November 10, 2025 • 48 mins
A single “kind” release can rewrite a whole ecosystem. We open with hard‑won lessons from a deep bush chaga trip—gear that saved the day, how to improvise repairs miles from a road, and the thrill of spotting brook trout in a stream you could step over—then pivot to what really threatens our waters: invasive species carried by trade and well‑intentioned pet owners.
Katie Church, Aquatic Invasive Plant Coordinator at the Invasive Species Centre, joins us to break down the European water chestnut story in clear, practical terms. You’ll learn how to identify those floating rosettes, why the barbed seeds are a hazard, and how manual removal by canoe works when communities act early. We also dig into reporting tools like EDDMapS, Ontario’s Invasive Species Act, and the outreach power behind the Don’t Let It Loose campaign.
From there, we tackle the pet pipeline. Goldfish don’t stay small in stormwater ponds; they grow large, stir up sediment, block sunlight, reduce oxygen, and set the stage for algae blooms. Red‑eared sliders compete with native turtles already under pressure. Marbled crayfish can clone themselves, meaning one escape can spark a population. We share smart, humane alternatives—rehoming through retailers, aquarist groups, sanctuaries, and schools—so you never face a release decision at the water’s edge.
If you care about healthy lakes, clean shorelines, native fish, and vibrant wetlands, this conversation gives you the field knowledge and the civic tools to make a difference today. Learn the signs, report what you see, and help stop the next introduction before it starts. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves the outdoors, and leave a quick review to help more stewards find these resources.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_08 (00:01):
Hi everybody, I'm Angelo Viola.
And I'm Pete Bowman.
Now you might know us as thehosts of Canada's favorite
fishing show, but now we'rehosting a podcast.
That's right.
Every Thursday, Ang and I'll beright here in your ears,
bringing you a brand new episodeof Outdoor Journal Radio.
Hmm.
Now what are we going to talkabout for two hours every week?
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Well, you know there's going to be a lot of
fishing.
SPEAKER_03 (00:22):
I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and
how to catch them, and they wereeasy to catch.
SPEAKER_08 (00:27):
Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
We're going to be talking topeople from all facets of the
outdoors.
From athletes.
SPEAKER_03 (00:34):
All the other guys would go golfing.
Me and Garchom Turk.
And all the Russians would gofishing.
The scientists.
And now that we're reforestingand letting things, it's the
perfect transmission environmentfor line disease.
SPEAKER_02 (00:47):
Chefs, if any game isn't cooked properly, marinated
for me.
You will taste it.
SPEAKER_08 (00:53):
And whoever else will pick up the phone.
Wherever you are, OutdoorJournal Radio seeks to answer
the questions and tell thestories of all those who enjoy
being outside.
SPEAKER_02 (01:02):
Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcasts.
SPEAKER_06 (01:28):
I'm Jerry Olette, and I was honored to serve as
Ontario's Minister of NaturalResources.
However, my journey into thewoods didn't come from politics.
Rather, it came from my time inthe bush and a mushroom.
In 2015, I was introduced to thebirch-hungry fungus known as
Chaga, a tree conch withcenturies of medicinal
(01:51):
applications used by indigenouspeoples all over the globe.
After nearly a decade ofharvest, use, testimonials, and
research, my skepticism hasfaded to obsession.
And I now spend my lifededicated to improving the lives
of others through natural means.
But that's not what the show isabout.
My pursuit of the strangemushroom and my passion for the
(02:14):
outdoors has brought me to theplaces and around the people
that are shaped by our naturalworld.
On Outdoor Journal Radio's Underthe Canopy podcast, I'm going to
take you along with me to seethe places, meet the people that
will help you find your outdoorpassion and help you live a life
close to nature and under thecanopy.
(02:36):
So join me today for anothergreat episode, and hopefully, we
can inspire a few more people tolive their lives under the
canopy.
Well, hello all, and as always,we're thanking the listeners,
Canadawide.
Really appreciate that.
(03:02):
Actually, uh from Mary Ann downof Brightonway, who was telling
me that she was just shockedthat that somebody heard the
podcast, which was done andreleased about a year ago, and
uh wanted to come down to hershop because they're from
Toronto, had never been toBrighton.
So she thought that was justspectacular.
So she didn't mention the names,but to those in Toronto, thank
(03:24):
you for coming.
Thank you for supporting the uhthe programs that are out there.
We really appreciate that.
You know, and we're back nowfrom from our chaga pick.
And uh Garrett's uh my youngestson, he's out uh muskie fishing.
And and I I gotta tell you, soit's it's that time of the year
where I guess the season'sending for muskie, and they kind
(03:47):
of congregate in a spawning areadown in uh southwestern Ontario.
So he and a couple of fishingbuddies go down and they head
down there uh for a few days ofmuskie fishing.
They went last year, nothing.
Nobody caught a single muskie,and they're heading back again
because it's supposed to begood, but haven't been there,
(04:10):
haven't seen it, don't know, butjust hear about it, so that's
kind of neat.
The other thing, you know, I Iused to have a friend, uh bless
his soul, Doug.
And uh Doug um used to uh headup with uh Doug and Dan used to
I think it was Blind River uhabout this month as well, end of
November, I believe it was,because they used to fish
(04:32):
sturgeon ri uh fish up therebecause they'd come up to spawn.
And you'd get sturgeon coming inthat were about four feet long,
and I guess it was quitespectacular to to fish the to be
able to fish the for thesturgeon come in, but they've
closed that season now to to tryand get a handle on the sturgeon
uh market in Ontario or thepopulations around and see if we
(04:52):
can recoup some, because it's uha long-living large fish that uh
a lot of people uh well, quite afew people do enjoy fishing for,
but uh anyway, so they're closedthat, but it was good at that
time.
And when we were out doing ourchagapic, it was interesting
that Garrett takes me in, I andI mentioned it when we did the
(05:13):
live recordings from camp thatuh we're we're heading in and
and it's just like where are wegoing?
Well, you gotta get off the ATVhere, and it was like like
seven, eight, ten kilometersinto the bush that we headed was
a heck of a long ways that hehad walked to find all these
jaggers.
And I think I mentioned we hadthree jaggers that were the two
(05:34):
were uh three of them.
The total was uh around ahundred pounds for the three,
which was uh shocking to see.
But one of the other things thatwas interesting was that we're
talking about fish was I said,Garrett, look at that.
What?
And and this stream is probablythree feet, four feet wide.
And it's hard to tell if it'sit's constantly running or it's
(05:58):
just because of the amount ofrain that we had up there.
But I said, Look, look, rightthere, there's a a brook drought
right there.
And it was it was a good size,it was a six, seven inch one,
which you usually don't see, andquite surprised.
And he said, I always wonderedif there were specks brook
drought up in this area, butreally nice to see.
Really deep in the bush, reallyhard to find.
(06:20):
But we know where they are now.
So when the bugs aren't bad,maybe, just maybe we might head
out and see.
Some of the stuff though that Ididn't mention that um uh at the
camp first of all, we tried thedrone.
Remember, I had said we hadtaken a drone up.
Well, uh the difficulty withwhere we were was is that there
was no internet connection.
(06:41):
So as soon as you try to use adrone without internet
connection, it gives youextremely limited range.
So the range was you could go upand you could go along, but it
wasn't giving us the range thatwe were hoping to get that's
listed that you get normallywhen there's internet connection
around.
And so what it does do is itkind of goes into I don't know,
(07:05):
secure mode where minimumheight, minimum distance from
the landing point, which isprobably a hundred yards, which
does not help uh distance fromthe the furthest extent sort of
thing.
So that didn't help out, and thedrone really didn't work out
that great.
But some of the other stuff wasthat uh um yeah the things that
(07:29):
we needed in camp that peopledon't think about.
Now, one of the things was, ofcourse, booster cables or a
booster pack.
We carry booster packs in theATVs because if it dies, at
least you can get uh a boost uhif you don't have a a pull cable
on your ATV, and Roley's has apulled cable and Ron's has a
pole cable, but Garrett's doesnot.
And so a booster pack is a bighelp.
(07:51):
And one of the other things waswas a tire repair kit and an air
pump.
Now you've got the for the ATVs,you know, Roley always had a
foot pump that you could pump itup because it doesn't take a
lot, but some of these placeshave now these these battery
operated pumps that are verysmall in size and easy to carry.
And when we were doing a one onearea where they had just cut in
(08:15):
um logging and they were loggingin the area, um Roley and I took
the truck up to check out andsee what we could see if there's
a lot of birch there and ifthere was anything along the
road.
So uh we did find some, but uhperfectly honest, uh there was
quite a bit of rotten stuff upthere, and you could tell when
it was rotten.
But Roley picked up this huge italmost looks like a logging lug
(08:37):
of some kind.
And I it it's about the size ofa per an average person's thumb
that was right in his tire.
So we get back and uh we're outuh in there and we walk around
the corner and hey, flat tire.
So we look at it, and sureenough, this this this bolt it
it's you could tell it was wellworn too.
(08:59):
Had uh penetrated his tire, butuh pulled out the uh tire repair
kit, which is works great, andnot only that, but uh and then
we had air pumps to pump thetires up.
So that worked very well, andwe've had to use the tire pumps
quite a bit, and the re therepair can it you can pick them
up at um Canadian Tire and allplaces like that, pretty cheap.
(09:23):
And uh it it's very simple touse.
You take the hole out, you putmake sure that there's air
inside the tire.
Uh you put the uh it looks likea kind of like a screwdriver
with a um and you put this uhrubber unit in that kind of
seals it on its own, trim offthe the excess, pull it out, and
(09:43):
then you fill the tire back upand it worked great.
But yeah, so uh and of courseone of the other things that I
didn't mention was a good firstaid kit, which you know we
usually keep in the in a vehicleas well, and in camp.
Now I got uh a very good kitthat I put up in the camp, which
we have there, and smaller onesin the in the um vehicles.
(10:05):
But this time before I went up,I had a little bit of an injury
that I had x-rays andultrasounds on and and uh both
of them said, It appears thatthere's a foreign body in there.
I said, Well, do what we gottado.
So anyway, so they gave memedication and while I'm up in
camp, this thing swells up huge.
(10:26):
It looks like somebody had takena a large grape and placed it
under my skin because it was sohigh up and the inflammation was
everywhere.
So we went in, uh, went into thelocal hospital, and I got cut
open and and uh they releasedall that, couldn't find anything
because they said the bodydissolved it.
(10:46):
But just to make sure that uhyou've got a good first aid kit
along with some of the otherthings that we mentioned.
Uh make it a a far better trip.
