ARU: 13024

File name: SMA13095_20230622_093000
Notes: likely young woodpeckers being fed by parent
Year: 2023
ARU: 13095

Yukon Wildlife/Wildfire is produced by the Government of Yukon’s Wildlife Viewing Program and hosted by Karen McColl and Carrie McClelland. Sound design is by Mark Koepke. The podcast logo was designed by Dan Bushnell and Department of Environment. 

The theme song, White Bark Pine, was written and produced in the Yukon by Dana Jennejohn and performed in collaboration with the Bennett Sun.

Learn more about Wildlife Viewing in the Yukon, including free events and publications. 

Sign up for the Wildlife Viewing newsletter.

Follow Yukon Environment on Facebook.

Music and sounds credits – intro:

• Thunder/raven: Mark Koepke
• Fire ignition: Lighting a Fire by plasterbrain—freesound.org/s/534702/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Black-backed woodpecker: Aiden Place, XC488401. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/488401
• Red Squirrel: Backyard squirrel by SoundsLikeYukon—freesound.org/s/820322/ – License: Creative Commons 0/
• Woodpecker: SMA13024_20230620_051500 
• Boreal Chickadee: Logan McLeod, XC610278. Accessible at xeno-canto.org/610278