The Wolf Connection

This is the third and final podcast recorded at The 2023 Yellowstone Wolf Summit in Gardiner, Montana!

Doug Smith recently retired as the Senior Wildlife Biologist in Yellowstone National park after 28 years of service where he supervised the wolf, elk, and bird programs. Doug has studied wolves for 44 years, done over 2,000 interviews, and appeared on numerous documentaries about wolves and birds for National Geographic, BBC, and CBS 60 Minutes. He is a member of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Team, the Re-Introduction Specialist Group, and the Canid Specialist Group for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Doug spoke about his career at Yellowstone National Park, his passion for wolves, stories from his time at the wolf project, and how he's continuing to fight for wolves on the landscape since his retirement.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

The Intercept - Doug Smith

This is the second podcast recorded at The 2023 Yellowstone Wolf Summit in Gardiner, Montana!

Kristin Combs is the Executive Director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, which informs, educates, and empowers communities to preserve wild legacy, protect shared wildlife and modernize wildlife management across the state.

Kristin  discussed her presentation, her thoughts on the summit and coexistence measures for wolves moving forward.

@wyomingwildlifeadvocates

Wyoming Wildlife Advocates

@wolves_of_the_rockies

@thewolfconnectionpod

This is the first of our podcasts recorded at The 2023 Yellowstone Wolf Summit in Gardiner, Montana!

Garrick Dutcher is the Research & Program Director for Living with Wolves. He has been working on wolf related education in Idaho for over 20 years.

Living with Wolves is dedicated to engaging the public worldwide in education, outreach and research to promote truth and understanding about wolves, while encouraging coexistence and inspiring people to take action to protect them.

Garrick spoke to us about his presentation and thoughts on the summit, as well as ways to help coexistence with wolves in Idaho.

Living With Wolves Website

@living_w_wolves

@thewolfconnectionpod

Wolves of the Rockies Website

Welcome to our 150th episode!
 Stephen Rivera and John Calfa preview the Yellowstone Wolf Summit taking place in Montana June 21st through June 23rd, discuss the speakers coming to the event, and talk about incredible content that will be shared from that week.

Follow us on our Instagram for stories, content and posts throughout the summit and feel free to DM us: @thewolfconnectionpod

Email us your questions for potential guests in Yellowstone! [email protected]

Anna Maziuk is a Polish journalist  and author that specializes in nature writings. She also conducts creative workshops for children and adults, often inspired by natural phenomena and direct contact with nature in all its forms. Since 2014, she has dedicated her life to telling the stories of wolves.

Anna's book Instynkt, About Wolves in Polish Forests, discusses the social, cultural and legal issues surrounding wolves in Poland.

She spoke about her childhood growing up near forests and nature, how she got into journalism, when wolves became her life's work, and the complicated relationship wolves have with people in Poland.

@anna_maziuk

Matt Yamashita has been with Colorado Parks and Wildlife for 17 years. He is currently the Supervisor and Area 8 CPW Wildlife Manager for the agency and was
recently invited to take part on the panel discussion at the ACES event, 'Living with Wolves: Coexistence in Colorado' in Aspen.

Listen to the event here! 

Matt spoke to us about his background at CPW, delved extensively into the wolf reintroduction coming up soon in and the many contributing factors surrounding the process.

Wolves in Colorado & Wolf Management Plan (CPW)

@coparkswildlife

Kurt Holtzen has been a Field Advisor and a Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Specialist for nearly 20 years. He assists with predator coexistence at Lava Lake Lamb in Idaho and is a Conflict Reduction Consortium for the Western Landowner Association.

Kurt explained his techniques on preventing predation among livestock, updated us on his endeavors in Colorado ahead of wolf reintroduction, and spoke about new tools he has created to help reduce wolf-livestock depredation.

@wilderness_trails_project

Lava Lake Lamb Website

Squawk Box Demonstration

Tom Walker has been living near Denali National Park in Alaska for nearly 60 years. He is an award winning photographer and writer specializing in Alaska's natural history and wildlife. His latest book, The Wanderer: An Alaska Wolf's Final Journey, details the epic journey of Wolf 258, as he traveled nearly 3,000 miles in less than 6 months.

Tom discussed his process when writing this book, the incredible terrain and obstacles on Wolf 258's trek, and the impacts of politics, climate, and social tolerance that were surrounding this story.

The Wanderer: An Alaska Wolf's Final Journey  is published by Mountaineers Books and can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible and local book stores.

@mtnbooks

Tom Walker Website

Mountaineers Books Website

Amanda Beer is the Director of Programs for Wolf Connection. She joined John and Stephen to discuss the new multimedia educational platform for youth called "Wolf Lessons for Human Lives", which was a project years in the making. 

This platform is meant to bring Wolf Connection's signature empowerment program to the internet and beyond!

Amanda, John & Stephen discussed their overall  involvement in the project, the message and vision of the program, and how everyone can get involved as a tester, partner, and collaborator.

For more information www.wolflessons.org

Email: [email protected]

@wolfconnection

@thewolfconnectionpod

The short film 'Almost Ancestors' illustrates the parallel paths of displacement experienced by Mexican gray wolves and indigenous peoples.

Sheila Hollow Horn is Dineh and Oglala Lakota, and was born and raised in Tuba City on the Navajo and Hopi reservations. Sheila has numerous Hopi family members and  plays the lead role of the Hopi Daughter in 'Almost Ancestors'.

Bertram Tsavadawa grew up in his family home on the plaza in the village of Old Oraibi and has been guiding tours on Hopi lands for over 15 years. Bertram plays the Hopi Uncle in 'Almost Ancestors'.

Sheila and Bertram talked about their backgrounds, cultural impacts throughout their life and the messages they hoped the film would convey to the public.

Almost Ancestors Trailer

Almost Ancestors Information

Lobos of the Southwest