Some of the other stuff that weusually carry is bungee cords.
I remember uh Rowley's brotherBert was up, we were doing a
Jagu pick, and uh the his strapon his battery went, so it was
bouncing and hanging all overthe place, so we had bungee
(11:09):
cords there.
And uh the other thing thatworked really good is when we
have zip ties.
And we use zip ties a lot.
So I know one time the the brakelight uh unit fell out of
Garrett's truck because thesupport plastic had broken, and
we used zip ties to zip thatback in place to keep it there
(11:30):
until we could get a new unit inthere.
But those are some of the basicthings along with the other
things that we mentioned.
But those were all things thatuh we we had a great time.
We had a good harvest, so it'sit's looking very good.
And we're moving on now.
We got a great guest coming on,Katie Church from the Invasive
(11:51):
Species Center in Ontario.
Welcome to the program, Katie.
SPEAKER_04 (11:54):
Hi, thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_06 (11:55):
Yeah, not a problem at all.
So tell us a bit about yourself.
First of all, where you'relocated.
So people uh internationally wholisten to us, as we're listening
to in the States andSwitzerland, Saudi, uh the
Caribbean, quite a few places.
Uh give people a sense of whereyou're located.
SPEAKER_04 (12:11):
Yeah, so uh the Invasive Species Center is
actually located in Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, uh right upnorth where Lake Superior is.
Uh but we have remote staff allthroughout Ontario.
So I'm actually located inHamilton, Ontario.
SPEAKER_06 (12:25):
Aaron Powell Yeah, Hamilton.
Oh yeah.
Yes.
Yeah, I was when I was minister,I actually uh protected the uh
what was it, the Hermosa carsthere?
SPEAKER_04 (12:34):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (12:35):
So that was one of the things.
So you're in Hamilton.
So tell us what what kind ofbackground do you have uh how to
to get into the position you'rewith with the organization?
SPEAKER_04 (12:44):
Yeah, um so I am uh I actually graduated from Sioux
College.
I was an environmentaltechnician.
Um and then uh took uh NiagaraCollege, the ecosystem
restoration uh program there,um, and worked with the Invasive
Species Center on an aquaticplant project.
So it kind of uh guided me intothis uh aquatic plant
(13:07):
coordinator role.
SPEAKER_06 (13:08):
Oh, so so your official title is you're the
aquatic plant coordinator?
SPEAKER_04 (13:14):
Yes, aquatic invasive plant coordinator.
SPEAKER_06 (13:16):
Okay, so what was this uh research you did on the
specific plant that you justmentioned?
SPEAKER_04 (13:21):
Um yeah, so European water chestnut uh uh is an
invasive aquatic plant that uhwas reported in the Niagara
region um in 2020.
And the Invasive Species Centeruh created a rapid response
program to remove it.
So I was the lead on that.
Um it was really fun uh with allthe field experience that I had
(13:43):
prior to in school and a coupleother jobs that I've worked.
Uh it was really fun canoeingall summer pulling this plant.
SPEAKER_06 (13:51):
Oh, yeah.
So how would a plant like thatuh so the must have some
background on it because you dida paper on it?
Um how would a plant like thatget into Ontario in the first
place?
SPEAKER_04 (14:03):
Yeah, so this is part of the uh organisms in
trade uh plants and uh organ uhorganisms.
Um this plant was an ornamentalwater garden plant that was
introduced to North America umand kind of uh uh through
improper uh care was released.
(14:24):
Um so if you think about a watergarden in someone's backyard uh
you know could overflow and thenfloat into a closer water body
and actually established uh canestablish in in larger bodies of
water.
SPEAKER_10 (14:39):
Right.
SPEAKER_04 (14:39):
So uh this plant uh has spread through the eastern
United States up to uh Quebecand down into eastern Ontario,
um, and is pop has popped up inin the Niagara region of Ontario
recently.
SPEAKER_06 (14:52):
Aaron Ross Powell So is it something I'm not familiar
with the plant offhand, but umuh there's water chestnuts, of
course, which uh are an edibleplant.
Is this is this an edible plantas well?
SPEAKER_04 (15:03):
Uh this one is not edible.
This is called European waterchestnut.
Um it's actually uh a reallypretty ornamental water garden
plant that floats to the top,uh, has this really nice white
flower, um, but then underneathhas these very uh uh large, what
they're called chestnuts.
Um, and uh that's what createsnew plants and new rosettes.
(15:27):
And uh they can actually be veryuh impactful to human health.
They have these really sharpbarbed edges on the seeds.
Um so it wouldn't be fun to stepon something like that.
SPEAKER_06 (15:40):
Um is this something that uh potentially birds might
consume and and trans transportat other locations as well?
SPEAKER_04 (15:49):
Um there has been studies where um the uh seed has
been attached to like a duck'suh um f feathers on them and has
flown and established somewhereelse.
Um but we don't really know howit's been moved around.
SPEAKER_06 (16:06):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I just wondered, uh there'squite a bit of stuff like that,
you know, birds will eat uh whatuh purple loose strife seeds and
then pass them in low newlocations and potentially cause
problems there.
I I believe that's a situationor an example of something that
one of the evasive plants can betransmitted around.
Yes?
SPEAKER_04 (16:26):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_06 (16:26):
Yeah.
Correct.
So and what's the proper removalof these plants?
Like how do you get rid of them?
SPEAKER_04 (16:33):
Uh so it's manual removal.
Um from what we did in in uh theNiagara region, we actually hand
pull them.
Uh they need to be removed.
The whole plant needs to beremoved out of the substrate.
Um so basically, we're incanoes.
We canoe uh to places on theriver where they have
established and pull them out ofthe substrate.
SPEAKER_06 (16:55):
So is it easy to identify to be able to pull
them?
Is there a certain time of yearyou pull them?
SPEAKER_04 (17:00):
Um yeah.
So actually, this plant doesn'tlook like any other of our
native aquatic vegetation.
It's very uh noticeable.
Um it it's uh the the leaveshave uh serrations on them and
they float to the top in this uhcircle.
So it's it's very it's a verynoticeable plant, which makes it
really easy to identify andpull.
SPEAKER_06 (17:22):
Okay, so what does it displace?
Does it displace it uh chokingout other plants?
SPEAKER_04 (17:28):
Yeah, so when we talk about invasive species, we
talk about impacts to uh theenvironment, economy, and
society.
And European water chestnut uhdoes all three.
Um so impacts to uh uh theenvironment, uh it can uh
outshade um uh native plants, uhreduce bio plant native plant di
(17:48):
biodiversity, uh, impact speciesat risk habitat.
And um uh yeah, so that's forfor the environment, for the
economy.
It's uh not a fun plant or seedto step on.
Um so this plant, these seedscan wash up on sandy shores and
uh be very detrimental to um uhuh people if they step on it, it
(18:14):
can go right through aflip-flop.
And also for uh society, it canreally decrease property value,
um, especially when you havelarge established populations.
SPEAKER_06 (18:24):
Oh so um where can people go to to find out if
they've identified and what dothey do if they do identify one?
How do they contact people todeal with this or try and manage
it?
SPEAKER_04 (18:35):
Yeah, so in Ontario, it's actually listed as a
prohibited species.
Um so I would suggest if you dosee something uh that uh it
looks like water, European waterchestnut, um, you can uh go on
our website.
We have awesome photos of thisplant and uh report it to uh
EdMaps, which is an invasivespecies reporting hotline uh uh
(18:57):
website or app, or you canreport it to the invasive
species hotline.
SPEAKER_06 (19:02):
Okay.
Are there animals that feed onthis?
Like would uh turtles, uh someturtles or or fish, carp, uh
anything like that feed on anyof that at all?
SPEAKER_04 (19:12):
Um as of right now, we don't we don't know.
Um they don't seem to have anynatural predators in this this
introduce area, um, which isvery common in invasive species.
SPEAKER_06 (19:22):
Aaron Powell Okay.
Well, I know I uh I tried tobring in a private member's bill
that uh dealt with invasivespecies and I used examples of
zebra mussels and the impact onthe outpipes on and the intake
pipes for Ontario Hydro.
I think it was, as I recall, wasit was in the area of like$60
(19:45):
million just to clean those tomake sure that they were free
from zebra mussels and all thepotential problems with that.
And there was a lot of other umI think there was I think it was
uh one of the gobies that camein on a single ship and could be
identified to the one ship whereit was released into Michigan, I
(20:07):
believe, somewhere, in theirballast water discharge.
So what I did was I tried tobring in a legislation that that
essentially anybody found to beresponsible for introducing an
invasive species is wasresponsible for the cleanup and
removal of that species.
Well, the shipping industry wentnuts on that because it had huge
(20:28):
implications.
And we got into deep waterdischarge where they try to
discharge the ballast water fromfrom areas where they would pick
up ballast water.
And you know, they I mentionedthat Gobi, I think it was the
Gobi, that um they picked up andthey do a complete discharge of
the water uh and replace it withdeep water so that they
(20:52):
eliminate because uh the theamount of uh plant or animal
life in in there because the suncan't get down is virtually
minimal.
And then they started uh theycommitted to do other things
like um I think there was uhwhat UV lighting specific types
to kill all the plant life inthe in the ballast tanks.
(21:14):
And it was quite a response.
Actually, um the state of umMichigan asked me to present at
uh Senate committee hearings,and it surprisingly uh the first
hearings were in Sault Ste.
Marie because they found thisvery, very interesting, and then
they asked me to do a series ofof uh presentations in in
(21:35):
Detroit and other locations aswell, because it it was
something that was starting toconcern a lot of people, which
is good.
And you know, hence we have theorganization that you work with
to try and identify and removeand control or inform people
about these invasive species.
SPEAKER_11 (21:58):
Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the
single largest database of muskyangling education material
anywhere in the world.
SPEAKER_01 (22:07):
Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this
amazing community and share itwith passionate anglers just
like you.
SPEAKER_11 (22:13):
Thus, the Ugly Pike Podcast was born and quickly
grew to become one of the topfishing podcasts in North
America.
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
Step into the world of angling adventures and
embrace the thrill of the catchwith the Ugly Pike Podcast.
Join us on our quest tounderstand what makes us
different as anglers and touncover what it takes to go
after the infamous fish of10,000 casts.
SPEAKER_11 (22:34):
The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about
fishing, it's about creating atight-knit community of
passionate anglers who share thesame love for the sport.
Through laughter, throughcamaraderie, and an unwavering
spirit of adventure, thispodcast will bring people
together.
Subscribe now and never miss amoment of our angling
adventures.
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Tight lines, everyone.
