I’m sorry, I hate that title too.

Especially since Dr. Phil Burton made it clear, right off the bat, that we should think critically about whether or not resilience is a means to an end (the end being sustainability), or if sustainability is in itself unobtainable; after all, when evaluating persistence of a system at the environment scale, one cannot deny that multiple states of stability exist. Diversity protects the integrity of a natural system.

Obviously, the issue of natural restoration is a hot topic in Canada; you guys have had multiple fire seasons in a row, a plague of beetles, keen logging, homogenous forest compositions, global climate crises…calling the current environmental situation an “opportunity” may be a tad optimistic. That being said, I appreciated Dr. Burton’s systematic breakdown of the different levels of recovery we can observe or strive for depending on the severity of a system’s degradation. I know we, as scientists, joke about how we all just lovedefinitions, but in this case breaking down persistence into robustness, recovery, adjustment, adaptation, and transformation shows how systematics can make things easier for those who ultimately direct reclamation efforts. Should (limited) resources be thrown into ensuring wide-spread system recovery after a wildfire, for instance? Or would time be better spent easing the habitat into the next form of its natural progression? Should dead wood be entirely removed as a risk-adverse management strategy? Or should it be retained to foster detritivore activity and nutrient recycling?

While Dr. Burton largely focused on forest structure and the challenges and responses in dealing with that habitat recovery specifically, I find that several of his points can be just as applicable to the management of an aquatic population. Responsibly managing the Kokanee in the Williston Reservoir, for instance, certainly involves the consideration of genetic diversity and the barriers (or lack thereof) restraining the introduced salmon to certain portions of the watershed. An analysis of Kokanee rates of straying and migration distances needs to be seriously considered as part of an investigation of potential genetic flux between introduced and native populations. There is some evidence the introduction of Kokanee in the Williston may have influenced the demographics of other fish species—another factor to consider when assessing the waning productivity of the reservoir. The general risks and responses outlined by Dr. Burton are indeed applicable to my own concerns of Kokanee management.

As far as the presentation itself—I understand and appreciate his logic of not returning to UNBC unnecessarily, but I believe Dr. Burton’s talk would have benefited from his presence. As it happened, the colloquium felt much less like sharing a project or experience, and much more like a classroom lecture. However, it’s clear that Dr. Burton is an excellent instructor, and even with technical issues he clearly conveyed his message and answered audience questions with tact.