The Wandering Naturalist Podcast

03/07/2025

In the first episode this month, Angela and Angie Gupta discuss some of the challenges and barriers for women in forestry. Many of these challenges are rooted in the exclusion of women from forestry professions. Did you know that women weren't allowed to work in the Forest Service until 1978!?

https://www.stateforesters.org/2022/03/31/we-need-more-women-in-forestry-who-wouldnt-want-to-work-with-trees/

Women and Wilderness

By Hannah Wagner We have an exciting announcement to make! Right now, there are more women leading state forestry agencies than ever before. Thirteen female state foresters out of a total of 59 […]

03/06/2025

In addition to working with the University of Minnesota Extension as a forester working with terrestrial invasive species and ecoanxiety, our first guest, Angie Gupta, also was a founding member of the Minnesota Women's Woodland Network

https://www.mnwwn.org/

Women and Wilderness

The Minnesota Women’s Woodland Network (MNWWN) provides the opportunity to recognize and enhance the role of women in woodland management, whether they own land themselves, may inherit or purchase land in the future, or who may simply be interested in supporting this effort.

03/05/2025

Help us talk about what you want to know! Comment with topics you want to learn about in Season 8.

03/05/2025

Did you get it?? This month we're continuing our March theme of Women and Wilderness and diving into land management.

We have some wonderful guests this month including Angie Gupta From the University of Minnesota Extension discussing Forestry Learning, Mary Montes talking about stories and authentic representation, and Molly Tranel-Nelson with the MN DNR on restoring what we have lost.

Women and Wilderness

03/04/2025

I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.
- Mary Oliver

03/04/2025

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou

03/03/2025

"So let it be known, if you don't already
Pinays have always been part, and
parcel, if not, imperative and critical to the struggle
Filipinas are no strangers to wielding our own power
Of all the privileges that exist in this
world, none of which you may be a benefactor of
There is at least one you bear
And that is the privilege of having been born a Filipina
Your DNA contains building blocks made from the
mud of over 500 years of resistance and survival
And when you are ready, sis, we'll be right here" -Ruby Ibarra

03/01/2025

At the beginning of our next episode, our guests share a few quotes. Maybe they'll give you a clue about our next topic!

"We are part of everything that is beneath us, above us, and around us. Our past is our present, our present is our future, and our future is seven generations past and present." -Winona LaDuke

02/28/2025

Before we move to next month's topic, we wanted to leave you with this adorable muskrat sculpture... or at least that's what the description says! That flat tail is looking suspiciously beaver-y. What do you think?

North American hunters have used decoys for centuries. Native Americans made decoys from reeds, clay, and stuffed skins to lure migrating birds within range of their arrows or spears.

02/27/2025

Muskrats are often labeled as "pests" or "nuisance" animals, but like it or not these animals live here too. While some people see wild animals in their yards and see a battle to be had, some people have started flipping the script! While there will always be mouse traps for sale, not every squirrel has to be the nemesis of a backyard birder. Check out this article with some idea on how to feel more at peace with your neighborhood wildlife.

Some animals may get on your nerves, but they don't need to be seen as foes as they are considerable allies to you and the local environment.

02/26/2025

Did you develop a soft spot for muskrats after this month's episodes? Looking for how you can help your small furry neighbors? Well the University of Minnesota has lots of suggestions on how to help preserve wetlands for you, muskrats, and all the other wildlife that call it home.

Wetlands are identified by vegetation, soil and hydrology. There are many regulations that govern wetlands. Avoid impacting wetlands.

02/25/2025

Muskrats love to eat cattail, which can be helpful in areas overrun by narrowleaf cattail or hybrid cattail populations. These species crowd out many native plant species and can throw an ecosystem completely off-balance. Hungry muskrats, unfortunately, are not enough to combat the invasion, Voyageurs has many strategies to try and save natural shorelines from becoming overly crowded.

Not All Cattails are Created Equal: Typha x glauca the Silent Invader

02/24/2025

Muskrats can deal with disturbances in their habitats, but how much is too much? One Stanford study cites muskrats as an indicator species- a "canary in the coalmine" for wetland health.

Downstream of hydroelectric dams and Alberta’s oil sands, one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas is drying out. New Stanford University research suggests long-term drying is making it harder for muskrats to recover from massive die-offs. It’s a sign of threats to come for many other spec...

02/22/2025

Trappers and trapping has been mentioned many times in this month's episodes. If you are interested in learning more about wildlife trapping, remember there is more to it than simply placing a trap!

Trapping Ethics Each trapper has the duty to become as knowledgeable and skillful as he can, and to apply that knowledge and skill in a responsible manner. Although there is a long history and tradition associated with trapping, the future is uncertain unless the trapper is willing to adapt. Today.....

02/21/2025

The scientific name for muskrats, Ondatra zibethicus. It was first labeled at "Castor zibethicus" by Carl Linnaeus in 1766, but "Castor" was changed to "Ondatra" in the 1950s. The genus name Ondatra comes from the Huron, or Wyandot word for muskrats!

02/20/2025

One thing mentioned in our second muskrat episode is the impact on hunters and conservation! Did you know that through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, more commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, sportsmen and women have contributed more than $14 billion to conservation?

Hunters are among the most ardent conservationists around.Theodore Roosevelt, the founder of the National Wildlife Refuge System and a hunter himself, knew it.

02/19/2025

Dr. Ahlers mentioned hearing some muskrat communication during one of his research projects- ever wonder what a muskrat sounds like? It's cuter than you might think...

As I wandered down the boardwalk at Nicolle Flats Marsh at the East end of Buffalo Pound Lake: I talked to a Muskrat at 7:45 one morning... it squeaked back,...

02/18/2025

A big thanks to Dr. Adam Ahlers from Kansas State University! While this month's podcast is focused on muskrats, Dr. Ahlers has lots of other mammal related research going on. Learn more about these projects by visiting the Ahlers Wildlife Lab website.

Identifying habitat use and genetic structure of southern flying squirrels on the western edge of their geographic distribution