SPEAKER_11 (22:54):
Find Ugly Pike now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever else you get yourpodcasts.
SPEAKER_06 (23:13):
Okay, we're with Bev here in Lindsay.
And Bev, you've got someexperience with Chaga that you'd
like to share with some people.
Tell us uh two stories.
Guys, start with your father'sstory.
SPEAKER_00 (23:24):
Hi, Jerry.
Um Well, um my dad had mentionedto me that he was struggling
with his blood pressure and he'dgone on meds and it wasn't
bringing it down.
He was running around 180, 185,and wasn't enjoying that at all.
And um And so I suggested thathe try the chaga tea because I
knew some other people that hadhad good experience with it, and
(23:47):
I knew my own experience withit.
He started doing the chug of teaevery day.
Um he stuck it in with hiscoffee, so he only had to drink
one thing a day, and withinthree weeks he had dropped from
180 to 140, which he was reallyexcited about.
But what he was even moreexcited about was that about
three to four weeks after that,he had gone down to 125.
(24:08):
So we're really grateful for thedifference that chaga has made
with his blood pressure.
SPEAKER_05 (24:15):
There wasn't any other medications or changes
this to do the change?
SPEAKER_00 (24:18):
No, this was the actually the only shift.
He didn't shift anythingdiet-wise, physical
exercise-wise at all.
The only thing he added in thathe hadn't been doing before was
chaga.
SPEAKER_06 (24:26):
And put it in his coffee, I believe.
SPEAKER_00 (24:28):
And he put it in his coffee.
SPEAKER_06 (24:29):
Very good.
Okay, and you have your ownstory now.
I have my own story.
SPEAKER_00 (24:32):
So I I started on chaga when I um I met Jerry just
as I realized that I was goinginto a relapse of multiple
cirrhosis, that I I had notrelapsed for approximately 25
years, so I was a littlestartled about it and wanted to
get on it.
And um, so I was in the processof changing a lot of things so
(24:53):
that I could um go back intorelapse rather than dealing with
the MS symptoms.
And so I did change diet and Istopped physical exercise so
that my body would have morerest, and I added the chaka in.
And within within I mean withinfive days, I noticed that the
nerve sensory issues I washaving in my legs was already
(25:17):
settling down, and within aboutthree weeks I had the strength
to walk unassisted again.
And I am about three months innow, and um I have um taken a
10-day break from it a couple oftimes just to, you know, you
know, just so that my body, youknow, can stay balanced, you
(25:38):
know, without it.
But every time I go back on it,I um I can feel the difference
in mental clarity and in the waymy nerves are communicating, and
I'm I'm walking very, very wellnow.
SPEAKER_06 (25:51):
Very good.
Well, thank you very much forsharing your story with the
case.
SPEAKER_00 (25:55):
No, thanks for thanks for hollering me and
asking me to try a free cup thatone farmer's market morning.
SPEAKER_06 (26:01):
Well, I'm glad it's working out for you.
Thanks, Jerry.
Okay.
We interrupt this program tobring you a special offer from
Chaga Health and Wellness.
If you've listened this far andyou're still wondering about
this strange mushroom that Ikeep talking about, and whether
(26:24):
you would benefit from it ornot, I may have something of
interest to you.
To thank you for listening tothe show, I'm going to make
trying Chaga that much easier bygiving you a dollar off all our
Chaga products at checkout.
All you have to do is head overto our website, Chaga Health and
Wellness.com, place a few itemsin the cart, and check out with
(26:47):
the code CANopy.
C-A-N-O-P-Y.
If you're new to Chaga, I'dhighly recommend the regular
Chaga tea.
This comes with 15 tea bags perpackage, and each bag gives you
around five or six cups of tea.
Hey, thanks for listening.
Back to the episode.
(27:08):
Katie, um, so what happens uhwhen a pet is released into an
environment?
I know we had uh my sons wantedmy one son wanted a turtle.
So we had this turtle for likefive years, and then it was just
like, I don't want the turtleanymore.
It was a red-eared slider, butwe found a turtle sanctuary of
(27:30):
some kind that uh dealt withturtles that took the turtle.
My wife took it over.
But what happens when peoplejust release uh this stuff into
the into the environment?
SPEAKER_04 (27:41):
Yeah, so um loose pets can have negative impacts
uh to natural ecosystems, right?
Uh they can spread disease,outcompete native species for
resources and prey on thosenative species.
They can also contribute tohabitat degrad degradation and
(28:02):
increase uh pressure onendangered or threatened species
at risk.
Um a lot of times people willrelease pets on uh like moral
and compassionate grounds, butthey don't take into account the
ecological uh integrity of thatecosystem.
SPEAKER_10 (28:19):
Right.
SPEAKER_04 (28:19):
Um and that can uh jeopardize the the ecosystem and
the natural area that it'sreleased into.
SPEAKER_06 (28:26):
So I and I know there's a real problem with um
uh certain cultures releasingthings like goldfish out uh uh
into areas.
What happens when goldfish takeuh hold in these in these ponds?
And I've seen them.
I know one golf course I go tothat and to be perfect, I gotta
mention this now.
Uh what I do is I get ready togo pick Chaga in the bush
(28:50):
because I walk 13, 15kilometers, bush kilometers a
day doing all this stuff.
But what I do in the year is uhI go out golfing and I walk.
I walk the course and it's greatexercise and it gets me ready
for the pick.
But one of the courses I see isthe pond there is filled with a
large pond is filled withgoldfish.
(29:11):
What happens in situations likethat?
And how do you get the messageout that this is not good for
the environment?
SPEAKER_04 (29:17):
Yeah, so uh invasive goldfish uh are when they're
released into wild ecosystems,they can actually grow very much
larger than uh what they were inthe size of when they were in
captivity.
Yep.
They're actually also veryadaptable, um, and they're able
to live in a variety ofenvironmental conditions.
(29:37):
And goldfish are very common, avery common pet that uh you see
is that can be released.
Um they're often found in thosequiet, populated urban and
suburban waters, you know, astormwater pond near your house
or the the park uh near yourhouse pond that might have it.
(29:58):
Uh people often Intentionallywill release them wanting to
give this fish a better life.
But yeah, they don't realize theimpacts that they can have to
the natural ecosystems.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_06 (30:10):
So what happens when people release goldfish and they
start to uh populate and spawn?
I mean, there was a great blueheron consuming the goldfish in
this one pond.
That's how I first saw them.
Was the Great Blue Heron wasthere.
And these were rather largegoldfish.
I mean, we're talking probably apound and a half, a pound, pound
and a half at the size from whatI can see.
SPEAKER_04 (30:32):
Yeah.
I mean, they feed on anythingsmall uh that's near the bottom
bottom of a water body.
Um this can actually contributeto uh turbidity.
The the feeding can stir up thebottom of the water body that
they're in, and that limitssunlight for aquatic plants.
And with that, it reduces uhavailable oxygen oxygen in the
(30:55):
water.
Um and that can directlycontribute to algae blooms.
Um you know, they can impactfood chains and and kill aquatic
wildlife, and they can alsospread diseases to other carp
species, uh, which can be passedon to other fish.
SPEAKER_06 (31:14):
Um and I I believe there are some Asian cultures
that it's it's supposed to begood luck to release these uh
and out there.
Uh if I am I correct there?
SPEAKER_04 (31:26):
Uh I think so, yes.
SPEAKER_06 (31:28):
Yeah, so and it gets a big problem.
Now, uh what about other thingslike you know, your red-eared
slider, your marbled crayfish,and and releasing what's the
what's happened on some of theimpact with those?
SPEAKER_04 (31:40):
Um yeah, so red-eared sliders are uh turtles
that are actually a very commonaquatic uh first pet for people.
Um a lot of people don't realizethat they can live quite long.
Um so you know, that's a a verycommon first pet for people.
Uh and uh they actually lookvery similar to our native
(32:02):
painted turtles.
Um but it's important to notethat most native turtles in
Ontario are uh listed as aspecies at risk.
So introducing a turtle that'snot native into the natural
environment can really impactour native turtles.
SPEAKER_06 (32:18):
Right.
And so how would things likemarbled crayfish uh get into the
environment then?
SPEAKER_04 (32:24):
Yeah, marbled crayfish um was recently
reported for the first time inuh the wild in uh Ontario, and
it actually uh can be extremelydetrimental to ecosystems.
Um they have the ability toclone, uh, and the introduction
of a single female uh marbledcrayfish can can establish
(32:46):
basically a new population.
This is a very common uhaquarium uh crayfish, and it's a
very common uh uh crayfishthat's traded in the aquarium
trade because they produce somany of them.
SPEAKER_06 (33:00):
So now is there not controls for these these uh
businesses to to not bring thosesort of things in, or how does
that take place?
SPEAKER_04 (33:10):
Yeah, so in Ontario we have uh the Invasive Species
Act.
Um, and there's many uh speciesthat are on there through the
organisms and trade uh pathwayuh that are listed as
prohibited.
Um so that that's you know themarbled crayfish.
Uh that's uh European waterchestnut that I I spoke about.
(33:32):
Um uh and what that means, it'sit's illegal to import, possess,
deposit, release, transport,breed, grow, sell, trade.
Um so yeah, there there is theOntario Invasive Species Act
that regulates those species.
SPEAKER_06 (33:48):
Okay, so and and I know I mentioned this one before
on the on the podcast, but uh mypastor, Rick, um he had gone
away and um Lynn, his wife, umshe likes cats, so they had
somebody taking care of the catwhile they were away.
Now the kids had a turtle andsomehow probably the cat knocked
(34:14):
uh got the the the turtle out ofits um cage aquarium, whichever
it was in.
And when the people came to feedthe cat, they found this turtle
walking around.
So Pastor Rick was telling me,he says, he says, you know,
you're not gonna believe this,but he said, I came home and the
(34:36):
people looking after the the cattold me that somebody had put a
turtle through the mail slot inthe door and it was walking
around.
So we we uh got rid of it, wereleased it for you.
And and Pastor Baker says, No,no, that was the kid's pet.
They'd had it for like 10 years,and it was I guess it was quite
(34:56):
large.
Anyway, so where did you releaseit?
And they went back for days andweeks trying to find this turtle
for the kids who were all upset.
But I guess there's accidentaluh releases uh that uh take
place, like uh you know,unintentional pet releases that
take place.
And there's a perfect example.
And what's the differencebetween an intentional and uh
(35:17):
and uh unintentional release?
SPEAKER_04 (35:20):
Yeah, so that's a really sorry, that's a really
funny story.
