#84-Lost Landscapes with Patricia McCormack

The majority of northern Alberta is covered in thick forest, but it may have looked very different only 100 years ago. What is now dense mixedwood forest once contained a vast network of grasslands, supporting the iconic bison and a multitude of First Nations people. This landscape has been changed, not because people took it over, but because they were kicked out. First Nations people used to burn this landscape at regular intervals in order to maintain grassland ecosystems that supported their way of life, as well as the many species that depended on it, like the bison. In the 1920’s, First Nations people were prohibited from practicing their cultural traditions, and wildfire suppression became the policy of the day. As a result, the forest took over and we lost a very unique landscape. Dr. Patricia McCormack tells us about how we know this happened and what we can learn from it.