The Wolf Connection

David Ian Howe is an anthropologist, archaeologist, and host of Ethnocynology and The David Ian Howe Show . He is known for popularizing ethnocynology, the study of the relationship between humans and dogs. His work explores the history and archaeology of dogs, as well as the roles they play in modern culture. In this episode of The Wolf Connection Podcast, we explore the human-wolf relationship b...

Matt Barnes, a research associate with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, is a range scientist, wildlife conservationist, and former ranch manager whose work focuses on reintegrating wildness into working landscapes. Matt works with land managers to improve rangeland stewardship and has worked alongside ranchers to help prevent conflicts with large carnivores, including wolves and griz...

Climate change is not just shifting temperatures, it is rewriting the rules of survival for wolves, moose, and entire ecosystems. In this episode, research ecologist Toni Lyn Morelli explains what wildlife experiences as winters warm, snow disappears, parasites spread, and habitats become increasingly fragmented. Drawing from her work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Northeast Cl...

What if the real problem is not the world around us, but the way we’ve been taught to see it? Ecologist and philosopher Matthijs Schouten explores how Western thinking shaped our separation from nature, and why that mindset still affects the way we live today. He makes the case for seeing ourselves not above the natural world, but as part of a larger community of life. In this episode, Matthijs tr...

Jason Wise is a Certified California Naturalist, environmental educator, conservationist, trail guide, and LBGTQ activist with a Master's Degree in Environmental Policy.  His passion is fostering a deeper connection between people and nature, and belief that access to and education about the natural world are essential for cultivating strong environmental advocates.  Jason and I discussed how...

At WildEarth Guardians, Lizzy Pennock works as the Carnivore Coexistence Attorney alongside Joanna Zhang, the Endangered Species Advocate.  In this episode Lizzy and Joanna came on to discuss three major issues: rollbacks affecting the Endangered Species Act, the state of Montana admitting its tracking models severely overestimated the actual wolf population, and The Department of the Interior int...

Cassi Camara is a Conservation Communications Consultant who recently completed her PhD in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources.  She is also an Environmental Education Specialist for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Collectively, her work integrates research and practice across governance, policy, education, and communication, with the aim of cultivating environmentally li...

Rick LoBello is one of the founders and Treasurer of the Texas Lobo Coalition, while Phillip Sozansky serves as the organization's Secretary. The Texas Lobo Coalition is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the natural restoration of the Mexican wolf to its native and historic habitats in Texas. In this conversation, Rick and Phillip explore Texas's ecological and cultural history, the mi...

Carolyn Johnson is the Founder/CEO/Mechanical Engineer of GuardUs Innovations. Their mission is to save animals, both domestic and wild. GuardUs Innovations strives to create a world where livestock are protected and our natural predators thrive. We plan to achieve this through novel and effective non-lethal predator deterrent innovations.  Carolyn spoke about her background as a mechanical engine...

Sami Godlove is the is the Central Oregon Field Coordinator at Oregon Wild, which works to protect and restore Oregon’s wild lands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations. Sami spoke about his early influential moments in nature, the importance of the Roadless Rule, potential large environmental rollbacks, and the effects these policies have on large ecosystems, old grow...

Marc Bekoff is a professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Marc has published over 30 books and has won many awards for his research on animal behavior, animal emotions (cognitive ethology), compassionate conservation, and animal protection. He worked closely with Jane Goodall as co-chair of the ethics committee of the Jane Goodall Institute, an...

Naïma has been a professional artist for over 6 years, after her work as a graphic designer for a decade. She describes her connection through art in this way: "Each work is conceived as an intimate space, where anyone can project their own story, emotions, and memories. Over time, I’ve come to understand that this silent connection between a painting and the viewer lies at the heart of my wo...

Cadence Truchot has been the Tribal Community Engagement Fellow with Grand Teton National Park for over a year and a half. Her work within the park helps underserved Indigenous communities reconnect with their ancestral lands in week long programmatic settings.  Cadence shares her deep connection to the natural world and how those values shape the programs she leads in Grand Teton. She speaks to t...

Eric Washburn is a fifth-generation Coloradan who is a big game hunter, who is a Senior Policy Advisor for Pioneer Public Affairs. PPA works on clean energy technologies and advocacy movements to combat the climate crisis, protect natural wonders, and empower marginalized communities across America.  Eric discussed many issues from affecting winter, water and wildlife in Colorado, including the sp...

Brianna Godberson is the host of the Find Your Wild podcast, an artist, and business owner of Femme Sauvage based in Long Island, NY.  Brianna reflected on her transformative visits to three wolf sanctuaries in California alongside Candace Dyar, sharing the lessons, and teachings she's taking with her from the wolves and wolf dogs that she experienced on this trip. She spoke about taking a st...

Candace Dyar is a nature and conservation photographer, educator, wildlife & wolf advocate based in Washington State for two decades. She has used her platform to collaborate on environmental issues with organizations including Wildlife for All and Team Wolf.  Candace reflected on her transformative visits to three wolf sanctuaries in California alongside Brianna Godberson, sharing the profoun...

Eleri Lopp is a photographer, videographer, and nature guide in Estonia. She has been tracking wolves for over a decade and observing ecological changes happening within her country.  Eleri described wolf populations and movements within Estonia, the difference between EU protections and Baltic countries enforcing them for wolves, and the underfunding of science and research to conduct research on...

Eleanor Keisman is an American writer living in Vienna, Austria. She holds a BA from The New School and an MFA in creative writing from Drexel University. Her short stories, poetry, and essays have appeared in Litro Magazine, The Bangalore Review, Tough Crime, Last Stanza Poetry Journal , and The Wild Umbrella , as well as adapted for "The Other Stories" podcast. New Animal is her first...

Paul Koberstein cofounded Cascadia Times in 1995 and has been its editor ever since. Paul, a journalist for forty years, was a staff writer for The Oregonian and Willamette Week in the 1980s and 1990s. He is the co-author of Canopy of Titans examining the global importance of the Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest that stretches from Northern California to Alaska.  Paul discussed the book Canopy...

The Anderson family is a multi-generational ranching operation in Tom Miner Basin, the grizzly bear corridor near Yellowstone National Park's northern boundary. Rather than dominate nature, the Andersons work to prevent predation of livestock by coexisting more harmoniously with wildlife.  Malou has implemented holistic regenerative grazing management so that these grasslands become more abun...

Doug Smith 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-Intr...

Annick Hus is a Belgian Freelance Journalist who has studied Animal Welfare Science and Ethics and Law at the University of Winchester. Arie Trouwborst is a Nature Conservation Law Professor at Tilburg University. They have both chronicled the political, societal, and legal perspectives of wolves naturally recolonizing Europe.  They both discussed the challenges within each of these categories, as...

John Potter grew up in the Upper Great Lakes region, spending his formative years immersed in the lush forests of the Great Northwoods, where he developed a profound love for the natural world that continues to inspire his work today. After a successful 20-year career as an award-winning illustrator, John transitioned to painting full-time in 2002.  John visited Wolf Connection for 3 days, immersi...

Melissa Smith is the Executive Director & Founder of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife and has served on D.C. environmental committees with a deep understanding of the Endangered Species Act.   She explored the significance of sociological sciences within state policy management of species, how this influences the effectiveness of State Endangered Species Acts (SESA) and State Wildl...

Dr. John Vucetich has been working on the Isle Royale Wolf & Moose Project for over 30 years. He is a distinguished Professor at Michigan Technological University where he teaches Wildlife Ecology and Environmental Ethics.  We discussed the global biodiversity crisis we are currently in at the moment, the value of species within the context of an environment, his co-authored paper titled Gover...