Um intentional releases, uh alot of the times, uh I think
I've previously said that, butit's that well-intentioned owner
that, you know, they see thisgreat pond near their house and
they want to give their fish abetter life or they want to give
their turtle a better life inthis nice natural environment.
(35:42):
So that's what we talk aboutwhen we're talking about
intentional.
And then there's thatunintentional release, right?
Like a pet escape, or um, youknow, sometimes purchasing uh uh
something like a moss ball umand not realizing that it can
have uh zebra mussels attachedto it.
Right.
So that's that unintentionalrelease.
SPEAKER_06 (36:04):
Right.
And so are there are there moreunintentional than intentional
releases?
Or is there anything trackingthat kind of uh what's happening
there?
SPEAKER_04 (36:17):
Um we don't have anything to track that, but um
I'd say there's it's it's a goodbalance between both of them.
Right and a lot of it is uhoutreach and education, right?
SPEAKER_10 (36:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (36:28):
Um you see us, we go to pet shows, uh, we go, we have
this amazing campaign calledDon't Let It Loose.
And this is where that educationoutreach and education piece
comes in and why it's soimportant.
SPEAKER_10 (36:41):
Right.
SPEAKER_04 (36:41):
I've spoken to many pet owners that had no idea that
you know the goldfish that theyreleased would be invasive.
SPEAKER_06 (36:48):
Right.
I I recall being in a pet storein Pickering, Ontario once, and
I was quite surprised that theyhad soft-shelled turtles that
they were selling inside the uhum inside the pet store.
Um and so try and find a placeto report this to get people to
interest to see if uh they werelegal or not.
(37:11):
Have you ever heard ofsoft-shelled turtles being sold
in pet stores?
SPEAKER_04 (37:15):
I have not, no.
Um, but we do have like if youdo find you see these things,
um, I would suggest reporting itto the invasive species hotline.
Um there are people out therethat, you know, are able to sell
things.
Uh the e-commerce pathway is souh uh uh like booming right now
(37:37):
because the world is so muchsmaller.
Um you can get things fromanywhere in the world.
Um and a lot a lot of the timesthose go unregulated.
Um so I would suggest if you dosee something like that reported
to that invasive speciesawareness hotline.
Um, you know, when you arepurchasing something, uh, you
(37:59):
know, think ask yourself certainquestions.
You know, are the species beingsold by a reputable retailer?
Um is the species even legal tohave in in the region you live
in, uh such as you know, themarbled crayfish, uh not legal.
Um, you know, is the speciesnative to your the region?
SPEAKER_06 (38:20):
Um, we would never have any clue.
When they walk into a pet storeand the kids are are wanting a
turtle uh for uh for a pet, uhthe average parent would not
know to even consider uh is thisillegal, is it illegal, and how
are they getting it here and allthat kind of stuff.
Although the the more we caninform people, the better off we
(38:43):
are in ensuring that the rightthings are done in the proper
manner, not impact negativelyimpacting our environment,
right?
SPEAKER_04 (38:50):
Correct.
And it's important, like be aresponsible uh pet owner before
you even buy a pet, consider uhall the questions you need to
know in order to have that pet.
And uh can you have that pet?
And you know, in are you able touh uh live through that pet's uh
life expectancy, you know?
SPEAKER_06 (39:11):
Yeah, I I recall, and I think it's right now,
there is a um it was an uh and anon-intentional release, I
believe, at one of the New YorkLaGuardia airport where uh
parrots got out, and now there'sa self-sustaining population of
parrots at this this airport.
SPEAKER_04 (39:34):
Oh, I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_06 (39:35):
Yeah, it was it was kind of interesting.
I I can't remember, uh I thinkit was a green parrot uh that
came in, and all of a sudden nowthere's a self-sustaining
population right there.
Like you know, we see pigeonsaround here.
Well, they got parrots at thisone airport.
And and I recall when I wasyoung we had a a budgie, and I
actually had the window open inmy my bedroom, uh, which was on
(39:59):
a different floor from where thebudgie was.
But the budgie um got out of thecage, somebody let it out, which
one of my sisters probably did,and the budgie flew to the next
floor where I was and right outthe window and was gone.
SPEAKER_10 (40:14):
Oh no.
SPEAKER_06 (40:15):
There's another example of a uh a
non-intentional release thattakes place that people don't
even think about.
SPEAKER_04 (40:22):
Yeah, and it it all has to do with, you know, not
all non-native species areconsidered invasive, but um it's
it's you know, it only takesone, right?
Yep.
And and it's important to ha youknow have that education and
know what you're gettingyourself into when you're buying
a pet.
SPEAKER_06 (40:41):
Aaron Powell Right.
And what what kind of things uhshould people look at when they
consider things like, well,we'll talk and mentioned the
turtle.
How how long does the turtlelive?
SPEAKER_04 (40:50):
I think uh I I've I've spoken to quite a few
people at the pet shows that Iattend, and people have come up
to me and said they've had theirturtle for 30 years, their
red-eared slider turtle for 30years.
Wow.
Um and and just a funny story,uh someone uh didn't realize uh
that they needed a a larger uhaquarium for it.
(41:11):
So it lives in their bathtub, Iguess, is is what they told me.
So just be an informed uhpurchaser.
Uh really understand that uhwhen you're purchasing a pet,
uh, you know, uh uh understandwhat you're you're purchasing
and and uh really educateyourself on, you know, are you
gonna be able to take care of itfor its whole life?
(41:33):
And then what are the options ifyou don't if you're not able to
take care of it?
SPEAKER_06 (41:37):
Yeah.
Well I had when I was young, Ihad um an iguana, a green iguana
that I had and it and it endedit was great.
It was a great uh disciplinarything for my sisters.
When they got out of line, I'dpick up the iguana and chase
them with it.
But uh and it would get it gotabout four feet long, and it was
(41:59):
just you know, it was the timeto new aquariums and everything
else.
So I actually went uh back to apet store and sold it back to a
pet store that they could retailit to somebody else.
It was in good health, goodsize, and everything else.
But the pet store was more thanhappy to get a a sample like
that that was quite large,actually.
We we actually had a neighborthat had one that was probably
(42:20):
about uh five, six feet longthat had a harness made up for
it.
And he used to walk the iguanaon the streets uh with this
harness in the outdoors in thesummertime, but uh it was just
one way to to manage it that Itook it back in and and somebody
else got uh years to enjoy it, Ithink.
SPEAKER_04 (42:39):
Yeah, and there are options, right?
You can contact the retailer youpurchase it from for advice.
You can um and see if they'rewilling to to uh take take the
pet back.
Um, you know, you can contactanother aquarium or pond owner
or pet owner and see if they'reinterested in adopting.
Um you can donate it to a localaquarium society or school.
(43:03):
Um and you know, it's it there'sthere's lots of options out
there.
SPEAKER_06 (43:09):
That's good.
Now, you mentioned somethingthat uh I don't know if you have
much uh background knowledge onuh but algae blooms.
Do you have a um do you know howwhat what causes an algae bloom
and a green and blue and whichare the bad ones and how can you
tell when to stay away andthings like that?
Have you had much experiencewith algae blooms?
SPEAKER_04 (43:30):
I have not, but um I can tell you what I do know.
Um so algae blooms a lot of thetimes happen when there's like
an imbalance.
Um so you know, I can go back tothe goldfish.
Uh, you know, the reason thatthey contribute to the algae
blooms is because they stir upthat sediment and they, you
(43:50):
know, that prevents the sun fromum um peaking through.
Same with aquatic plants, whenthey grow and they cover that
surface area of the water, thesun's not getting through.
Right.
And that can that can contributeto those algae blooms.
SPEAKER_06 (44:05):
Yeah, I I I tried to find somebody because it was
algae blooms very concerning.
And a lot of and I don'tunderstand how what uh initiates
some uh the phosphate or all theother things that go on that
bring concerns and which is moretoxic, the green or the blue,
and things like that.
But uh it was something that I Iwanted to delve into a little
bit more.
But that's something that wecould probably find.
(44:26):
Uh somebody has some moreexperience in work on algae
blooms, I guess.
SPEAKER_04 (44:30):
Aaron Powell Yeah.
I'm I mean, I I like I said Iknow what in how invasive
species impact it, but I don'tknow this the sp particular
science behind it.
SPEAKER_06 (44:39):
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so uh I don't even knowwhich one's worse, or are they
both just as bad?
Is blue the the worst one?
SPEAKER_04 (44:46):
Or I think I think I've heard uh we've had some
algae blooms happen in the theHamilton Harbor, which is quite
common, and I think it's theblue, the blue-green algae
that's the the the the harmfulone.
SPEAKER_06 (44:58):
Right, right.
All right.
Well, Katie, thanks very much.
I really appreciate the time uhto be on the podcast.
And how can people find out moreinformation about uh you know um
invasive species, uh the thingsto watch out for, releasing, and
where can they get thesewebsites and information for
identification of you mentionedthe European water chestnut and
(45:21):
things along that line, and howcan they go about and getting
details about what they shouldand shouldn't do from your
organization?
SPEAKER_04 (45:28):
Yeah, so we have a website with amazing resources,
uh Invasive Species Center.ca.
You could also visit uh InvasiveSpecies Center slash don't let
it loose.
That's our uh uh campaign on uhthe what we've just talked
about, the pet releases.
Um we also uh encourage peopleto report invasive species.
(45:50):
Um when you're out there um anduh if you see something, there's
an amazing uh invasive speciesuh tracking app called EdMaps,
uh E D D Maps.
Uh it's an early detection anddistribution mapping system, and
it's similar to iNaturalists,uh, but for reporting invasive
(46:10):
species.
Um and then you could also um uhcall the invasive invading
species awareness hotline.
Um and like I said, our websitehas uh some really uh great
information on all thingsinvasive species.
You can sign up for our uhquarterly newsletter, our
bi-weekly media scan to knowwhat's going on in the world for
(46:32):
invasive species.
And our YouTube channel also hassome really good webinars as
well.
SPEAKER_06 (46:37):
Well, thanks very much, Katie.
Uh, we really appreciate youtaking the time to inform us and
enlighten us about uh the anumber of invaded species, uh,
the the European water chestnut,the goldfish and what's
happening, the red-heared sliderturtle, the marble crayfish, and
things along those lines.
And uh I appreciate you takingthe time, but uh just more
information about things thatare happening out there under
(46:58):
the canopy.
Thanks very much, Katie.
SPEAKER_04 (47:00):
Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_09 (47:28):
I'm your host, Steve Nedzwicky, and you'll find out
about that and a whole lot moreon the Outdoor Journal Radio
Network's newest podcast,Diaries of a Lodge Owner.
But this podcast will be morethan that.
