Safe Travels: A Nature Podcast

Beavers are often called nature's greatest ecosystem engineers. Their dams can reshape waterways, reconnect streams to their floodplains, support biodiversity, and help landscapes retain water. But what does it actually take to bring beavers back to a landscape, and are we approaching their restoration the right way?
In this episode of Safe Travels, we're in Central Oregon at the South Fork of the Crooked River, joined by Dr. Matt Orr, biology professor at Oregon State University–Cascades, and Reese Mercer, founder of Western Beavers Cooperative.
Together, we explore the fascinating relationship between beavers and the landscapes they inhabit, the emerging science of ecological restoration, and the challenges of helping degraded waterways recover.
We discuss the history of beaver removal throughout the American West, how the loss of beavers and changes in land use contributed to degraded stream systems, and why restoring these landscapes requires much more than simply building dams or relocating animals.
Reese explains why preparing habitat and establishing adequate food sources are essential for successful beaver recovery, while Matt shares what years of research and experimentation with beaver dam analogs have taught him about stream restoration.
We also explore how beaver activity can influence water retention, biodiversity, wildfire resilience, and the health of surrounding ecosystems.
Perhaps most importantly, this conversation challenges us to reconsider how we approach conservation. Beavers aren't restoration tools waiting to be deployed. They are wild animals with their own needs, behaviors, and agency. Our responsibility is to understand those needs and create landscapes where they can thrive.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why beavers are considered ecosystem engineers and keystone species
The history of beaver trapping and the transformation of waterways throughout the American West
How cattle grazing and stream incision have changed riparian ecosystems
What beaver dam analogs (BDAs) are and how they influence stream systems
Why planting adequate food and forage is essential for successful beaver restoration
How beavers can help reconnect streams to their floodplains and retain water
The relationship between beaver wetlands, biodiversity, and wildfire resilience
Why relocating beavers isn't necessarily the solution to restoring populations
The importance of long-term monitoring and adaptive management in ecological restoration
Whether restoration should recreate historical ecosystems or prepare landscapes for future climate conditions
The challenges of restoring ecosystems at watershed scale
How individuals and local communities can get involved in restoration
About the guests:

Dr. Matt Orr is a biology professor at Oregon State University–Cascades whose research includes ecology, stream restoration, and the effects of beaver dam analogs on aquatic and riparian ecosystems.
Reese Mercer is the founder of Western Beavers Cooperative, an organization working with landowners and local communities to prepare landscapes for beaver recovery and support watershed-scale restoration throughout Eastern Oregon.
Learn more:
Western Beavers Cooperative: https://westernbeavers.org/
Oregon State University–Cascades: https://osucascades.edu/directory/matthew-orr
Thanks for listening to Safe Travels: A Nature Podcast. If you enjoy these conversations and want to support independent nature journalism, you can find us on Patreon: patreon.com/safetravelspod 
Safe travels!

After a few months away, Safe Travels is back and entering a new chapter!
In this special bonus episode, Joey shares a major update: he's officially stepped away from his career in sports broadcasting to pursue Safe Travels full-time.
What started as a journey to explore our national parks and learn from the park rangers, scientists, and conservationists who know them best is growing into something bigger. While national parks and ranger interviews will always remain at the heart of the podcast, Safe Travels is expanding to include conversations with leading researchers from around the world and original field documentaries exploring wildlife, geology, ecology, and conservation.
Joey also announces the launch of the Safe Travels Patreon, where listeners can get behind-the-scenes access, submit questions for upcoming guests, help shape future documentaries, and support independent nature journalism.
The mission remains the same: to help people develop a deeper understanding of the natural world, build meaningful connections with the places they visit, and inspire a greater commitment to protecting them.

Thank you to everyone who has listened, watched, and supported Safe Travels along the way. This is just the beginning!

🌲 Support Safe Travels on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SafeTravelsPod
New episodes are coming soon. Thanks for being part of the journey!

