What does it take to become leader of the pack? For wolves in Yellowstone National Park, research shows it might be exposure to a cat-centric parasite.

A recent study by University of Montana and Yellowstone biologists found a remarkable thing about toxoplasma gondii– a single-celled parasite that can survive in almost any warm-blooded animal but only reproduces in felines. It turns out that wolves infected with toxo, as the biologists nickname it, appears to turn wolves into risk-takers. That means they’re more likely to disperse to other packs, and WAY more likely to become leaders of new packs than uninfected wolves. 

The study adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that some parasites may have a real ability to change minds – including human minds. 

On this episode, Rob Chaney, editor of the Missoulian newspaper discusses these

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Tony Bynum operates at the intersection of conservation, wildlife, beauty and truth.

The photographer and conservationist has stamped out a career capturing images of western big game, documented oil and gas development along the Rocky Mountain Front, wilderness values across Montana and a host of projects internationally. But while many find inspiration in beautiful landscapes and wildlife, few have seen them so up close and personal.

Once a high ranking federal employee at the Environmental Protection Agency, Bynum has put passion over paychecks as he pursues a message of conservation with every photo he takes.

From his home in Great Falls, Bynum recently sat down with Thom Bridge and Tom Kuglin to talk about his life and some of his most iconic work.

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Each fall as winter nears and cold temperatures descend on Hyalite Canyon near Bozeman, water that weeps from the cliff bands lining the canyon walls freezes into bulging layers of ice with translucent hues of white, yellow and blue. And each year, that frozen water allows human to defy the gravity that pulled the water out of the rock in the first place. 

If, of course, they're willing to climb it. Many are. And fear is sometimes the best motivator to keep climbing, but there are a lot of things about ice climbing that go well beyond the simple act of climbing up a vertical frozen waterfall. 

On this episode is Joshua Murdock, the outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, and a rock and ice climber himself. He spent four days at the Bozeman Ice Festival, climbing a bit but mostly reporting and photographing different aspects of the event. 

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Glacier National Park’s namesake ice fields attract millions of visitors a year. Many wonder if they’re making a funeral visit. Predictions that all the glaciers in the park will melt by 2030 or sooner have been floating around for a couple decades. That deadline now looms less than a decade away. 

What would happen if Glacier Park’s glaciers disappeared? And what are some people thinking about as ways to save polar and glacial ice through the emerging field of geoengineering? 

On this episode, Rob Chaney, editor of the Missoulian newspaper, talks about work being done to keep glaciers around the world from shrinking.

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Thirty years ago a young German outdoorsman crossed the big ocean and landed in Montana. He quickly became fascinated with the freedom of opportunity to hunt and fish in the West. Since then he’s dedicated his career to answering why and how North American conservation works.

Thomas Baumeister has dedicated his adult life to conservation both professionally and personally.

Baumeister recently retired from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and now runs Access WILD, a llama outfitting business. He has also taught at both Carroll College in Helena and Arizona State University, and is involved with numerous conservation and hunting organizations.

On this episode, we run the gamut of conservation topics from access to ethics, from pheasants to elk and everything in between. 

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The imperiled status of the river-dwelling population of Arctic grayling in Montana continues to roil the waters of public debate about the fate of the species’ survivors in the Big Hole River.

The latest wrangle focuses on the utility or futility of stocking grayling in a Big Hole watershed creek and tributaries during a time of low flows and warm water.

This fall, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks released Arctic grayling fingerlings into a section of French Creek previously treated to remove non-native fish. 

On this epsiode Duncan Adams, outdoor and natural resource reporter at the Montana Standard, fills us in on the debate over the fate of this striking fish with a sail-like dorsal fin. 

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Montana’s wolf hunting season is in full swing with trapping season set to begin soon, but a recent state judge’s order has put a temporary halt to some regulations and an upcoming hearing could have major implications on the remainder of the season.

Republicans in the 2021 the Montana Legislature passed a number of laws aimed at reducing Montana’s wolf population, which pushed the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt some of the most aggressive regulations since delisting. Contentious hearings, intense media attention and lawsuits have largely defined the conversation since.

On this episode, Tom Kuglin with the Montana State News Bureau talks about a debate over wolves in the state that has remained at a fever pitch for nearly two years now.

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The Badger-Two Medicine region nestles between the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park and the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. It also lies in legal limbo after the latest court decision re-opened a fight over energy drilling rights that’s been going on for three decades.

On September 9, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered the Department of Interior to re-instate a federal lease and drilling permit to Solenex LLC. That lease covers about 10 square miles of the Badger Two Medicine, and the permit potentially opens it to road-building for drilling rigs to explore for oil.

Last week, the coalition of environmental groups and Blackfeet cultural organizations returned to court seeking to overturn Leon’s latest order. It’s a back-and-forth routine that’s gone on since the 1980s. And while many thought the matter settled at the end of the Obama – and then Trump – administrations, it now appears to live on through the Biden administration.

On this episode, Missoulian reporter Josh Murdock and Managing Editor Rob Chaney recount the history of the Badger-Two Medicine legal fight and why this place is important.

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Part teacher and part guide, Whitney Gould is one of the finest casters in the world and fresh off competing in the World Fly Casting Championships in Norway where she took home a trove of medals, including a gold. Her first world championships was both exciting, she said, and a learning experience for what to expect and how to train for the next championships in two years.

Gould is a spey specialist, referring to the two-handed casting technique common in big salmon and steelhead rivers, but with a dedicated following across the West. She's also a trout guide on the Missouri River where she guides for Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig and for organizations such as Warriors for Quiet Waters. She enjoys the challenge of fishing, and it rarely feels like a job – she particularly loves to teach.

On this episode, we share a drift boat with Gould for a day of fishing, casting lessons and conversation about a life around water.

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GPS collars attached to wildlife like deer, bears, moose, elk and pronghorns have opened biologist’s eyes to how far these species may move across the landscape as the seasons change.

Epic feats of travel have been recorded in Wyoming showing elk swimming streams in spring runoff to reach ideal grazing areas. A mule deer doe has trekked 500 miles each year from the Red Desert of southwestern Wyoming to Grand Teton National Park. Pronghorns, although prairie animals, have been photographed moving through mountainous areas to reach good food.

Likewise, in Montana pronghorns have been recorded crossing a frozen Fort Peck Reservoir and running down Highway 2 on the Hi-Line for six hours during a blizzard. Grizzlies have been tracked moving across Interstate 90. Mountain lions have been monitored swimming the Missouri River and traveling as far as the Dakotas from the Missouri Breaks.

Brett French, outdoors editor at the Billings Gazette, talks about this accumulation of migration information, as well as to help us understand how this data is being used.

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