The fragrant smell of Christmas tree-shaped car deodorizers always makes me think of two important events in my life: Taking a much-anticipated drive in my dad’s first completely new car–a Ford Thunderbird convertible–and shopping with him at our local Canadian Tire store. Back then, men didn’t "shop", they just "picked things up." I remember we would end up in line at the checkout counter where we’d come face to face with the store’s last-ditch effort to show us the things we were forgetting to pick up. The counter-top display usually included masking tape, flashlights, batteries, twine and a pretty good selection of green car deodorizers. I, of course, would do my best to remind Dad of his need for these "essentials" and it wasn’t long before the T-bird smelled like a pine tree again....

High-flying honkers are as Canadian as maple sugar in March and crimson leaves in October. Several species of these migratory majestic cacklers were almost extinct earlier this century. But black-necked giant Canada geese and white Arctic snow geese have made remarkable, albeit raucous, recoveries. Sound dandy? It isn’t. Scientists warn that record numbers of lesser snow geese are placing the Arctic ecosystem in peril as an estimated six million birds grub away at the fragile tundra breeding grounds edging Hudson and James bays. This management problem has wildlife and conservation groups flocking together to find controls. The Arctic Goose Habitat Working Group–a joint government/private coalition–has studied the escalating lesser snow goose population explosion and Environment Can...