What does it take to recover a species that was once on the brink of collapse?
In this episode of Safe Travels, we travel to San Diego Bay with researchers from NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of the world's most inspiring wildlife recovery stories, the remarkable comeback of the green sea turtle.
Join research biologist Dr. Cali Turner Tomaszewicz, biologist Garrett Lemons, lab technician Anna Cahill, and citizen scientist Tracy Tempest as they capture, examine, tag, and release one of San Diego Bay's resident green sea turtles. Along the way, we explore how decades of science, international conservation, and community involvement have helped reverse one of the greatest wildlife declines of the last century.
You'll discover how researchers monitor turtle populations, use genetics and satellite tracking to understand migration, estimate age through bone science, and investigate the mysterious "lost years" of juvenile sea turtles. The episode also examines the new conservation challenges facing recovering populations, including climate change, warming oceans, vessel strikes, marine debris, and shifting sex ratios caused by rising nesting temperatures.
Most importantly, this episode demonstrates that long-term, science-based conservation works, and that every person has a role to play in protecting our oceans.
In This Episode
Field research with NOAA Fisheries in San Diego Bay
Capturing and safely handling wild green sea turtles
Tagging, blood sampling, genetics, and satellite tracking
How scientists estimate turtle age using skeletal growth rings
The mystery of the sea turtle "Lost Years"
Why most Southern California green turtles originate from Mexico
How citizen scientists contribute to sea turtle conservation
The impact of climate change on sea turtle populations
Boat strikes, marine debris, and other modern threats
Why the recovery of the green sea turtle is one of conservation's greatest success stories
Simple actions everyone can take to help protect sea turtles
Featured Guests
Dr. Cali Turner Tomaszewicz
Research Biologist
NOAA Fisheries – Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Garrett Lemmons
Biologist
NOAA Fisheries – Marine Turtle Ecology & Assessment Program
Anna Cahill
Lab Technician 
Marine Turtle Ecology & Assessment Program
Tracy Tempest
Citizen Scientist & Sea Turtle Conservation Volunteer
Key Topics
Green Sea Turtles
Marine Conservation
NOAA Fisheries
Sea Turtle Research
Wildlife Biology
Ocean Conservation
Climate Change
Citizen Science
Marine Ecology
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Wildlife Documentary
Environmental Science
If You Enjoyed This Episode:
Please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing this episode with someone who loves wildlife, conservation, or the ocean. Every listen helps us continue telling the stories of the scientists, rangers, and conservationists working to protect our planet.

Recorded along the banks of the Green River inside Dinosaur National Monument, Joey sits down with Dusty Perkins to explore the science, beauty, and ecological complexity of the Green and Yampa Rivers.
Dusty serves as Program Manager for the National Park Service’s Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network and is a lead scientist on the Big Rivers Monitoring Project. In this conversation, he explains how scientists monitor some of the American West’s most iconic river systems, what happens when rivers are dammed and regulated, and why long-term ecological monitoring is critical for the future of these landscapes.
From endangered fish and invasive species to river morphology, sediment flow, snowpack decline, and the emotional experience of rafting through canyon country, this episode offers a rare look at the science shaping our public lands.
In this episode, we explore: 
 What the Big Rivers Monitoring Project actually does 
 How the Green and Yampa Rivers differ ecologically 
 The impact of Flaming Gorge Dam on river systems 
 Why sediment and seasonal flooding are essential to river health 
 The role of invasive species like tamarisk 
 How endangered fish species depend on natural river cycles 
 Why long-term monitoring matters in national parks 
 The effects of declining snowpack and aridification across the West 
 What it’s like conducting science on multi-day rafting expeditions 
 The emotional connection scientists develop with these landscapes 
Key Takeaways
 The Yampa River remains one of the last relatively free-flowing desert rivers in the American West. 
 Dams dramatically alter water temperature, sediment transport, and seasonal flooding patterns. 
 Native fish and plant species evolved over thousands of years around natural spring runoff cycles. 
 River complexity — including back channels and floodplains — creates biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. 
 Long-term monitoring gives park managers the scientific data needed to make informed conservation decisions. 
Featured Locations
Dinosaur National Monument
Echo Park
Canyonlands National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Green River
Yampa River
Learn More
Explore the work of the Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network through the National Park Service official website
Learn more about Dinosaur National Monument through the National Park Service Dinosaur page

In this episode, I sit down with paleontologist Rebecca Hunt-Foster at Dinosaur National Monument to explore one of the most fascinating fossil landscapes in North America. We discuss the geology that shaped the monument, the incredible dinosaurs that once roamed the region, and what life looked like in this ancient ecosystem roughly 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period.
Rebecca also shares insights into her career path in paleontology, her work with the National Park Service, and what it’s like studying fossils and ancient environments in the American West.

The Geology of Dinosaur National Monument
 How the rock layers at Dinosaur National Monument were formed 
 Why the Morrison Formation is one of the most important dinosaur-bearing formations in the world 
 Ancient rivers, floodplains, and environmental conditions during the Jurassic 
 How geologists and paleontologists interpret ancient landscapes from rock and fossil evidence 
Dinosaurs of the Jurassic
 The major dinosaur species discovered in the region 
 Giant sauropods and massive predators that lived in the ecosystem 
 Fossil discoveries that made Dinosaur National Monument famous 
 What these animals can tell us about evolution and prehistoric ecosystems 
Reconstructing a 150-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem
 What the climate and vegetation looked like during the Late Jurassic 
 Ancient waterways and seasonal environments 
 Other animals that shared the ecosystem with dinosaurs 
 How scientists piece together food webs and habitats from fossil evidence 
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow dinosaur and geology enthusiasts.
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