Deep Dive: Dr. Kevin Bladon, Wildfires and Water, Oregon State University

Is it just me or do we seem to be getting bigger more devastating wildfires every year? If it isn't fires across Canada, it's California, it's Australia, and it's even the Amazon rainforest. Is this more than normal and should we be worried?

Wildfires are a natural part of many forests systems and help maintain forest health, but when we put out fires too quickly we can end up creating bigger fires for ourselves in the future.

In this episode we will be discussing the effects that wildfires can have on our freshwater systems. We'll discuss the benefits, the negatives and how we should be reframing our conversation about wildfires on our landscapes. in this episode you will hear from Dr. Kevin Bladon from Oregon State University who studies how freshwater systems react after wildfires.

Are you interested in getting more involved in managing your local watershed? If you live in Alberta you can find out which one you are a part of at the Alberta Watershed Councils website! Our local watershed councils are a fantastic resource to learn more about our natural areas and how to get involved on a regional scale!  Whether it's the Athabasca Watershed Council , the Bow River Basin Watershed Council or the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance they are all fantastic organizations to get involved with.

To learn more about Dr. Kevin Bladon, his lab and the important research they are doing you can check out his lab website  right here the FEWS Lab.

Interested in the effects of fire on Fort McMurray's drinking water? Click Here!