Mike Nolan is one of those Newfoundlanders you rarely hear about - a man with a passion for the land not the sea.Mike was born in the St. Mary's Bay community of Mussel Pond, now called O'Donnells, 34 years before Newfoundland became a part of Canada. In the summer, people fished for their food. In the winter Mike's family would hunt for furs or birds, or work in the lumber yard. Mike was 12 when he began fishing full-time.
At 20, Mike started trapping part-time and doing some carpentry work when it came his way. When World War II came along, Mike's brothers went to war.
In 1957, the caribou herd on the Avalon Peninsula (the southern tip of Newfoundland) was down to 60 animals. Mike was enlisted by the Provincial Wildlife Department to do what he could to save the herd.
He worked as a one man team, travelling alone for as long as three weeks at a time. To deter the poachers who would surely kill off the caribou, he left supplies and notes in cabins for imaginary fellow officers, and often talked to people in the settlements about his "colleagues'" activities.
As the caribou herd grew, Mike was soon joined by real fellow officers and helicopters. Mike and his team fought hard to get an 850 square kilometer area in the middle of the Avalon declared a reserve. Enforcing it meant burning and cutting down a few cabins that owners wouldn't remove themselves. No littering either.
His accomplishments are unknown to most Canadians, but are heralded as the single-handed most successful conservation effort in North America.
Length: 23:44
Original Format: Video
Originally Broadcast: September 20, 1994 on CBC Television
Anne Pick (Toronto, Ontario) is a well-known independent producer with twenty-five years experience as a journalist, producer, director and writer in both Canada and Australia. Anne also co-produced the series.
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