Every week on Diaries of a LodgeOwner, I'm going to introduce
you to a ton of great people.
(47:49):
Share their stories of ourtrials, tribulations, and
inspirations.
Learn and have plenty of laughsalong the way.
SPEAKER_07 (47:57):
Meanwhile, we're sitting there bobbing along,
trying to figure out how tocatch a bass.
And we both decided one day wewere going to be on television
doing efficient jobs.
SPEAKER_03 (48:07):
My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in
all those bass in thesummertime, but that might be
more efficient than it waspunchy.
SPEAKER_06 (48:14):
You so confidently you said, Hey Pat, have you ever
eaten a drink?
SPEAKER_09 (48:18):
Find diaries of a lodge owner now on Spotify,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever youget your podcast.
Hi everybody, I'm Angelo Viola.
And I'm Pete Bowman.
Now you might know us as thehosts of Canada's favorite
fishing show, but now we'rehosting a podcast.
That's right.
Every Thursday, Ang and I'll beright here in your ears,
bringing you a brand new episodeof Outdoor Journal Radio.
Hmm.
Now what are we going to talkabout for two hours every week?
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Well, you know there's going to be a lot of
fishing.
SPEAKER_03 (00:22):
I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and
how to catch them, and they wereeasy to catch.
SPEAKER_08 (00:27):
Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
We're going to be talking topeople from all facets of the
outdoors.
From athletes.
SPEAKER_03 (00:34):
All the other guys would go golfing.
Me and Garchom Turk.
And all the Russians would gofishing.
The scientists.
And now that we're reforestingand letting things, it's the
perfect transmission environmentfor line disease.
SPEAKER_02 (00:47):
Chefs, if any game isn't cooked properly, marinated
for me.
You will taste it.
SPEAKER_08 (00:53):
And whoever else will pick up the phone.
Wherever you are, OutdoorJournal Radio seeks to answer
the questions and tell thestories of all those who enjoy
being outside.
SPEAKER_02 (01:02):
Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcasts.
SPEAKER_06 (01:28):
I'm Jerry Olette, and I was honored to serve as
Ontario's Minister of NaturalResources.
However, my journey into thewoods didn't come from politics.
Rather, it came from my time inthe bush and a mushroom.
In 2015, I was introduced to thebirch-hungry fungus known as
Chaga, a tree conch withcenturies of medicinal
(01:51):
applications used by indigenouspeoples all over the globe.
After nearly a decade ofharvest, use, testimonials, and
research, my skepticism hasfaded to obsession.
And I now spend my lifededicated to improving the lives
of others through natural means.
But that's not what the show isabout.
My pursuit of the strangemushroom and my passion for the
(02:14):
outdoors has brought me to theplaces and around the people
that are shaped by our naturalworld.
On Outdoor Journal Radio's Underthe Canopy podcast, I'm going to
take you along with me to seethe places, meet the people that
will help you find your outdoorpassion and help you live a life
close to nature and under thecanopy.
(02:36):
So join me today for anothergreat episode, and hopefully, we
can inspire a few more people tolive their lives under the
canopy.
Well, hello all, and as always,we're thanking the listeners,
Canadawide.
Really appreciate that.
(03:02):
Actually, uh from Mary Ann downof Brightonway, who was telling
me that she was just shockedthat that somebody heard the
podcast, which was done andreleased about a year ago, and
uh wanted to come down to hershop because they're from
Toronto, had never been toBrighton.
So she thought that was justspectacular.
So she didn't mention the names,but to those in Toronto, thank
(03:24):
you for coming.
Thank you for supporting the uhthe programs that are out there.
We really appreciate that.
You know, and we're back nowfrom from our chaga pick.
And uh Garrett's uh my youngestson, he's out uh muskie fishing.
And and I I gotta tell you, soit's it's that time of the year
where I guess the season'sending for muskie, and they kind
(03:47):
of congregate in a spawning areadown in uh southwestern Ontario.
So he and a couple of fishingbuddies go down and they head
down there uh for a few days ofmuskie fishing.
They went last year, nothing.
Nobody caught a single muskie,and they're heading back again
because it's supposed to begood, but haven't been there,
(04:10):
haven't seen it, don't know, butjust hear about it, so that's
kind of neat.
The other thing, you know, I Iused to have a friend, uh bless
his soul, Doug.
And uh Doug um used to uh headup with uh Doug and Dan used to
I think it was Blind River uhabout this month as well, end of
November, I believe it was,because they used to fish
(04:32):
sturgeon ri uh fish up therebecause they'd come up to spawn.
And you'd get sturgeon coming inthat were about four feet long,
and I guess it was quitespectacular to to fish the to be
able to fish the for thesturgeon come in, but they've
closed that season now to to tryand get a handle on the sturgeon
uh market in Ontario or thepopulations around and see if we
(04:52):
can recoup some, because it's uha long-living large fish that uh
a lot of people uh well, quite afew people do enjoy fishing for,
but uh anyway, so they're closedthat, but it was good at that
time.
And when we were out doing ourchagapic, it was interesting
that Garrett takes me in, I andI mentioned it when we did the
(05:13):
live recordings from camp thatuh we're we're heading in and
and it's just like where are wegoing?
Well, you gotta get off the ATVhere, and it was like like
seven, eight, ten kilometersinto the bush that we headed was
a heck of a long ways that hehad walked to find all these
jaggers.
And I think I mentioned we hadthree jaggers that were the two
(05:34):
were uh three of them.
The total was uh around ahundred pounds for the three,
which was uh shocking to see.
But one of the other things thatwas interesting was that we're
talking about fish was I said,Garrett, look at that.
What?
And and this stream is probablythree feet, four feet wide.
And it's hard to tell if it'sit's constantly running or it's
(05:58):
just because of the amount ofrain that we had up there.
But I said, Look, look, rightthere, there's a a brook drought
right there.
And it was it was a good size,it was a six, seven inch one,
which you usually don't see, andquite surprised.
And he said, I always wonderedif there were specks brook
drought up in this area, butreally nice to see.
Really deep in the bush, reallyhard to find.
(06:20):
But we know where they are now.
So when the bugs aren't bad,maybe, just maybe we might head
out and see.
Some of the stuff though that Ididn't mention that um uh at the
camp first of all, we tried thedrone.
Remember, I had said we hadtaken a drone up.
Well, uh the difficulty withwhere we were was is that there
was no internet connection.
(06:41):
So as soon as you try to use adrone without internet
connection, it gives youextremely limited range.
So the range was you could go upand you could go along, but it
wasn't giving us the range thatwe were hoping to get that's
listed that you get normallywhen there's internet connection
around.
And so what it does do is itkind of goes into I don't know,
(07:05):
secure mode where minimumheight, minimum distance from
the landing point, which isprobably a hundred yards, which
does not help uh distance fromthe the furthest extent sort of
thing.
So that didn't help out, and thedrone really didn't work out
that great.
But some of the other stuff wasthat uh um yeah the things that
(07:29):
we needed in camp that peopledon't think about.
Now, one of the things was, ofcourse, booster cables or a
booster pack.
We carry booster packs in theATVs because if it dies, at
least you can get uh a boost uhif you don't have a a pull cable
on your ATV, and Roley's has apulled cable and Ron's has a
pole cable, but Garrett's doesnot.
And so a booster pack is a bighelp.
(07:51):
And one of the other things waswas a tire repair kit and an air
pump.
Now you've got the for the ATVs,you know, Roley always had a
foot pump that you could pump itup because it doesn't take a
lot, but some of these placeshave now these these battery
operated pumps that are verysmall in size and easy to carry.
And when we were doing a one onearea where they had just cut in
(08:15):
um logging and they were loggingin the area, um Roley and I took
the truck up to check out andsee what we could see if there's
a lot of birch there and ifthere was anything along the
road.
So uh we did find some, but uhperfectly honest, uh there was
quite a bit of rotten stuff upthere, and you could tell when
it was rotten.
But Roley picked up this huge italmost looks like a logging lug
(08:37):
of some kind.
And I it it's about the size ofa per an average person's thumb
that was right in his tire.
So we get back and uh we're outuh in there and we walk around
the corner and hey, flat tire.
So we look at it, and sureenough, this this this bolt it
it's you could tell it was wellworn too.
(08:59):
Had uh penetrated his tire, butuh pulled out the uh tire repair
kit, which is works great, andnot only that, but uh and then
we had air pumps to pump thetires up.
So that worked very well, andwe've had to use the tire pumps
quite a bit, and the re therepair can it you can pick them
up at um Canadian Tire and allplaces like that, pretty cheap.
(09:23):
And uh it it's very simple touse.
You take the hole out, you putmake sure that there's air
inside the tire.
Uh you put the uh it looks likea kind of like a screwdriver
with a um and you put this uhrubber unit in that kind of
seals it on its own, trim offthe the excess, pull it out, and
(09:43):
then you fill the tire back upand it worked great.
But yeah, so uh and of courseone of the other things that I
didn't mention was a good firstaid kit, which you know we
usually keep in the in a vehicleas well, and in camp.
Now I got uh a very good kitthat I put up in the camp, which
we have there, and smaller onesin the in the um vehicles.
(10:05):
But this time before I went up,I had a little bit of an injury
that I had x-rays andultrasounds on and and uh both
of them said, It appears thatthere's a foreign body in there.
I said, Well, do what we gottado.
So anyway, so they gave memedication and while I'm up in
camp, this thing swells up huge.
(10:26):
It looks like somebody had takena a large grape and placed it
under my skin because it was sohigh up and the inflammation was
everywhere.
So we went in, uh, went into thelocal hospital, and I got cut
open and and uh they releasedall that, couldn't find anything
because they said the bodydissolved it.
(10:46):
But just to make sure that uhyou've got a good first aid kit
along with some of the otherthings that we mentioned.
Uh make it a a far better trip.
Some of the other stuff that weusually carry is bungee cords.
I remember uh Rowley's brotherBert was up, we were doing a
Jagu pick, and uh the his strapon his battery went, so it was
bouncing and hanging all overthe place, so we had bungee
(11:09):
cords there.
And uh the other thing thatworked really good is when we
have zip ties.
And we use zip ties a lot.
So I know one time the the brakelight uh unit fell out of
Garrett's truck because thesupport plastic had broken, and
we used zip ties to zip thatback in place to keep it there
(11:30):
until we could get a new unit inthere.
But those are some of the basicthings along with the other
things that we mentioned.
But those were all things thatuh we we had a great time.
We had a good harvest, so it'sit's looking very good.
And we're moving on now.
We got a great guest coming on,Katie Church from the Invasive
(11:51):
Species Center in Ontario.
