The Dirt on the Dust Storms of Jasper Lake
On Science Link to the article at the Jasper Fitzhugh, April 5, 2012 It has happened to most of us drivers here in Jasper. One late winter or early spring day you’re driving down Highway 16 toward Hinton, only to reach Jasper Lake and be suddenly engulfed in a dust storm that throws your car around and pelts your windshield with silt. The east part of Jasper National Park is dusty, and I don’t mean just a little. There have been drives when I can’t see farther than five metres in front of my car, and later notice my teeth are gritty from the silty particles that have snaked their way in through the vents….
Hot stories from North America’s top science conference (and why you should care about them)
NIKI WILSON – On Science, Jasper Fitzhugh March 01, 2012 I spent last weekend at the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Vancouver, one of the largest science schmoozefests in the world. You could not swing a laser pointer without hitting a PhD. For a science lover like me, it was nerd paradise. The range of topics was vast, but some continually captured the buzz. Here are a few of the most talked about stories from the conference, and why you should care about them. The anti-science lobby and muzzling of government scientists How free are Canadian government scientists to speak publicly about their work? This question kicked off the…
The World Beneath the Snow
Jasper Fitzhugh, January 26, 2012 Photos: Mark Bradley, Boreal Nature Photos. While bushwhacking with friends in east Jasper National Park over the holidays, I almost stepped on a fat little brown vole weaving its way through what was left of a series of tunnels it had built under the snow earlier in the winter. The wind and rain had scoured away the tops, but well-worn paths and some of the crusty white arches remained, evidence of a world that exists beneath the snow. I’ve always been fascinated by this hidden world. I think it comes from my childhood obsession with the movie The Secret of NIMH. I loved (and kind of feared) the rats of…
There’s a New Pack Around Town
NIKI WILSON – On Science, Jasper Fitzhugh November 24, 2011 Author’s Note: I wrote this article in response to the killing of a local woman’s dog by a pack of wolves living around the townsite of Jasper. For her personal account, go here. Like many of you, I read Wendy Niven’s eloquent Facebook account of the recent wolf attack on her dog Helio with both sadness for her loss, and a fresh reminder that we live in a wild place. We share the trails with carnivores on a daily basis. Niven often sees wolf tracks in the snow while running on the Pyramid Bench, and has encountered wolves there before. She recently crossed a…
The Rub On Bear Rub Trees
Niki Wilson – On Science Jasper Fitzhugh October 27, 2011 As I sit in front of the computer screen in park ecologist Brenda Shepherd’s office, she scrolls through photo after photo of bears rubbing on trees. This summer she and her team set up remote cameras at bear rub trees on Jasper’s north and south boundaries. The pictures are riveting – bears approaching a tree, then standing on their hind legs and scratching their backs like hairy humans. Why do they rub like this? No one knows exactly, but there are theories. Shepherd directs me to the work of Kate Kendall, a bear researcher with the Northern Divide Bear Rub Project in Montana. Kendall…
News
Two Biologists and A Boy: Slowness in Spring
From Highline Online, May 14, 2012 Spring. Green shoots of grass jut from beneath their matted, hay-like predecessors. A confused flicker jackhammers the top of a streetlight to entice a mate. From across the cul-de-sac comes Ted Baker, carrying a six-pack en route to meet Jimmy Sutton out on the back green space, three doors down. If that doesn’t confirm a shift in seasons, the fact that Geoff, Dylan and I are in varying stages of fighting a spring cold does. Dylan caught it at school, and two weeks later still has chest congestion that sounds a bit like he’s sucking breath through Jell-O. The virus overtook Geoff last night, causing him to sputter his…
Get Your Mountain Guide!
Just finished up some of the writing and editing on Parks Canada’s Mountain Guide. This year’s funkier, updated version courtesy of Parks Canada graphic designer Nicole Gaboury.
AWNA Award
Thanks to Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association for presenting me with an award in Environmental Writing for my Jasper Fitzhugh Piece There’s A New Pack Around Town. Sure makes a girl feel good! Photo by Mark Bradley, Boreal Nature Photos
Articles
The Dirt on the Dust Storms of Jasper Lake
On Science Link to the article at the Jasper Fitzhugh, April 5, 2012 It has happened to most of us drivers here in Jasper. One late winter or early spring day you’re driving down Highway 16 toward Hinton, only to reach Jasper Lake and be suddenly engulfed in a dust storm that throws your car around and pelts your windshield with silt. The east part of Jasper National Park is dusty, and I don’t mean just a little. There have been drives when I can’t see farther than five metres in front of my car, and later notice my teeth are gritty from the silty particles that have snaked their way in through the vents….
Hot stories from North America’s top science conference (and why you should care about them)
NIKI WILSON – On Science, Jasper Fitzhugh March 01, 2012 I spent last weekend at the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Vancouver, one of the largest science schmoozefests in the world. You could not swing a laser pointer without hitting a PhD. For a science lover like me, it was nerd paradise. The range of topics was vast, but some continually captured the buzz. Here are a few of the most talked about stories from the conference, and why you should care about them. The anti-science lobby and muzzling of government scientists How free are Canadian government scientists to speak publicly about their work? This question kicked off the…
The World Beneath the Snow
Jasper Fitzhugh, January 26, 2012 Photos: Mark Bradley, Boreal Nature Photos. While bushwhacking with friends in east Jasper National Park over the holidays, I almost stepped on a fat little brown vole weaving its way through what was left of a series of tunnels it had built under the snow earlier in the winter. The wind and rain had scoured away the tops, but well-worn paths and some of the crusty white arches remained, evidence of a world that exists beneath the snow. I’ve always been fascinated by this hidden world. I think it comes from my childhood obsession with the movie The Secret of NIMH. I loved (and kind of feared) the rats of…
There’s a New Pack Around Town
NIKI WILSON – On Science, Jasper Fitzhugh November 24, 2011 Author’s Note: I wrote this article in response to the killing of a local woman’s dog by a pack of wolves living around the townsite of Jasper. For her personal account, go here. Like many of you, I read Wendy Niven’s eloquent Facebook account of the recent wolf attack on her dog Helio with both sadness for her loss, and a fresh reminder that we live in a wild place. We share the trails with carnivores on a daily basis. Niven often sees wolf tracks in the snow while running on the Pyramid Bench, and has encountered wolves there before. She recently crossed a…
