THE BIWEEKLY

AUGUST 15, 2025

Published by the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists

Scientific review regarding

assessment of fish passage

Shona Derlukewich, P.Biol., Senior Biologist for Triage and Planning at DFO, reports that the Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program is undergoing a scientific review regarding assessment of fish passage.

Length at first maturity data have been updated in the Swim Performance Online Tool (Fish Length at Maturity) for federally listed species at risk including Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus), Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) - Athabasca River populations, and Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), Alberta population. In conjunction with advice from the Species at Risk Program, DFO is currently utilizing the following mean lengths at first maturity when reviewing projects:

Bull Trout = 200mm; Rainbow Trout (Athabasca River populations) = 100mm; and Westslope Cutthroat Trout = 110 mm. (We continue to use 250mm length at maturity in SPOT (Welcome to SPOT) for other Non-SAR Salmonids, Walleye, and Sucker spp., as well as 400 mm for Northern Pike.)

As new information and guidance is developed, these lengths may change; if site-specific species length data exists for the watershed where your project is taking place, please discuss appropriate species sizing with your assigned assessor.

TRAINING PROVIDERS

for professional biologists

NATURAL RESOURCES

TRAINING GROUP

• Electrofishing Certification - Online (self-paced) & Kamloops, August 19th, 2025

https://nrtraininggroup.com/events/electrofishing-certification-online-self-paced-kamloops-august-19th-2025/?datetime=882

For the full calendar of upcoming courses, and course details, follow this link:

https://nrtraininggroup.com/schedule/

KEEPING TRACK

with

FIERA BIOLOGICAL CONSULTING

Track & Sign OnLine – Study Session, Aug. 26, 2025.

6pm MDT | 2-hours | Online via Zoom 

The study session will focus on impactful tracking tips aimed at improving performance at a future Track & Sign Certification, or give you a jump start at one of our other in-person tracking workshops.

Open to anyone interested — you do not have to be signed up for a Certification or in-person workshop to participate.

Learn more and register here 

Track & Sign Certification – Sep. 9 & 10, 2025, Hinton, Alberta

Hinton Area | September 9 & 10, 2025 | Ages 18+ | Register before September 1 | Limited Space

This 2-day field-based workshop in Alberta’s wildlife rich foothills offers the opportunity for participants to earn certifications in Track & Sign from Levels 1 to Professional (Level 4). This is an extremely challenging and engaging workshop designed to find the edges of your abilities and propel you past them. Participants must obtain at least 70% during the evaluation — 

All abilities welcome.

Learn more and register here

The Wildlife Society Conference One-day Track & Sign Certification Workshop — Oct. 5, 2025, Edmonton 

Attendees of The Wildlife Society Conference in Edmonton, AB, from October 5 to 8, 2025, have the option of attending at a reduced rate. 

Join us for a one-day (8-hour) tracking certification workshop that will include an examination of wildlife tracks and sign, interpretation of wildlife movement and behaviour from tracks, and much more! Register through The Wildlife Society Conference website.

Learn more here 

Track & Sign Certification — Feb. 7 & 8, 2026, Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan

Ages 18+ | Register by Jan. 18 | Limited space

Join us for this exploration of Saskatchewan’s boreal forests, frozen lakes, and snow-covered wetlands through the lens of wildlife track & sign identification and interpretation. This 2-day field-based workshop offers participants the opportunity to earn certifications in Track & Sign, ranging from Level 1 to Professional (Level 4). All abilities welcome.

Learn more and register here

Track & Sign Specialist Certification — May 23 & 24, 2026, Lardeau Valley, British Columbia

This 2-day field-based workshop offers participants the opportunity to earn a Track & Sign Specialist Certification, the highest level of Track & Sign certification available within the CyberTracker system. Sage Raymond and David Moskowitz will lead the Workshop. This workshop is meant for expert trackers.