Welcome to the program, Katie.
SPEAKER_04 (11:54):
Hi, thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_06 (11:55):
Yeah, not a problem at all.
So tell us a bit about yourself.
First of all, where you'relocated.
So people uh internationally wholisten to us, as we're listening
to in the States andSwitzerland, Saudi, uh the
Caribbean, quite a few places.
Uh give people a sense of whereyou're located.
SPEAKER_04 (12:11):
Yeah, so uh the Invasive Species Center is
actually located in Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, uh right upnorth where Lake Superior is.
Uh but we have remote staff allthroughout Ontario.
So I'm actually located inHamilton, Ontario.
SPEAKER_06 (12:25):
Aaron Powell Yeah, Hamilton.
Oh yeah.
Yes.
Yeah, I was when I was minister,I actually uh protected the uh
what was it, the Hermosa carsthere?
SPEAKER_04 (12:34):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (12:35):
So that was one of the things.
So you're in Hamilton.
So tell us what what kind ofbackground do you have uh how to
to get into the position you'rewith with the organization?
SPEAKER_04 (12:44):
Yeah, um so I am uh I actually graduated from Sioux
College.
I was an environmentaltechnician.
Um and then uh took uh NiagaraCollege, the ecosystem
restoration uh program there,um, and worked with the Invasive
Species Center on an aquaticplant project.
So it kind of uh guided me intothis uh aquatic plant
(13:07):
coordinator role.
SPEAKER_06 (13:08):
Oh, so so your official title is you're the
aquatic plant coordinator?
SPEAKER_04 (13:14):
Yes, aquatic invasive plant coordinator.
SPEAKER_06 (13:16):
Okay, so what was this uh research you did on the
specific plant that you justmentioned?
SPEAKER_04 (13:21):
Um yeah, so European water chestnut uh uh is an
invasive aquatic plant that uhwas reported in the Niagara
region um in 2020.
And the Invasive Species Centeruh created a rapid response
program to remove it.
So I was the lead on that.
Um it was really fun uh with allthe field experience that I had
(13:43):
prior to in school and a coupleother jobs that I've worked.
Uh it was really fun canoeingall summer pulling this plant.
SPEAKER_06 (13:51):
Oh, yeah.
So how would a plant like thatuh so the must have some
background on it because you dida paper on it?
Um how would a plant like thatget into Ontario in the first
place?
SPEAKER_04 (14:03):
Yeah, so this is part of the uh organisms in
trade uh plants and uh organ uhorganisms.
Um this plant was an ornamentalwater garden plant that was
introduced to North America umand kind of uh uh through
improper uh care was released.
(14:24):
Um so if you think about a watergarden in someone's backyard uh
you know could overflow and thenfloat into a closer water body
and actually established uh canestablish in in larger bodies of
water.
SPEAKER_10 (14:39):
Right.
SPEAKER_04 (14:39):
So uh this plant uh has spread through the eastern
United States up to uh Quebecand down into eastern Ontario,
um, and is pop has popped up inin the Niagara region of Ontario
recently.
SPEAKER_06 (14:52):
Aaron Ross Powell So is it something I'm not familiar
with the plant offhand, but umuh there's water chestnuts, of
course, which uh are an edibleplant.
Is this is this an edible plantas well?
SPEAKER_04 (15:03):
Uh this one is not edible.
This is called European waterchestnut.
Um it's actually uh a reallypretty ornamental water garden
plant that floats to the top,uh, has this really nice white
flower, um, but then underneathhas these very uh uh large, what
they're called chestnuts.
Um, and uh that's what createsnew plants and new rosettes.
(15:27):
And uh they can actually be veryuh impactful to human health.
They have these really sharpbarbed edges on the seeds.
Um so it wouldn't be fun to stepon something like that.
SPEAKER_06 (15:40):
Um is this something that uh potentially birds might
consume and and trans transportat other locations as well?
SPEAKER_04 (15:49):
Um there has been studies where um the uh seed has
been attached to like a duck'suh um f feathers on them and has
flown and established somewhereelse.
Um but we don't really know howit's been moved around.
SPEAKER_06 (16:06):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I just wondered, uh there'squite a bit of stuff like that,
you know, birds will eat uh whatuh purple loose strife seeds and
then pass them in low newlocations and potentially cause
problems there.
I I believe that's a situationor an example of something that
one of the evasive plants can betransmitted around.
Yes?
SPEAKER_04 (16:26):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_06 (16:26):
Yeah.
Correct.
So and what's the proper removalof these plants?
Like how do you get rid of them?
SPEAKER_04 (16:33):
Uh so it's manual removal.
Um from what we did in in uh theNiagara region, we actually hand
pull them.
Uh they need to be removed.
The whole plant needs to beremoved out of the substrate.
Um so basically, we're incanoes.
We canoe uh to places on theriver where they have
established and pull them out ofthe substrate.
SPEAKER_06 (16:55):
So is it easy to identify to be able to pull
them?
Is there a certain time of yearyou pull them?
SPEAKER_04 (17:00):
Um yeah.
So actually, this plant doesn'tlook like any other of our
native aquatic vegetation.
It's very uh noticeable.
Um it it's uh the the leaveshave uh serrations on them and
they float to the top in this uhcircle.
So it's it's very it's a verynoticeable plant, which makes it
really easy to identify andpull.
SPEAKER_06 (17:22):
Okay, so what does it displace?
Does it displace it uh chokingout other plants?
SPEAKER_04 (17:28):
Yeah, so when we talk about invasive species, we
talk about impacts to uh theenvironment, economy, and
society.
And European water chestnut uhdoes all three.
Um so impacts to uh uh theenvironment, uh it can uh
outshade um uh native plants, uhreduce bio plant native plant di
(17:48):
biodiversity, uh, impact speciesat risk habitat.
And um uh yeah, so that's forfor the environment, for the
economy.
It's uh not a fun plant or seedto step on.
Um so this plant, these seedscan wash up on sandy shores and
uh be very detrimental to um uhuh people if they step on it, it
(18:14):
can go right through aflip-flop.
And also for uh society, it canreally decrease property value,
um, especially when you havelarge established populations.
SPEAKER_06 (18:24):
Oh so um where can people go to to find out if
they've identified and what dothey do if they do identify one?
How do they contact people todeal with this or try and manage
it?
SPEAKER_04 (18:35):
Yeah, so in Ontario, it's actually listed as a
prohibited species.
Um so I would suggest if you dosee something uh that uh it
looks like water, European waterchestnut, um, you can uh go on
our website.
We have awesome photos of thisplant and uh report it to uh
EdMaps, which is an invasivespecies reporting hotline uh uh
(18:57):
website or app, or you canreport it to the invasive
species hotline.
SPEAKER_06 (19:02):
Okay.
Are there animals that feed onthis?
Like would uh turtles, uh someturtles or or fish, carp, uh
anything like that feed on anyof that at all?
SPEAKER_04 (19:12):
Um as of right now, we don't we don't know.
Um they don't seem to have anynatural predators in this this
introduce area, um, which isvery common in invasive species.
SPEAKER_06 (19:22):
Aaron Powell Okay.
Well, I know I uh I tried tobring in a private member's bill
that uh dealt with invasivespecies and I used examples of
zebra mussels and the impact onthe outpipes on and the intake
pipes for Ontario Hydro.
I think it was, as I recall, wasit was in the area of like$60
(19:45):
million just to clean those tomake sure that they were free
from zebra mussels and all thepotential problems with that.
And there was a lot of other umI think there was I think it was
uh one of the gobies that camein on a single ship and could be
identified to the one ship whereit was released into Michigan, I
(20:07):
believe, somewhere, in theirballast water discharge.
So what I did was I tried tobring in a legislation that that
essentially anybody found to beresponsible for introducing an
invasive species is wasresponsible for the cleanup and
removal of that species.
Well, the shipping industry wentnuts on that because it had huge
(20:28):
implications.
And we got into deep waterdischarge where they try to
discharge the ballast water fromfrom areas where they would pick
up ballast water.
And you know, they I mentionedthat Gobi, I think it was the
Gobi, that um they picked up andthey do a complete discharge of
the water uh and replace it withdeep water so that they
(20:52):
eliminate because uh the theamount of uh plant or animal
life in in there because the suncan't get down is virtually
minimal.
And then they started uh theycommitted to do other things
like um I think there was uhwhat UV lighting specific types
to kill all the plant life inthe in the ballast tanks.
(21:14):
And it was quite a response.
Actually, um the state of umMichigan asked me to present at
uh Senate committee hearings,and it surprisingly uh the first
hearings were in Sault Ste.
Marie because they found thisvery, very interesting, and then
they asked me to do a series ofof uh presentations in in
(21:35):
Detroit and other locations aswell, because it it was
something that was starting toconcern a lot of people, which
is good.
And you know, hence we have theorganization that you work with
to try and identify and removeand control or inform people
about these invasive species.
SPEAKER_11 (21:58):
Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the
single largest database of muskyangling education material
anywhere in the world.
SPEAKER_01 (22:07):
Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this
amazing community and share itwith passionate anglers just
like you.
SPEAKER_11 (22:13):
Thus, the Ugly Pike Podcast was born and quickly
grew to become one of the topfishing podcasts in North
America.
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
Step into the world of angling adventures and
embrace the thrill of the catchwith the Ugly Pike Podcast.
Join us on our quest tounderstand what makes us
different as anglers and touncover what it takes to go
after the infamous fish of10,000 casts.
SPEAKER_11 (22:34):
The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about
fishing, it's about creating atight-knit community of
passionate anglers who share thesame love for the sport.
Through laughter, throughcamaraderie, and an unwavering
spirit of adventure, thispodcast will bring people
together.
Subscribe now and never miss amoment of our angling
adventures.
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Tight lines, everyone.
SPEAKER_11 (22:54):
Find Ugly Pike now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever else you get yourpodcasts.
SPEAKER_06 (23:13):
Okay, we're with Bev here in Lindsay.
And Bev, you've got someexperience with Chaga that you'd
like to share with some people.
Tell us uh two stories.
Guys, start with your father'sstory.
SPEAKER_00 (23:24):
Hi, Jerry.
Um Well, um my dad had mentionedto me that he was struggling
with his blood pressure and he'dgone on meds and it wasn't
bringing it down.
He was running around 180, 185,and wasn't enjoying that at all.
And um And so I suggested thathe try the chaga tea because I
knew some other people that hadhad good experience with it, and
(23:47):
I knew my own experience withit.
He started doing the chug of teaevery day.
