YourForest

Latest Episodes:

#38-A New Way Forward (Ecosystem Based Management) Part 2 with David Andison Jun 27, 2018

Show notes

People tend to find a cause they care about and stick to it to make sure it is represented. Often times at the detriment to adjacent and equally important causes, not out of hate but out of ignorance. Arguably the best approach for finding answers to big questions, like ecosystem management, is to see the WHOLE picture. Focus is good, it drives us, makes us better, but it can also make us blind. EBM is an idea where we come together as stakeholders and land users to manage the ecosystem as a whole and understand the impacts each action has on every value from water quality, habitat, carbon storage and economics. David is an Adjunct Professor with the UBC Forestry program as well as a consultant and head of the Healthy Landscapes Program for FRi Research. He came on to add to what Ed had to say last week. Everyone has an idea of what EBM is, so the more opinions you here the better you can understand it.

#37-A New Way Forward (Ecosystem Based Management) with Ed Grumbine Jun 21, 2018

Show notes

FRi Research put on a workshop to discuss ecosystem based management(EBM) with multiple stakeholders and land managers. This workshop came with a lot of great ideas and perhaps a new way of thinking about landscape management. EBM is a way of thinking about the entire ecological picture instead of focusing on individual aspects like timber, biodiversity, water, habitat, etc. EBM gets us to look at all the values and manage them simultaneously creating a more holistic and well balanced approach to ecological management. Ed Grumbine, currently the Land Programs Director for the Grand Canyon Trust, is also known as one of the founders of this way of thinking and he was kind enough to come speak with me about this concept. Thanks to FRi for putting this on and there is one more episode on this to come with David Andison next week.

#36-Chronic Wasting Disease with Catherine Cullingham Jun 13, 2018

Show notes

Imagine a disease that eats away at the neurons in your brain creating holes. This disease is fatal but will take years to kill you as your mind and body slowly waste away. By the way, its infectious and easily transmittable. That is CWD. It affects animals in the deer family, white-tail deer, mule deer, moose and elk. This degenerative disease was first discovered in a captive environment but is now found in wild populations of animals in much of the United States as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan. It can survive outside its host for years, making any place where infected animals live an infectious area even after the animals are long gone. It is truly a worrying situation and one that we need to try to understand and manage as much as possible. Catherine is a research scientist that has been monitoring and working on CWD in Alberta for many years. She came on to explain this disease, what it is, where it came from, how it spreads, and what we can do.

#35-Remote Sensing, Changing the Game with Guillermo Castilla and Rob Skakun Jun 07, 2018

Show notes

Links for the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) and on it you can find the National Burned Area Composite dataset (NBAC) for downloading end-of-season fire perimeters.

Topics discussed: Definition of remote sensing, Earth Observation Satellites, Mapping wilderness fires, LiDAR, Measuring trees, Better Data=Better Management, Photogrammetry, Drone technology and its application, Artificial intelligence, Future of natural resource data.

#34(4)-Indigenous Culture and The Forest with Michael Gubbels May 31, 2018

Show notes

This is an old recording I did from last year. It was the 4th episode I ever did but I think it might be one of the most important ones. Michael is an indigenous policy coordinator for the government of Alberta and he came on to discuss indigenous history and culture. He spoke a lot to his own experience and about the trauma that these communities have faced in the past and how that affects forest management today. He was incredibly honest and truthful about his personal experiences and a very down to earth guy. This is my favorite episode ever. Thanks Mike

#33-Wood Works with Rory Koska May 25, 2018

Show notes

Wood is used to build our homes, create paper so we can right literature and history and build beautiful pieces of art and furniture that we cherish for its natural beauty, but we have barely scratched the surface of woods capacity. With new technology we can build taller, stronger, more fire resistant and more beautiful buildings. Vancouver now has a building 18 stories tall built from wood, and potential exists for us to go taller yet. These structures are not only functional and meet all safety standards but are absolutely gorgeous to behold. Nothing quite warms up a room like wood grain. In this episode I talked with Rory Koska from Wood-Works about the potential of wood buildings and why they are a better alternative in many cases to steel and concrete. Topics discussed include changing specs, cross laminated timber, glulam, laminated veneer lumber, fires resistance, how tall can we go, high density wood products, beauty of wood, sustainability of wood, and much more.

#32-Backcountry Hunters and Anglers with Tom Habib May 18, 2018

Show notes

Hunting and fishing are seen by many people to be barbaric activities that no ethical person would do, or even more misguided, they think it is mindless and easy. People see the depictions of hunters as middle aged men riding around in a pickup truck drinking beer and shooting everything in sight for the pure joy of the kill. I promise you this could not be further from the truth. Hunting and fishing takes years to understand and master and requires infinite patience and skill to do right. It changes the way you think about food, and your connection with it. You see the full journey from hoof to plate and you appreciate everything that went into getting that meat to your families table. You will never throw out an once of anything you have harvested yourself. I would argue hunters and anglers are more attached and thankful for their food then any non-hunter/angler. Tom Habib came on to discuss the role of hunting and fishing in our society and why it is important. The BHA is a non-profit organization trying to get more people out into the wild. They are also trying to ensure the wild is there to enjoy for future generations. Topics discussed include, Chronic Wasting Disease, ethics of hunting, connection to the land, requirements of good hunting and fishing, how to begin, issues facing the BHA, much more.

#31-Where We Have Been and Where We Are Headed with Terry Kristoff May 09, 2018

Show notes

#30-Invasive Fish with Britt Schmidt Apr 30, 2018

Show notes

Carp fact Sheet : http://aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/invasive-species/aquatic-invasive-species/documents/AIS-Quickfacts-PrussianCarp-May2015.pdf

Some interesting facts around fishing in Alberta relative to other provinces for some perspective on why fish capture limits are so low.

Ontario has 250,000 fish-bearing
lakes, with 585,000 licensed anglers,
or 2.3 anglers per lake.
Saskatchewan has 94,000 fish-bearing lakes,
with about 184,000 licensed anglers,
or 1.9 anglers per lake.
Alberta has only 800 lakes with fish,
but 250,000 licenced anglers, or
312 anglers per lake.

#29-Bighorn Backcountry with Chris Smith Apr 22, 2018

Show notes

A few notes that Chris wished me to add post recording regarding some facts that we straightened out.

CPAWS was founded in 1963

Forest Management Unit R11 is managed by the Province not Clearwater County

The North Saskatchewan Glacier is in Banff Natioanl Park

The Ram River Coal Mine is a surface mine

The Regional Advisory Council has 27 members

And the RAC was released for comment on March 7th.

Also, he gave more detail regarding the specific breakdown of how the PLUZ’s where created because we didn’t give full detail while recording. Just know that it was more complicated then we discussed.

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