Learn more here

AAFMP

Association of Alberta Forest Management Professionals

Professional Development Events for Natural Resource Professionals

The Effectiveness of Public Participation

Through forest advisory committees

Lessons from Ontario - Webinar (free)

Date: September 16, 2025

Speakers: Lance Robinson and Jeff Robinson

Registrationlink: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MTPA3HziSMi7SgokbeYEyg#/registration

Scoping Engagement: Getting public input that you can actually use

Speaker: Tannis Topolnisky

Date: October 28: 2025

https://aafmp.ca/AAFMP/Events/Scoping-Engagement-Long-Promo.pdf

Effective and Ethical Indigenous Collaboration

Speaker: Anne Harding

Date: November 25, 2025

https://aafmp.ca/AAFMP/Documents/Effective-and-Ethical-Indigenous-Collaboration-Long-Promo.pdf

ESTI

The Environmental Sciences Training Institute

Please contact efishing@esticanada.com with any questions or to book a custom delivery. Learn about our Efishing program here. 

View our in-person course calendar at

https://esticanada.com/shop/

Nest Sweep Protocol: Online – Self-Paced

Online Courses

SALMTEC

 COURSES AND TRAINING PROGRAMS

******

NEW! OnDemand Seminar – Catchment Delineation

https://salmtec.com/product/catchment-delineation/

Fall 2025 Offering - ABWRET-A (F25) Blended Course

https://salmtec.com/product/abwret-blended-course/

Fall 2025 Offering – GVI (F25) Blended Course

https://salmtec.com/product/gvi-course/

Registration Now Open for SALMTEC's ABWRET-A Blended Course (W25) Offering Online,

Registration Now Open for SALMTEC's Grassland Vegetation Inventory (GVI) Blended Course (W25) Offering Online,

Registration Now Open for SALMTEC's Catchment Delineation Seminar

SALMTEC also offers several self-paced courses:

Wetland Policy Basics 

Understanding ACIMS Tools 

Alberta Soil Information Viewer 

SALMTEC offers On-Demand seminars:

Land Use Assessment 

Technical Report Review 

Landscape Analysis 

Hydrology & Wetland Design

Wetland Delineation

VISIT THE SALMTEC CONNECTOR 

THE SALMTEC CONNECTOR is a compilation of applied science and land management event listings, across a variety of sectors and disciplines, published monthly.

You can find the SALMTEC CONNECTOR HERE.

OUR PEOPLE

AND A HALF-CENTURY

OF

EXCELLENCE

This year, we celebrate the ASPB's fiftieth anniversary, serving our profession together with all the people who live and work in Alberta. As our province has grown, so has membership in our society, which currently sits at over 3000 registered professionals.

Over the next six months, the ASPB staff and board have committed to talking about our ASPB people, celebrating their commitment and service to our society, the profession, and our province. We will endeavour to carry at least two or three short personal histories - and maybe even some photos - in each edition of THE BIWEEKLY, through December 2025. (They will be presented in no particular order!)

David Halstead

My career began in 1980, working for Dr. Peter McCart at Aquatic Environments Ltd. in Calgary Alberta. I went on to work for Alberta Environment, Scientific and Engineering Services of Alberta Energy and Natural Resources, and R.L.&L. Environmental Services before joining ASPB in 1985. I continued my adventures in the consulting world working with Spencer Environmental Services, and Westworth and Associates Ltd. before returning to the U of A to obtain a MSc in Landscape Geography. Interestingly, I then took a job teaching fisheries science to First Nations students at the Meadow Lake Tribal Council in Saskatchewan before moving to SIAST which later became SaskPolytech. I'm still currently employed as Research Chair in Natural Resource Technology within the Sustainability-Led Integrated Centers of Excellence here at Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Prince Albert, SK. 

What I value most about being part of the ASPB is seeing the many students I've taught over the years also becoming ASPB members.

Gary Byrtus

I joined the ASPB in 1984, long before it became recognized as a professional organization. I also had the qualifications to join the Alberta Institute of Agrologists (also in 1984), and recognized that the ASPB could be similarly recognized as a professional organization, but only if there was a critical mass of members. I spent many years involved in environmental monitoring with Alberta Environment before retiring from the Alberta Government in 2021, and changed my ASPB status to Associate Member. Since retiring, we've purchased a cabin at Baptiste Lake, and I have been assisting ALMS (Alberta Lake Management Society) with winter water quality sampling for the last couple of years.

While I wasn't extensively involved in the business side of the ASPB, I appreciated (and still do) the communication that the organization provides to its members, along with opportunities for professional development.

