ALGONQUIN DEFINING MOMENTS

Episode 38: What Good is a Wolf! Pimlott’s Early Myth Busting

Episode 38: What Good is  a  Wolf! Pimlott's Early  Myth Busting

This episode is the first of a series on the Algonquin Park wolf research that began with Douglas Pimlott's early work from 1958-1962. Prior to that time, Algonquin Park wolves had mostly been seen as vermin out to destroy all other Park wildlife. 

This episode's musical interlude comes from Dan Gibson's Solitudes Algonquin Suite and is called Reunion of  the Wolves.  It is  brought to your with thanks from Digital Funding LLC. This and other of Dan Gibson's Solitudes work can be found on Apple Music, Spotify or anywhere else where music streaming is found.

Here’s the list of references that have informed most of these episodes:

• Russell Rutter and Douglas Pimlott’s 1967 The World of the Wolf
• Pimlott, Shannon and Koolenosky’s 1969 Department of Lands and Forests Report on the Ecology of the Timber Wolf
• John Theberge’s 1975 Wolf and the Wilderness
• John and Mary Theberge’s 1998 Wolf Country
• John and Mary Theberge and the University of Waterloo’s 2004 The Wolves of Algonquin Park:  A 12-Year  Ecological Study   
• Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s 2018 Algonquin Wolf – Ontario Recovery Series
• Dan Strickland’s Wolf Howling Technical Bulletin #88
• Various articles in a  special Winter 1979 edition of the Ontario Naturalist by Lu. N Carbyn, Bruce LittleJohn’s, John Theberge &  Theodor Mosquin
• Wolf Wars: America’s campaign to eradicate the Wolf
• ‘Unprecedented killing’: The deadliest season for Yellowstone’s wolves
• Several Raven Newsletter articles including:
  • Kill the Wolves and Kill the Park - Aug 5, 1993 Vo 34, #7
  • Is Algonquin Big Enough for its Most Famous Animal?- June 26, 1997 Vol 38#2 
  • The Best Wolf is a Wild Wolf - August 14, 1997 Vol 28#9
  • A Wolfian Trilogy - Part 1: the Bite that shook our Faith July 15, 1999 Vol 40#4
  • A Wolf Trilogy Part 3: You Red it Here First July 29,1999 Vol. 40 No. 6

Episode 37: Lake Water Rising Part 2: The Gilmour Tramway

Episode 37: Lake Water Rising Part 2: The Gilmour Tramway

 

In this second of two episodes on the Gilmour great misadventure, I focus on Gilmour’s great tramway adventure. where the company tried to haul and float logs from the Algonquin Park Highlands to  Trenton. On a completely different river system and uphill for a fair amount of it, the adventure was an engineering marvel but a practical disaster of both time and money.

In addition to my own research for many of my books and other podcasts, most of the content comes from a few key sources including:

• When Giants Fall – The Gilmour Quest for Algonquin Pine by GARY LONG & RANDY WHITEMAN
• Algonquin Park’s Mowat Little Town of Big Dreams by Mary I. Garland
• Raven Article: Our Eyes are Dim, We cannot See August, 2003 Remaking the Tea-Smoke-Canoe Lake Landscape 14,2003 Vole 44 No 9
• Norm Quinn’s 2002 Algonquin Wildlife Lessons in Survival

The musical interlude in this episode is the Wakami Walers version of the Log Drivers Waltz from their 1993 Waltz With the Woods Album. Don’t forget to check out other versions on YouTube, which a great fun to watch. Don’t forget to lend your support to the Wildlife Research Station as they embark on another busy season of research activities.

Episode 36: Lake Waters Rising - The Gilmour’s 1894 Lumbering Misadventure Part 1

Episode 36:

As I noted in the last episode one of the really interesting aspects of Chief Ranger Peter Thomson’s first Algonquin Park report, was the almost nonchalant way he described the fact that the newly constructed dam at Tea Lake was expected to raise the water level by nearly four feet.  In this first of two episodes on the Gilmour's great lumbering misadventure, I wanted to give you a sense of what the Oxtongue River-South Tea-Canoe-Joe and Smoke Lakes area looked like in the pre-Gilmour time and share why the Gilmour and Company lumber operations built South Tea Lake dam in the first place.

