Faces of Wildlife

Welcome to our Faces of Wildlife Prologue. This is your taster of the show and we recommend starting here. In season one, host, Mike Pedersen, begins his journey in his home province, and Canada's most westerly outpost, British Columbia, exploring the issues impacting wildlife and the key players looking to help keep them on the landscape. To learn more about this series, please visit 1Campfire.  Music in this episode was provided by Elk the Moose.

Mule deer might not seem like a species at risk, especially if you live in a city with an urban deer problem, but their numbers are actually on the decline in some areas, and we’re trying to find out why. On this episode, Mike heads to the University of British Columbia’s Kelowna campus to talk to Dr. Adam Ford and Chloe Wright about the Southern Interior Mule Deer Project. There’s a lot more to mule deer than you might realize… To learn more about this series, please visit 1Campfire.  Music in this episode was provided by Isaac Balson and Elk the Moose.

Okanagan Mountain Park made headlines around the world when a massive wildfire ignited the Kelowna park during the summer of 2003. The 25,912 hectare fire, which was started by a lightning strike, was devastating for homeowners as 239 buildings were destroyed in its wake.    But despite its destructive effect on humans, the fire had massive benefits to flora and fauna inside the park. From the ashes came an opportunity to reintroduce wild sheep back into the area after many years of absence. Our guest, Chris Barker, was part of the team that reintroduced those sheep back into the park and he shares the story of this incredible initiative.  To learn more about this series, please visit 1Campfire.  More about MOVI can be found HERE If you'd like to get involved with the conservation of wild sheep, the two organizations we mentioned were The Wild Sheep Society of B.C. and the The Wild Sheep Foundation.  Music in this episode was provided by Isaac Balson and Elk the Moose.

On episode three, Mike heads east to Revelstoke, British Columbia to chat with Dr. Rob Serrouya and Brian Glaicar. In this first of two episodes dedicated to caribou, we meet Rob and Brian, cover a brief history of caribou, and look at some of the issues that are putting this iconic Canadian species at further risk of decline.  To learn more about this series, please visit 1Campfire.  Music in this episode was provided by Isaac Balson and Elk the Moose.

On this episode, we continue the discussion on Caribou and shift our focus to habitat management and predator management. When it comes to caribou, we only have a few options that will help recover this iconic Canadian species, and they aren’t easy to sign off on. But at some point, the government and general population will have to decide if we are committed to seeing caribou on our landscape. These difficult decisions are discussed by a guide outfitter, a scientist and a conservation expert. To learn more about this series, please visit 1Campfire.  Music in this episode was provided by Isaac Balson and Elk the Moose.

On this episode, Mike chats with Brian Springinotic - CEO of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation in Victoria, British Columbia. The HCTF exists because its major contributors (hunters, anglers, trappers, and guide-outfitters) were willing to pay for conservation work above and beyond that expected by the government for basic management of wildlife and fish resources. The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is a non-profit charitable foundation acting as Trustee of the Habitat Conservation Trust. To learn more about the Faces of Wildlife podcast, please visit 1Campfire.  Music in this episode was provided by Isaac Balson and Elk the Moose.

On this final episode of Faces of Wildlife, we learn more about host Mike Pedersen's journey into conservation. This is the story of how Mike got involved in wildlife management and habitat preservation. Thank you for joining us for Faces of Wildlife! To learn more about this podcast series, and to find more content like this, please visit 1Campfire.