At the ASPB, we regularly receive notifications from Google Scholar and other sources which we select and share below in the BIWEEKLY. Here is the latest batch (the links are HOT):



Inventories of Wildlife Trees and Coarse Woody Debris Resources and Associated Birds and Small Mammals in the Vanderhoof Forest District

A Biodiversity Observation Network to support conservation action and mainstream knowledge in Canada

Comparing Ecohydrological Characteristics of European Kettle Holes and Prairie Potholes for Effective Conservation and Management

Perceptions of reclamation success as “as close as possible to the pre-mining state” undermine public participation and Indigenous consent in mineral governance

The role of hunter education, experience, and regulation on mountain goat harvest patterns in Alaska

Drivers of Low Taxonomic Diversity in Canadian Prairie Urban Forests and the Resulting Risk of Localized Mortality to Invasive Pests and Pathogens

Channelization and flow depletion shift benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities in urban rivers

Divergent trends in structural landscape connectivity from historic and potential future grassland conversion in Alberta, Canada

Scale dependency in biodiversity patterns

With great powder comes great responsibility: Winter severity modulates antipredator responses of wildlife to recreation

Movement ecology of bull trout and lake trout reveals divergent depth use in Williston Lake, British Columbia

Predicting Freshwater Invasion Risks Under Current and Future Conditions

Exploring the Reproductive Ecology and Glochidia-Host Relationships of Freshwater Mussels in a Canadian Context

It takes all kinds: a composite approach to sustainable freshwater fisheries

The diets of wild and reintroduced whooping cranes

C. macrocheilus, Longnose Sucker C. catostomus, White Sucker C. commersonii–Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Catostomidae) within the Peace River watershed, Alberta

The economic value of improving the ecological condition of the Saskatchewan River Delta, Canada

Variation in frost ring severity in the trunk of a trembling aspen tree growing in a boreal forest in northwestern Canada

An LLM to call your own

DNA Metabarcoding and Indigenous Knowledge Reconstruct Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances to a Freshwater Lake in the Oil Sands Region of Alberta …

Bringing Together Indigenous Knowledge and Simulation Modelling to Assess Cumulative Impacts to Indigenous Land Use in Northeastern Alberta, Canada

White spruce (Picea glauca) population differences in needle anatomy, foliar water uptake, and aquaporin expression indicate trade-offs between hydraulic safety and …

Do Small Forest Gaps Collect Snow That Prevents Tree Gap Dynamics in Western North American High Latitude Conifer Forests?

Estimating Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianu s) occupancy with camera traps

Time to spice-up paleoecological records with bryophyte spores

Modeling recreation and tourism demand using crowdsourced data: An application to visitation statistics from the eBird project

Integrating AI models into ecological research workflows: The case of terrestrial bioacoustics

When is habitat recovered? Understanding the mechanisms of population decline to evaluate habitat recovery for boreal caribou

Ecology and Management of Forest Grouse: Breeding Acoustic Monitoring, Spatial Behavior, And Harvest

Carbon sequestration potential of wetlands in agriculural landscapes

Mobilization of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit for polar bear co-management: qualitative analysis of a Nunavut Wildlife Management Board public hearing

Ecosystem Accounting for Large Urban Areas in Canada

Bird flu is ‘everywhere’ on dairy farms

Factors influencing surface water accumulation in beaver pond complexes across the Western United States

2025 CONFERENCE SPONSORS

This week’s banner photo:

Play hard, sleep hard !

A grizzly sow and her cubs settled in for a nap on some rocks next to their favorite fishing spot. The bears were spotted when the crew was out doing wildlife surveys on the Arctic Tundra. Photo taken by biologist Sandra Scott with a Samsung S20 smartphone.

PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGISTS PROTECT THE PUBLIC INTEREST

In Alberta, Professional Biologists are registrants of the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists (ASPB), and are subject to a code of ethics, continuing competency requirements, and a disciplinary process. The ASPB is a self-regulated organization under legislation in the Province of Alberta, meaning its purpose is to protect the public of Alberta by ensuring biologists are qualified to practice biology in accordance with that legislation. The society is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its registrants.

You are probably receiving this newsletter because you are an ASPB Registrant. This newsletter provides relevant information and professional development opportunities for our members, as well as essential member-related society business; if you are registered with the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, please DO NOT unsubscribe.

For more information about the Society or to contact the administration, please visit the website: https://www.aspb.ab.ca

Opinions and general news published in this e-newsletter

do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Society or its Board of Directors.

2025