In addition to my own research for many of my books and other podcasts, most of the content comes from a few key sources including:

• When Giants Fall – The Gilmour Quest for Algonquin Pine by GARY LONG & RANDY WHITEMAN
• Algonquin Park’s Mowat Little Town of Big Dreams by Mary I. Garland
• Raven Article: Our Eyes are Dim, We cannot See August, 2003 Remaking the Tea-Smoke-Canoe Lake Landscape 14,2003 Vol. 44 No 9
•  Algonquin Wildlife Lessons in Survival by Norm Quinn

The musical interlude is called Paddle and Portage. It comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes CD called Algonquin Suite, which is brought to you courtesy of Digital Funding LLC. All of the Solitudes collection can be found where ever you get your streaming music such as Apple Music or Spottily amongst others.

 

Episode 35: Algonquin’s Early Beginnings: The first Official Canoe Trips Summer-Fall 1893

Episode 35: Algonquin’s Early Beginnings: The first Official Canoe Trips Summer-Fall 1893

In 1893 the Algonquin National Park Act was passed and soon after Peter Thomson was appointed Chief Ranger. In this episode I share his first report of his activities in the summer of 1893. As well is another provided by Mr. James Wilson Superintendent of Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park who was asked to tour ‘the territory’ which he did via canoe during the late fall of 1893. His observations, descriptions and recommendations are for the most part just  as insightful today as they were when reported in early 1894. 

This episode’s musical interlude is called Forest Song from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes’ CD called Algonquin Suite. Many thanks to Digital Funding LLC, owners of the Dan Gibson's Solitudes copyright, who have granted permission for its use. Search using Dan Gibson’s Solitudes’ on your favourite music streaming site to listen too the entire CD.

Source document is a compilation published by the Legare Street Press iin 2013, who "publish works that have been selected by scholars as being culturally important and are part of the ‘knowledge base of civilization as we know it." It is occasionally available on eBay for those interested in purchasing their own copy. 

Episode 34: The Amazing World of the Canada Jay

Episode 34:  The Amazing World of the Canada Jay

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been enamoured by what my family used to call Whiskey Jacks - now called Canada Jays. I and my brothers would sit on our front deck holding our hands out whilst these little gray darlings would come and, with a little coaxing, take pieces of bread and other goodies from our hands.

In this episode, I am joined by Dan Strickland, former Algonquin Park Naturalist and Dr. Ryan Norris an ecologist who is an Associate Professor with the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, Ontario. Both are experts on the ecology of the Canada Jay and share some of the latest research findings based on nearly 60 years of Algonquin Park-based research out of the Wildlife Research Station.

Some key links:

• Indigenous artist Mark Nadjiwan’s drawing of a Canada Jay can be found on his website https://www.threetreesart.com/for-seven-generations.html
• This episode’s musical interlude is called Dawn of the Lake from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes’ CD called Breaking Through the Mist. Many thanks to Digital Funding LLC, owners of the Dan Gibson's Solitudes' copyright, who have granted 

  permission for its use. Search using Dan Gibson’s Solitudes’ as the search term on your favourite music streaming site to listen to the entire CD.

• For more details on the Canada Jay research check out the Wildlife Research Station website publications page https://www.algonquinwrs.ca   Also check out Dr. Ryan Norris' complete research portfolio at the Ryan Norris Lab, including some really interesting work on migrating monarch butterflies.  https://norrislab.ca

 

 

 

Episode 33: More Fish Fun Facts and Harkness Fisheries Lab Research Gems

Episode 33: More Fish Fun Facts and Harkness Fisheries Lab Research Gems

In this episode I'll continue my journey through the world of fisheries research in Algonquin  and hope to bring to life some of the really interesting and fun fish facts that I've been able to ascertain. Also of course, introduce you  to a few  more  of the Fisheries researchers and  there work. 

This episodes musical interlude is called Easy Stream from Dan Gibson's Solitudes Breaking the Mist CD. His music can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora and most other places where you get your music on the web.  

Fisheries photos can be found on my VIDs and PICs page on www.algonquinparkheritage.com. Enjoy!

Episode 32: Fish-Fish and More Fish: Early Years of the Harkness Fisheries Lab

Episode 32: Fish-Fish and More Fish: Early Years of the Harkness Fisheries Lab

Not being that into angling, except when my twins were young and fishing off of our Canoe Lake dock a regular pass time, it's been seriously enlightening to learn all about the Harkness Laboratory for Fisheries Research on Lake Opeongo. This is the first of two episodes that explores the history of fisheries research in Algonquin Park, which began in 1936.  YOu'll have an opportunity to meet some of the amazing fisheries researchers and their work both then and more recently. I now know more about fish than I ever thought possible. Now you can as well!!!

