How hard is it to reintroduce species to a tropical island? Turns out, pretty hard! But it’s so worth it. The rewilding of the Galapagos island of Floreana will make it the largest tropical island ever to be rewilded. Researchers have spent over a decade meticulously planning for the reintroduction of the iconic Floreana Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis niger niger). Once thought to be extinct, this species, along with eleven other locally extinct endemic animal species, are part of a reintroduction project that has involved the massive task of eradication of introduced predators, as well as the purposeful inclusion of the local population throughout the planning process. This month, Bill and Steve are completely out of their depth, discussing the project with three staff members from Fundación Jocotoco, one of the organizations leading the charge to Rewild Floreana.

This episode’s special guests are Paola Sangolquí, Jocotoco’s Galapagos Program Marine Coordinator, Julieta Muñoz, Conservation Strategy Manager, and Jajean Rose-Burney, the Director of Jocotoco US.

The episode was recorded in New York, NY on September 23, 2024.

Episode Notes and Links

Visit Fundación Jocotoco’s Rewilding Floreana website.

Here’s where you can donate to support the project. Please contact Jajean at 1 (716) 247-1255 or jajean.rose@jocotoco.org if you have any questions about how to donate.

Steve, Daniel, and Bill would like to shout out extra special thanks to our patrons for making this episode a reality!

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Photo Credit

Floreana giant tortoise photo © Agustín Molina - https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/floreana-giant-tortoise-reintroduction/

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This month, Daniel leads the guys into uncharted waters for the podcast…that’s right, it’s our first-ever episode about fish! The Great Lakes salmon fishery is one of the greatest angling spectacles in the US. Large predatory salmon, native to the Pacific Northwest, are stocked in the Great Lakes region to maintain a world class fishery and control invasive baitfish. The undisputed monarch among these stocked species? The appropriately named King Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). While they are fished for year-round, the action heats up when mature King Salmon run (well, they swim, but that’s what it’s called) up the creeks and rivers where they were born or stocked each fall. The salmon run attracts anglers from all over the country, fostering a multi-million dollar industry and countless memories. But what is with all the excitement? Why are Pacific salmon even put here? Dare we even ask, should they be here? In this episode, the guys venture to a popular salmon fishing spot near Lake Ontario and reel in the story of one of the most consequential actions in fisheries management history.

This episode was record at the Burt Dam Fishermen’s Park in Olcott, NY on October 8, 2024.

Episode Notes

Daniel mentioned the scientific name and meaning for the Coho Salmon: Oncorhynchus kisutch. But he failed to mention that the Chinook or King Salmon’s scientific name, which is Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Oncorhynchus as mentioned in the episode from Greek origin, loosely means “hooked snout,” referring to the “kype” these salmon develop. Tshawytscha is derived from a Russian name for the King Salmon, like how kisutch is derived from a Russian name for the Coho Salmon.

Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are also known as King salmon. Chinook and King are used interchangeably in the episode, as Daniel can’t seem to settle on a common name he likes. As mentioned in the episode, “King” comes from the fact that this salmon species is the largest salmon species in the world. Steve asked Daniel what “Chinook” means, and he did not know. After further research, it is found that the word Chinook is derived from the Chinookan people. This includes several groups of indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, where the Chinook Salmon is native. And what about Coho Salmon? “Cohos” is a word in one of the dialects of the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest with an unknown meaning, possibly the name for the fish itself.

Depths of the Great Lakes

The books the guys mentioned were Dan Egan’s The Death and Life of the Great Lakes and Margaret Wooster’s Living Waters: Reading the Rivers of the Lower Great Lakes.

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If we want to help wildlife, we need to know when and where they’re moving on the landscape. Dr. Scott LaPoint has spent his career researching just that. When our recent episode on fisher cats left us with a lot of questions, we figured who better to help us out than Dr. LaPoint. He was kind enough to join Daniel and Bill for a hike, sharing his expertise and his amazing ability to communicate science with enthusiasm, humor, and clarity. Join the guys for a wide-ranging discussion on fishers, connectivity, and wildlife-human interaction.

Visit thefieldguidespodcast.com for full episode notes, links, and works cited.