Patrick Shea

Natural Resources Reporter

Patrick Shea was a environmental reporter at Interlochen Public Radio. Before joining IPR, he worked a variety of jobs in conservation, forestry, prescribed fire and trail work. He earned a degree in natural resources from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and his interest in reporting grew as he studied environmental journalism at the University of Montana's graduate school.

During graduate school, Patrick worked as a freelance reporter. He's published stories with Energy News Network, Earth Island Journal, The Progressive, Native News Online and more.

Since returning to the Great Lakes, Patrick has been working IPR's environmental beat, with a special focus on the Points North podcast. His science background helps inform the questions he asks as a reporter, and he's grateful to the IPR news staff for their guidance and expertise as audio storytellers.

Between Myth and Migration

Patrick Shea

Cougars are making a comeback. The iconic wildcat hasn’t had a breeding population in the Great Lakes states since the early 1900s, but now they’re moving east. Experts say they could be back soon. Some people swear they already are.
Frankenfish

Patrick Shea

Lake trout are on life support in Lake Michigan. Every year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends tens of millions of dollars raising and stocking them. But what if there was another way: genetic engineering. Could it be used for conservation?
Rekindling Wilderness

Patrick Shea

The idea that wilderness is untouched by man is written into law, but it’s not so accurate. Humans have used fire to shape many places we call “wilderness.” A look at how tree rings affirm a long history of indigenous land management.
Glowing Squirrels and the Search For 'Why'

Patrick Shea

Flying squirrels glow pink under a blacklight. How many other mammals do this? What causes them to glow? The hardest question of all might never be answered: why?
To volunteers' dismay, Michigan's frog and toad survey is put on hold

Patrick Shea

Every spring since 1996, volunteers from around the state have participated in a frog and toad survey. But after 27 years of citizen science, it's been canceled indefinitely.
Birders flock to Blair Township on wild goose chase

Patrick Shea

The pink-footed goose's nesting grounds are deep within the Arctic Circle. They’re most often found in Greenland and in Svalbard, a group of islands north of Norway.
LISTEN: On Beaver Island, concerns over increased traffic stops

Patrick Shea
52nd Annual Snowman Burning welcomes first day of spring

Patrick Shea

Students at Lake Superior State University gathered to 'burn negativity' and celebrate the changing seasons.
Celebrating 'The Great Day' on Lake Michigan's Beaver Island

Patrick Shea

On Beaver Island, St. Patrick's Day means celebrating history, singing and dancing and throwing a frozen fish as far as you can.
Great Lakes fisheries concerns raised in Bellaire

Patrick Shea

The proposed Great Lakes Consent Decree was among many issues brought forward at the Natural Resource Commission's monthly meeting last week at Shanty Creek Resorts.