Forests, Moose, Predators and Moose Hunting & Remote Sensing and Forest Fire Research at NRM

60th Lakehead University Anniversary NRM - CIF Speaker Series Feb 25

Mark your calendar and join us for the speaker series on Wednesday February 25, 2026 from 5pm to 6pm.

Forests, Moose, Predators, and Moose Hunting - Dr. Brian McLaren
Remote Sensing and Forest Fire Research at NRM - Dr. Brigitte Leblon

How to join?

In person: at Room BB 1075, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay campus (Snacks will be provided.)
Via Zoom: https://lakeheadu.zoom.us/j/95465822199?pwd=EXrC7QpOPm64hT8OL1HtNohuKv6WaU.1

Meeting ID: 954 6582 2199
Passcode: 844527

Summary of the presentations

Forests, moose, predators and moose hunting – Dr. Brian McLaren

My research career spans Isle Royale National Park, where there is a temporal average of 1.5 to 3.0 moose per square kilometre, the island of Newfoundland, which has an average across wildlife management units of 1.1 to 4.5 moose per square kilometre, and Ontario, where the average is 0.05 to 0.35 moose per square kilometre. Isle Royale provides an opportunity to observe forest regeneration, which depends on the degree of canopy disturbance and food-chain effects, with wolf kill rates creating cascades that influence soil characteristics. Newfoundland shows that forest regeneration may not return to previous stable states, depending on local moose densities. Ontario trend analysis consistently shows hunting to have the strongest effects on moose, keeping forest regeneration within expected ranges.

Remote Sensing and Forest Fire Research at NRM – Dr. Brigitte Leblon

Remote Sensing is an important tool in modern forestry. At NRM, the remote sensing research has focused on two important forestry applications. The first one is detecting tree health on UAV imagery. We will present a deep learning method allowing the direct detection of trees and their health on UAV multispectral images. The second one is on mapping fuel moisture using polarimetric radar imagery. After explaining what polarimetric radar imagery is, we will present results using polarimetric ALOS-PALSAR L-band imagery for fuel moisture in British Columbia.

About NRM - CIF Speaker Series

In celebration of Lakehead University’s 60th anniversary, the Faculty of Natural Resources Management (NRM) and the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) are hosting a monthly speaker series from January to April 2026. Each session highlights research and discussions on forestry and environmental stewardship. Participants are welcome to attend either in person or online.