Um he stuck it in with hiscoffee, so he only had to drink
one thing a day, and withinthree weeks he had dropped from
180 to 140, which he was reallyexcited about.
But what he was even moreexcited about was that about
three to four weeks after that,he had gone down to 125.
(24:08):
So we're really grateful for thedifference that chaga has made
with his blood pressure.
SPEAKER_05 (24:15):
There wasn't any other medications or changes
this to do the change?
SPEAKER_00 (24:18):
No, this was the actually the only shift.
He didn't shift anythingdiet-wise, physical
exercise-wise at all.
The only thing he added in thathe hadn't been doing before was
chaga.
SPEAKER_06 (24:26):
And put it in his coffee, I believe.
SPEAKER_00 (24:28):
And he put it in his coffee.
SPEAKER_06 (24:29):
Very good.
Okay, and you have your ownstory now.
I have my own story.
SPEAKER_00 (24:32):
So I I started on chaga when I um I met Jerry just
as I realized that I was goinginto a relapse of multiple
cirrhosis, that I I had notrelapsed for approximately 25
years, so I was a littlestartled about it and wanted to
get on it.
And um, so I was in the processof changing a lot of things so
(24:53):
that I could um go back intorelapse rather than dealing with
the MS symptoms.
And so I did change diet and Istopped physical exercise so
that my body would have morerest, and I added the chaka in.
And within within I mean withinfive days, I noticed that the
nerve sensory issues I washaving in my legs was already
(25:17):
settling down, and within aboutthree weeks I had the strength
to walk unassisted again.
And I am about three months innow, and um I have um taken a
10-day break from it a couple oftimes just to, you know, you
know, just so that my body, youknow, can stay balanced, you
(25:38):
know, without it.
But every time I go back on it,I um I can feel the difference
in mental clarity and in the waymy nerves are communicating, and
I'm I'm walking very, very wellnow.
SPEAKER_06 (25:51):
Very good.
Well, thank you very much forsharing your story with the
case.
SPEAKER_00 (25:55):
No, thanks for thanks for hollering me and
asking me to try a free cup thatone farmer's market morning.
SPEAKER_06 (26:01):
Well, I'm glad it's working out for you.
Thanks, Jerry.
Okay.
We interrupt this program tobring you a special offer from
Chaga Health and Wellness.
If you've listened this far andyou're still wondering about
this strange mushroom that Ikeep talking about, and whether
(26:24):
you would benefit from it ornot, I may have something of
interest to you.
To thank you for listening tothe show, I'm going to make
trying Chaga that much easier bygiving you a dollar off all our
Chaga products at checkout.
All you have to do is head overto our website, Chaga Health and
Wellness.com, place a few itemsin the cart, and check out with
(26:47):
the code CANopy.
C-A-N-O-P-Y.
If you're new to Chaga, I'dhighly recommend the regular
Chaga tea.
This comes with 15 tea bags perpackage, and each bag gives you
around five or six cups of tea.
Hey, thanks for listening.
Back to the episode.
(27:08):
Katie, um, so what happens uhwhen a pet is released into an
environment?
I know we had uh my sons wantedmy one son wanted a turtle.
So we had this turtle for likefive years, and then it was just
like, I don't want the turtleanymore.
It was a red-eared slider, butwe found a turtle sanctuary of
(27:30):
some kind that uh dealt withturtles that took the turtle.
My wife took it over.
But what happens when peoplejust release uh this stuff into
the into the environment?
SPEAKER_04 (27:41):
Yeah, so um loose pets can have negative impacts
uh to natural ecosystems, right?
Uh they can spread disease,outcompete native species for
resources and prey on thosenative species.
They can also contribute tohabitat degrad degradation and
(28:02):
increase uh pressure onendangered or threatened species
at risk.
Um a lot of times people willrelease pets on uh like moral
and compassionate grounds, butthey don't take into account the
ecological uh integrity of thatecosystem.
SPEAKER_10 (28:19):
Right.
SPEAKER_04 (28:19):
Um and that can uh jeopardize the the ecosystem and
the natural area that it'sreleased into.
SPEAKER_06 (28:26):
So I and I know there's a real problem with um
uh certain cultures releasingthings like goldfish out uh uh
into areas.
What happens when goldfish takeuh hold in these in these ponds?
And I've seen them.
I know one golf course I go tothat and to be perfect, I gotta
mention this now.
Uh what I do is I get ready togo pick Chaga in the bush
(28:50):
because I walk 13, 15kilometers, bush kilometers a
day doing all this stuff.
But what I do in the year is uhI go out golfing and I walk.
I walk the course and it's greatexercise and it gets me ready
for the pick.
But one of the courses I see isthe pond there is filled with a
large pond is filled withgoldfish.
(29:11):
What happens in situations likethat?
And how do you get the messageout that this is not good for
the environment?
SPEAKER_04 (29:17):
Yeah, so uh invasive goldfish uh are when they're
released into wild ecosystems,they can actually grow very much
larger than uh what they were inthe size of when they were in
captivity.
Yep.
They're actually also veryadaptable, um, and they're able
to live in a variety ofenvironmental conditions.
(29:37):
And goldfish are very common, avery common pet that uh you see
is that can be released.
Um they're often found in thosequiet, populated urban and
suburban waters, you know, astormwater pond near your house
or the the park uh near yourhouse pond that might have it.
(29:58):
Uh people often Intentionallywill release them wanting to
give this fish a better life.
But yeah, they don't realize theimpacts that they can have to
the natural ecosystems.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_06 (30:10):
So what happens when people release goldfish and they
start to uh populate and spawn?
I mean, there was a great blueheron consuming the goldfish in
this one pond.
That's how I first saw them.
Was the Great Blue Heron wasthere.
And these were rather largegoldfish.
I mean, we're talking probably apound and a half, a pound, pound
and a half at the size from whatI can see.
SPEAKER_04 (30:32):
Yeah.
I mean, they feed on anythingsmall uh that's near the bottom
bottom of a water body.
Um this can actually contributeto uh turbidity.
The the feeding can stir up thebottom of the water body that
they're in, and that limitssunlight for aquatic plants.
And with that, it reduces uhavailable oxygen oxygen in the
(30:55):
water.
Um and that can directlycontribute to algae blooms.
Um you know, they can impactfood chains and and kill aquatic
wildlife, and they can alsospread diseases to other carp
species, uh, which can be passedon to other fish.
SPEAKER_06 (31:14):
Um and I I believe there are some Asian cultures
that it's it's supposed to begood luck to release these uh
and out there.
Uh if I am I correct there?
SPEAKER_04 (31:26):
Uh I think so, yes.
SPEAKER_06 (31:28):
Yeah, so and it gets a big problem.
Now, uh what about other thingslike you know, your red-eared
slider, your marbled crayfish,and and releasing what's the
what's happened on some of theimpact with those?
SPEAKER_04 (31:40):
Um yeah, so red-eared sliders are uh turtles
that are actually a very commonaquatic uh first pet for people.
Um a lot of people don't realizethat they can live quite long.
Um so you know, that's a a verycommon first pet for people.
Uh and uh they actually lookvery similar to our native
(32:02):
painted turtles.
Um but it's important to notethat most native turtles in
Ontario are uh listed as aspecies at risk.
So introducing a turtle that'snot native into the natural
environment can really impactour native turtles.
SPEAKER_06 (32:18):
Right.
And so how would things likemarbled crayfish uh get into the
environment then?
SPEAKER_04 (32:24):
Yeah, marbled crayfish um was recently
reported for the first time inuh the wild in uh Ontario, and
it actually uh can be extremelydetrimental to ecosystems.
Um they have the ability toclone, uh, and the introduction
of a single female uh marbledcrayfish can can establish
(32:46):
basically a new population.
This is a very common uhaquarium uh crayfish, and it's a
very common uh uh crayfishthat's traded in the aquarium
trade because they produce somany of them.
SPEAKER_06 (33:00):
So now is there not controls for these these uh
businesses to to not bring thosesort of things in, or how does
that take place?
SPEAKER_04 (33:10):
Yeah, so in Ontario we have uh the Invasive Species
Act.
Um, and there's many uh speciesthat are on there through the
organisms and trade uh pathwayuh that are listed as
prohibited.
Um so that that's you know themarbled crayfish.
Uh that's uh European waterchestnut that I I spoke about.
(33:32):
Um uh and what that means, it'sit's illegal to import, possess,
deposit, release, transport,breed, grow, sell, trade.
Um so yeah, there there is theOntario Invasive Species Act
that regulates those species.
SPEAKER_06 (33:48):
Okay, so and and I know I mentioned this one before
on the on the podcast, but uh mypastor, Rick, um he had gone
away and um Lynn, his wife, umshe likes cats, so they had
somebody taking care of the catwhile they were away.
Now the kids had a turtle andsomehow probably the cat knocked
(34:14):
uh got the the the turtle out ofits um cage aquarium, whichever
it was in.
And when the people came to feedthe cat, they found this turtle
walking around.
So Pastor Rick was telling me,he says, he says, you know,
you're not gonna believe this,but he said, I came home and the
(34:36):
people looking after the the cattold me that somebody had put a
turtle through the mail slot inthe door and it was walking
around.
So we we uh got rid of it, wereleased it for you.
And and Pastor Baker says, No,no, that was the kid's pet.
They'd had it for like 10 years,and it was I guess it was quite
(34:56):
large.
Anyway, so where did you releaseit?
And they went back for days andweeks trying to find this turtle
for the kids who were all upset.
But I guess there's accidentaluh releases uh that uh take
place, like uh you know,unintentional pet releases that
take place.
And there's a perfect example.
And what's the differencebetween an intentional and uh
(35:17):
and uh unintentional release?
SPEAKER_04 (35:20):
Yeah, so that's a really sorry, that's a really
funny story.
Um intentional releases, uh alot of the times, uh I think
I've previously said that, butit's that well-intentioned owner
that, you know, they see thisgreat pond near their house and
they want to give their fish abetter life or they want to give
their turtle a better life inthis nice natural environment.
(35:42):
So that's what we talk aboutwhen we're talking about
intentional.
And then there's thatunintentional release, right?
Like a pet escape, or um, youknow, sometimes purchasing uh uh
something like a moss ball umand not realizing that it can
have uh zebra mussels attachedto it.
Right.
So that's that unintentionalrelease.
SPEAKER_06 (36:04):
Right.
And so are there are there moreunintentional than intentional
releases?
Or is there anything trackingthat kind of uh what's happening
there?
SPEAKER_04 (36:17):
Um we don't have anything to track that, but um
I'd say there's it's it's a goodbalance between both of them.