There are too many sources to list here, but you can find the complete list along with some great historical photographs on my website blog www.algonquinparkheritage.com  

 

The music in this episode comes from  composer Sarah Spring whom you can find on any music web site or her website www.sarahspringpiano.can

Episode 31: More Cool Algonquin Wildlife Station Research

Episode 31: More Cool Algonquin Wildlife Station Research

This concludes a 3-part series on the history and research that is going on at the Wildlife Research Station. My focus in this episode is more recent work on moose, salamanders, Canada Jays, hemlock tree regeneration, sapsuckers and beaver as well as another wonderful collection of Wildlife Research Fun Facts.

This episode’s musical interlude comes from Sara Spring and is another of her piano compositions called Across Long Lakes and can be found at saraspringpiano.ca

For this episode in addition to my own research for my books, most of the content comes from a number of key sources including:

• Rory MacKay’s 2018 Algonquin Park A Place Like No Other
• Norm Quinn’s 2002 Algonquin Wildlife Lessons in Survival
• George Warecki’s recent books on both J. R. Dymond (2019) and Douglas Pimlott (2021).
• George Garland’s 1989 Glimpses of Algonquin
• Robert Bateman’s 2015 autobiography Life Sketches
• Various articles in The Best of the Raven newsletters Volumes 1 to 3 as well as those from 2010-2021 that are available on-line
• And of course the Wildlife Research Station official web site AlgonquinWRS.ca and selected of their published research papers and abstracts.

 

Episode 30: Wildlife Research Station - Some Cool Research Projects

Episode 30: The Wildlife Research Station

In this episode I’m going to focus on a number of really interesting research projects that have been going on – some for many, many decades and along with more stories of the researchers and their experiences.

A Big shout-out to Patrick Moldowan, the Station's Communications Director who has been an incredible partner. Not only did he make sure that I was getting all of my explanations right or at least mostly right, but he also was incredibly patient with my at times really dumb questions and scientific term translation requests.  The Algonquin WRS website is www.algonquinwrs.ca to join their Patreon Program or just take a look at the research abstracts.  

Other key contributors include:

• Rory MacKay’s 2018 Algonquin Park A Place Like No Other
• Norm Quinn’s 2002 Algonquin Wildlife Lessons in Survival
• George Warecki’s recent books on both J. R. Dymond (2019) & Douglas Pimlott (2021)
• George Garland’s 1989 Glimpses of Algonquin
• Robert Bateman’s 2015 autobiography Life Sketches
• Various articles in The Best of the Raven newsletters Volumes 1 to 3 as well as those from 2010-2021 that are available on-line
• And of course the Wildlife Research Station official web site and selected published research papers and abstracts.

Musical contribution was called Wild Goose from the Wakami Whalers  2017 Un, Deux, Trois...Four album. They can be found at www.wakamiwailers.com

Historical photographs can be found on www.algonquinparkheritage.com

 

Episode 29: The Wildlife Research Station - The Early Years

Episode 29: The Wildlife Research Station - The Early Years

Park Superintendent Frank MacDougall was the force behind much of the early efforts to increase public awareness of the importance of ecology and to do so on a scientific basis.  After the success of the Harkness Laboratory for Fisheries, in 1944, he pushed for the establishment of a Wildlife Research Station that would focus on terrestrial i.e. land-based ecosystems. In this episode, I share the history of the early years of Algonquin Park’s Wildlife Research Station and provide some insight into the characters of the people who were directly involved.

In addition to my own research for my books, most of the content comes from a number of key sources including:

• Rory MacKay’s 2018 Algonquin Park A Place Like No Other
• Norm Quinn’s 2002 Algonquin Wildlife Lessons in Survival
• George Warecki’s recent books on J. R. Dymond (2019) and Douglas Pimlott (2021).
• George Garland’s 1989 Glimpses of Algonquin
• Various articles in The Best of the Raven newsletters Volumes 1 to 3 as well as those from 2010-2021 that are available on-line
• And of course the Wildlife Research Station official web site and selected published research papers and abstracts.

This episode’s musical interlude is another wonderful song from Ian Tamblyn called Woodsmoke and Oranges from his 2007 CD Superior: Spirit and Light.  Check out his webste www.iantamblyn.com to find more of his music.

Check out the Station website at www.Algonquinwrs.ca for information on publications and to support their ongoing research efforts.