Ed Reeves from Deline recently sent me this link to a very cool CBC North radio project that was done by the kids of Deline, Northwest Territories. The kids interviewed the Elders of Deline to learn more about their spiritual and cultural history and connections with the the land and the water and especially the [...]

Just got this comment on Friday, June 26, about spring conditions from NWT biologist Richard Popko who is stationed in Norman Wells:
“Local situations varied  during spring migrations. Few whimbrels were seen.  It seems like most flew by. Waterfowl concentrated very thick in open areas at Brackett Lake and downriver from Fort Good Hope in the Mackenzie River. [...]

Bird biologists Ron Pittaway and Jean Iron from Ontario recently compiled this excellent summary of reports about conditions in the Far North for birds that gives a more hopeful scenario for nesting success of many birds in the region. They graciously allowed me to reprint it below. Thanks Ron and Jean!
Jeff  
 ”Several people asked us to comment about recent reports of a “Disastrous [...]

Credit: Jeff Wells 
I had to be in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories during the second week of June for meetings related to the incredible work that is going on there to put a plan in place to protect the aquatic resources of that region of big water.  But since it is light most of the time then, [...]

After posting the article and images about how the incredibly still-icy spring in Canada will likely affect breeding, we obtained a few more images from good friends who live up in the north. Below is a NASA image of Great Bear Lake hundreds of miles north of Great Slave Lake in NWT on Monday, the 22nd. Below [...]

 
Great Slave Lake in June
Credit: Jeff Wells
I was in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories about a week ago and although the snow was gone from the ground and the smaller lakes, it was amazing how most of Great Slave Lake was still iced over.  I include here and below some of my photos of the ice [...]

 
The world’s last great animal migrations have recently gotten some attention in several scientific papers and resulting media. Of course the Boreal is one of these last places on earth where there is still:
-unimpeded mass migrations of mammals from the tundra into the northern Boreal (specifically caribou and sometimes apparently timber wolves that follow the [...]

A recent article by Time Magazine highlights the home habits of Americans that are destroying millions of acres of bird habitat. Here is an excerpt:   
“Toilet paper containing 100% recycled fiber makes up less than 2% of the U.S. market, while sales of three-ply luxury brands like Cottonelle Ultra and Charmin Ultra Soft shot up 40% in 2008. [...]

Just saw this newspaper article (excerpted below) about a new scientific paper reviewing changes in caribou across the globe.
Jeff
Caribou populations have shrunk by 60 per cent in 30 years, study finds
‘The future seems very bleak for the species,’ researcher says
RANDY BOSWELL
Vancouver Sun / Edmonton Journal /
Montreal Gazette
A Canadian study of global caribou populations has [...]

Nahanni Valley
Credit: Steve Kallick
Another day, another good looking day for conservation in Canada.
Yesterday, the Canadian government introduced legislation that will expand the Nahanni National Park Reserve from its original 5,000 square kilometer boundary to a whopping 30,000 square kilometers (7.4 million acres) - an area more than 8 times the size of Long Island and nearly half [...]