Right and a lot of it is uhoutreach and education, right?
SPEAKER_10 (36:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (36:28):
Um you see us, we go to pet shows, uh, we go, we have
this amazing campaign calledDon't Let It Loose.
And this is where that educationoutreach and education piece
comes in and why it's soimportant.
SPEAKER_10 (36:41):
Right.
SPEAKER_04 (36:41):
I've spoken to many pet owners that had no idea that
you know the goldfish that theyreleased would be invasive.
SPEAKER_06 (36:48):
Right.
I I recall being in a pet storein Pickering, Ontario once, and
I was quite surprised that theyhad soft-shelled turtles that
they were selling inside the uhum inside the pet store.
Um and so try and find a placeto report this to get people to
interest to see if uh they werelegal or not.
(37:11):
Have you ever heard ofsoft-shelled turtles being sold
in pet stores?
SPEAKER_04 (37:15):
I have not, no.
Um, but we do have like if youdo find you see these things,
um, I would suggest reporting itto the invasive species hotline.
Um there are people out therethat, you know, are able to sell
things.
Uh the e-commerce pathway is souh uh uh like booming right now
(37:37):
because the world is so muchsmaller.
Um you can get things fromanywhere in the world.
Um and a lot a lot of the timesthose go unregulated.
Um so I would suggest if you dosee something like that reported
to that invasive speciesawareness hotline.
Um, you know, when you arepurchasing something, uh, you
(37:59):
know, think ask yourself certainquestions.
You know, are the species beingsold by a reputable retailer?
Um is the species even legal tohave in in the region you live
in, uh such as you know, themarbled crayfish, uh not legal.
Um, you know, is the speciesnative to your the region?
SPEAKER_06 (38:20):
Um, we would never have any clue.
When they walk into a pet storeand the kids are are wanting a
turtle uh for uh for a pet, uhthe average parent would not
know to even consider uh is thisillegal, is it illegal, and how
are they getting it here and allthat kind of stuff.
Although the the more we caninform people, the better off we
(38:43):
are in ensuring that the rightthings are done in the proper
manner, not impact negativelyimpacting our environment,
right?
SPEAKER_04 (38:50):
Correct.
And it's important, like be aresponsible uh pet owner before
you even buy a pet, consider uhall the questions you need to
know in order to have that pet.
And uh can you have that pet?
And you know, in are you able touh uh live through that pet's uh
life expectancy, you know?
SPEAKER_06 (39:11):
Yeah, I I recall, and I think it's right now,
there is a um it was an uh and anon-intentional release, I
believe, at one of the New YorkLaGuardia airport where uh
parrots got out, and now there'sa self-sustaining population of
parrots at this this airport.
SPEAKER_04 (39:34):
Oh, I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_06 (39:35):
Yeah, it was it was kind of interesting.
I I can't remember, uh I thinkit was a green parrot uh that
came in, and all of a sudden nowthere's a self-sustaining
population right there.
Like you know, we see pigeonsaround here.
Well, they got parrots at thisone airport.
And and I recall when I wasyoung we had a a budgie, and I
actually had the window open inmy my bedroom, uh, which was on
(39:59):
a different floor from where thebudgie was.
But the budgie um got out of thecage, somebody let it out, which
one of my sisters probably did,and the budgie flew to the next
floor where I was and right outthe window and was gone.
SPEAKER_10 (40:14):
Oh no.
SPEAKER_06 (40:15):
There's another example of a uh a
non-intentional release thattakes place that people don't
even think about.
SPEAKER_04 (40:22):
Yeah, and it it all has to do with, you know, not
all non-native species areconsidered invasive, but um it's
it's you know, it only takesone, right?
Yep.
And and it's important to ha youknow have that education and
know what you're gettingyourself into when you're buying
a pet.
SPEAKER_06 (40:41):
Aaron Powell Right.
And what what kind of things uhshould people look at when they
consider things like, well,we'll talk and mentioned the
turtle.
How how long does the turtlelive?
SPEAKER_04 (40:50):
I think uh I I've I've spoken to quite a few
people at the pet shows that Iattend, and people have come up
to me and said they've had theirturtle for 30 years, their
red-eared slider turtle for 30years.
Wow.
Um and and just a funny story,uh someone uh didn't realize uh
that they needed a a larger uhaquarium for it.
(41:11):
So it lives in their bathtub, Iguess, is is what they told me.
So just be an informed uhpurchaser.
Uh really understand that uhwhen you're purchasing a pet,
uh, you know, uh uh understandwhat you're you're purchasing
and and uh really educateyourself on, you know, are you
gonna be able to take care of itfor its whole life?
(41:33):
And then what are the options ifyou don't if you're not able to
take care of it?
SPEAKER_06 (41:37):
Yeah.
Well I had when I was young, Ihad um an iguana, a green iguana
that I had and it and it endedit was great.
It was a great uh disciplinarything for my sisters.
When they got out of line, I'dpick up the iguana and chase
them with it.
But uh and it would get it gotabout four feet long, and it was
(41:59):
just you know, it was the timeto new aquariums and everything
else.
So I actually went uh back to apet store and sold it back to a
pet store that they could retailit to somebody else.
It was in good health, goodsize, and everything else.
But the pet store was more thanhappy to get a a sample like
that that was quite large,actually.
We we actually had a neighborthat had one that was probably
(42:20):
about uh five, six feet longthat had a harness made up for
it.
And he used to walk the iguanaon the streets uh with this
harness in the outdoors in thesummertime, but uh it was just
one way to to manage it that Itook it back in and and somebody
else got uh years to enjoy it, Ithink.
SPEAKER_04 (42:39):
Yeah, and there are options, right?
You can contact the retailer youpurchase it from for advice.
You can um and see if they'rewilling to to uh take take the
pet back.
Um, you know, you can contactanother aquarium or pond owner
or pet owner and see if they'reinterested in adopting.
Um you can donate it to a localaquarium society or school.
(43:03):
Um and you know, it's it there'sthere's lots of options out
there.
SPEAKER_06 (43:09):
That's good.
Now, you mentioned somethingthat uh I don't know if you have
much uh background knowledge onuh but algae blooms.
Do you have a um do you know howwhat what causes an algae bloom
and a green and blue and whichare the bad ones and how can you
tell when to stay away andthings like that?
Have you had much experiencewith algae blooms?
SPEAKER_04 (43:30):
I have not, but um I can tell you what I do know.
Um so algae blooms a lot of thetimes happen when there's like
an imbalance.
Um so you know, I can go back tothe goldfish.
Uh, you know, the reason thatthey contribute to the algae
blooms is because they stir upthat sediment and they, you
(43:50):
know, that prevents the sun fromum um peaking through.
Same with aquatic plants, whenthey grow and they cover that
surface area of the water, thesun's not getting through.
Right.
And that can that can contributeto those algae blooms.
SPEAKER_06 (44:05):
Yeah, I I I tried to find somebody because it was
algae blooms very concerning.
And a lot of and I don'tunderstand how what uh initiates
some uh the phosphate or all theother things that go on that
bring concerns and which is moretoxic, the green or the blue,
and things like that.
But uh it was something that I Iwanted to delve into a little
bit more.
But that's something that wecould probably find.
(44:26):
Uh somebody has some moreexperience in work on algae
blooms, I guess.
SPEAKER_04 (44:30):
Aaron Powell Yeah.
I'm I mean, I I like I said Iknow what in how invasive
species impact it, but I don'tknow this the sp particular
science behind it.
SPEAKER_06 (44:39):
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so uh I don't even knowwhich one's worse, or are they
both just as bad?
Is blue the the worst one?
SPEAKER_04 (44:46):
Or I think I think I've heard uh we've had some
algae blooms happen in the theHamilton Harbor, which is quite
common, and I think it's theblue, the blue-green algae
that's the the the the harmfulone.
SPEAKER_06 (44:58):
Right, right.
All right.
Well, Katie, thanks very much.
I really appreciate the time uhto be on the podcast.
And how can people find out moreinformation about uh you know um
invasive species, uh the thingsto watch out for, releasing, and
where can they get thesewebsites and information for
identification of you mentionedthe European water chestnut and
(45:21):
things along that line, and howcan they go about and getting
details about what they shouldand shouldn't do from your
organization?
SPEAKER_04 (45:28):
Yeah, so we have a website with amazing resources,
uh Invasive Species Center.ca.
You could also visit uh InvasiveSpecies Center slash don't let
it loose.
That's our uh uh campaign on uhthe what we've just talked
about, the pet releases.
Um we also uh encourage peopleto report invasive species.
(45:50):
Um when you're out there um anduh if you see something, there's
an amazing uh invasive speciesuh tracking app called EdMaps,
uh E D D Maps.
Uh it's an early detection anddistribution mapping system, and
it's similar to iNaturalists,uh, but for reporting invasive
(46:10):
species.
Um and then you could also um uhcall the invasive invading
species awareness hotline.
Um and like I said, our websitehas uh some really uh great
information on all thingsinvasive species.
You can sign up for our uhquarterly newsletter, our
bi-weekly media scan to knowwhat's going on in the world for
(46:32):
invasive species.
And our YouTube channel also hassome really good webinars as
well.
SPEAKER_06 (46:37):
Well, thanks very much, Katie.
Uh, we really appreciate youtaking the time to inform us and
enlighten us about uh the anumber of invaded species, uh,
the the European water chestnut,the goldfish and what's
happening, the red-heared sliderturtle, the marble crayfish, and
things along those lines.
And uh I appreciate you takingthe time, but uh just more
information about things thatare happening out there under
(46:58):
the canopy.
Thanks very much, Katie.
SPEAKER_04 (47:00):
Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_09 (47:28):
I'm your host, Steve Nedzwicky, and you'll find out
about that and a whole lot moreon the Outdoor Journal Radio
Network's newest podcast,Diaries of a Lodge Owner.
But this podcast will be morethan that.
Every week on Diaries of a LodgeOwner, I'm going to introduce
you to a ton of great people.
(47:49):
Share their stories of ourtrials, tribulations, and
inspirations.
Learn and have plenty of laughsalong the way.
SPEAKER_07 (47:57):
Meanwhile, we're sitting there bobbing along,
trying to figure out how tocatch a bass.
And we both decided one day wewere going to be on television
doing efficient jobs.
SPEAKER_03 (48:07):
My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in
all those bass in thesummertime, but that might be
more efficient than it waspunchy.
SPEAKER_06 (48:14):
You so confidently you said, Hey Pat, have you ever
eaten a drink?
SPEAKER_09 (48:18):
Find diaries of a lodge owner now on Spotify,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever youget your podcast.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.