Defender Radio and The Switch bring experts and solutions to wildlife advocates and animal lovers around the world. Hosted by award-winning journalist Michael Howie, Defender Radio and The Switch are produced by The Fur-Bearers (TheFurBearers.com) and released weekly. Learn more at DefenderRadio.com
The Fragile Future of BC's Fishers feat. Rich Weir
Fishers – Pekania pennanti – are secretive, forest-dwelling members of the weasel family found across parts of British Columbia. But the Columbian population in BC's central interior is small, isolated, and facing serious pressure from habitat loss, wildfire and trapping.
Rich Weir (https://artemiswildlife.com/) is a senior wildlife biologist with Artemis Wildlife Consultants who has spent much of his career studying fishers and other carnivores in British Columbia. His research has helped us better understand where fishers live, how their populations are connected, and what they need to survive.
Rich Joined Defender Radio to talk about what makes fishers unique, what new genetic research is telling us about the Columbian population, and what needs to happen to help these animals recover.
SHOW NOTES
Episode art of Fisher in Olympic National Park (reintroduced from BC in 2008-10), by Jess Hoffman, National Park Service
Learn more about Rich Weir, his publications and Artemis Wildlife Consultants: https://artemiswildlife.com/
Learn more about the BC Fisher Habitat Working Group: https://bcfisherhabitat.ca/
Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).
Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).
22 Sept 2026
Growing Hamilton's Urban Canopy
Hamilton's urban tree canopy currently sits at about 18 per cent, and the City has set a goal of increasing that to 40 per cent by 2050.
That matters for people — but it also matters for wildlife. Trees provide food, shelter and movement corridors for many of the fur-bearing animals who share our urban neighbourhoods, from squirrels and raccoons to skunks and other species.
A new pilot project from the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Naturalists' Club is helping grow that habitat by bringing free, professionally planted native trees into backyards in lower-canopy neighbourhoods.
To learn more about the program, I spoke with Jen Baker, General Manager at the Hamilton Naturalists' Club, and Louise Thomassin, Senior Project Manager, Forestry and Horticulture with the City of Hamilton.
SHOW NOTES
Hamilton Naturalist's Club: https://hamiltonnature.org/
City of Hamilton' Urban Forest Strategy: https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/environmental-stewardship/environmental-plans-strategies/urban-forest-strategy
HNC Backyard Tree Planting Pilot: https://hamiltonnature.org/backyard-tree-planting/
Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).
Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).
8 Sept 2026
OnlyMarms Featuring Dr. Julien Martin
For more than 60 years, researchers have been studying generations of yellow-bellied marmots in Colorado, creating one of the longest-running studies of wild mammals in the world. Dr. Julien Martin is a professor of biology at the University of Ottawa and one of the researchers now leading that project, studying how marmots respond and adapt to changes in their environment.
But keeping a decades-long research project going takes more than good science. When traditional research funding became uncertain, Julien and his colleagues tried something a little different: they launched OnlyMarms, an OnlyFans account dedicated entirely to marmots.
What followed was a surprisingly successful experiment in science communication, fundraising and the internet's apparently limitless appetite for charismatic rodents.
In this episode of Defender Radio, we talk with Dr. Julien Martin about the value of long-term wildlife research, what marmots can teach us, and what happens when scientists have to get creative to keep their work going.
SHOW NOTES:
Episode Art of Kite the Yellow-Bellied Marmot by Laura Green / Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Marmots Page: https://sites.lifesci.ucla.edu/eeb-rmbl-marmots/
RMBL Marmots on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmblmarmotproject/
OnlyMarms main page: https://onlymarmssolana.org/
Dr. Julien Martin's OnlyMarms GitHub: https://juliengamartin.github.io/onlymarms/
UCLA Coverage of OnlyMarms: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/onlymarms-rodents-are-baring-a-bit-of-fur-for-science
Winner of Fat Marmot Week Coverage: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/fat-marmot-week-9.7327200
Dr. Julien Martin's University of Ottawa page: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-science/professors/julien-martin
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Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
19 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
7 ratings
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