The Wolf Connection

Leo Leckie is the Lead of Program Education & Outreach for Wolf Connection and has begun working with Yellowstone Wolf Tracker. He recently came back onsite to visit Wolf Connection, worked with the program staff, visited the wolf pack, and sat down for a quick podcast! Leo spoke about moving back to Yellowstone, shared stories about wolves & elk, specifically Wolf 907F, and his connection...

This is our first podcast crossover episode and we were so excited to have this discussion with Brooke Mitchell from Rewildology! Brooke is the host, founder and executive producer for Rewildology which is a podcast that talks about conservation, travel and rewilding the planet. Brooke engages with guests from across the globe, delving into their personal stories, what motivates them to dedicate t...

Ryan Sedgeley is the Southern Rockies Representative for the Endangered Species Coalition. Alan Lacy is the Founder & Chief Filmmaker for Reel Earth Films. Both organizations worked on the new film 'Welcome Home', that tells the story of wolves’ return to Colorado and how wildlife and people can live together. Ryan and Alan spoke about their own connections to nature, the process of...

Doug Smith is a former Senior Wildlife Biologist and the former Yellowstone National Park Wolf Program Lead for 28 years. Chris Servheen was the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for 35 years. Both Doug and Chris went into great detail about the history of grizzly bear and wolf recovery, the changing landscape in predator management since the 1980's, and their...

Joel Cates has been the Facilities Manager for Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary since 2019 after starting as a volunteer in 2013. He spoke about growing up around the wilderness in North Western Ontario, his journey in the early days of Yamnuska, and gave updates on recent rescues and projects happening around the sanctuary. Yamnuska Website @yamnuskawdsanct @cates239

Emily Weidner has been a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Biologist at the Bend Field Office in Orgeon since 2017. She is the office lead for eagles, sage-grouse, bats and wolves. Emily spoke about her role as a USFWS Biologist in Oregon, the types of research happening with wolves in their specific area, told us an incredible wolf encounter story, and about her experiences in the field. @onebrown...

Screenwriter, director and producer Ashley Avis came back to Wolf Connection for the second time in 2 weeks! Ashley filmed at Wolf Connection for the new initiative, A Cry for the Wild , which will culminate in a 3-day event & rally for wolves and wildlife in Washington, D.C. this month. She also disclosed information about the next steps in the new film project, American Wolf. Ashley is the P...

Ashley Avis is a screenwriter, director and producer of 6 feature films and is the President of The Wild Beauty Foundation. She is the writer, director and editor for Black Beauty  on Disney+ and directed the award winning documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West. Ashley spoke about her visit to Wolf Connection, her new film project, American Wolf , and the similarities between her work...

Cara Love is an Evolutionary Biologist and Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. She has been studying wolves in the exclusion zone of Chernobyl for over a decade. Cara’s goal is to help further our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary ramifications anthropogenic stressors have on wildlife populations. Cara described her rese...

This is the third edition of 'Wolf Tracks'! We discussed the Cody Robert's fallout in Wyoming, along with other stories pertaining to wolves with Carter Niemeyer. Carter retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2006 as the Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the state of Idaho. He was an integral part of the Federal Wolf Reintroduction in both Yellowstone and Idaho. Carter has...

Bill Watkins has been part of the Transportation System and Wilderness Tour Guide at Denali National Park for over 30 years. He is also the Administrator for the Denali Wolves group on Facebook, and is a conservation, wildlife and landscape photographer. Bill spoke with us about his experiences guiding in the park, the changing dynamics in tourism as wolf watching and bear viewing has been in decl...

Ramey Newell is an American-Canadian filmmaker, photographer, and multidisciplinary artist who splits her time between British Columbia and Oregon. Her new film, A Good Wolf,  is a feature-length documentary that explores diverging viewpoints on what 'A Good Wolf' means to different individuals. Those views are explored within the context of this lengthy, emotionally charged, and continu...

Will Stenberg is a writer and musician, and his brother Zack Stentz is a writer and film producer know for his work on films like X-Men: First Class & Thor. Stampede Ventures recently optioned the rights to Rick McIntyre's first 3 books in the Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone book series to Will and Zack to script a film adaptation. Will and Zack spoke about their childhood experiences in natu...

This is the fourth installment of our podcasts regarding the Wyoming Wolf Incident. We spoke with Mike Kosmrl, reporter and investigative journalist from WyoFile. Mike discussed how he first learned about the story, the challenges he's had getting information, the scope of the incident throughout Wyoming, and if statewide change would come to wildlife management or hunting practices in the st...

This is the third installment of our podcasts regarding the Wyoming Wolf Incident. We spoke with Kim Bean from Wolves of the Rockies and Kristin Combs from Wyoming Wildlife Advocates. We discussed legal action being taken in Wyoming related to the wolf killing, the deeper problems at the legislative and game agency levels, and how people can make change for wolves and wildlife in the state. Kim Be...

This is the second installment of our podcasts regarding the Wyoming Wolf Incident by speaking with Carter Niemeyer. We discussed the details of the incident, the reactions within both the hunting and non-consumptive communities, what the fallout could be from and Wyoming's massive elk herds prompting more hunting tags. Carter Niemeyer retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2006...

Emily Cohen is the Executive Director of 89.1 KHOL in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They were the first break the story on March 29th involving a wolf's capture by Cody Roberts, the alleged abuse and death of the wolf following its capture. Wyoming Public Records Act requests submitted by KHOL and WyoFile as of Thursday, April 4th, have not yielded any new official information and requests for inter...

Julia Smith is currently the Endangered Species Recovery Manager for the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. She formerly held the position of Lead of Wolf Policy for the same department for just over 2 years. Julia spoke at about her academic background learning about large predators, ultimately working with wolves in Arizona and later Washington, her experience working in the Washingto...

Sylvia Medina has been the President of Green Kids Club for almost 7 years. They focus on spreading the word about environmental issues relating to people and animals through storytelling. Green Kids Club works with conservation groups and writing children’s books related to environmental issues they are experiencing. Sylvia described how Green Kids Club began, the process of writing stories for a...

Nicole Schmitt has been the Executive Director for Alaska Wildlife Alliance for over 6 years. They protect Alaska's wildlife through citizen mobilization, advocacy and education. Recently there have been calls to expand hunting and trapping around Denali National Park to protect moose and caribou herds. Nicole spoke at length about Alaska Wildlife Alliance's mission, the issues surroundi...

John E. Marriott has been photographing wildlife for over 30 years and has authored multiple books on wolves, bears and national parks. He is involved in Canadian conservation issues with his non-profit organization, EXPOSED Wildlife Conservancy, which provides ethical and science-based solutions to solve the most pressing wildlife management challenges today. John spoke at length about the 3-part...

This is the second edition of 'Wolf Tracks' where we discuss multiple wildlife issues and articles pertaining to wolves with Carter Niemeyer! Carter retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2006 as the Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the state of Idaho. He was an integral part of the Federal Wolf Reintroduction in both Yellowstone and Idaho. Carter has authored two books, Wolfe...

Ronan Donovan recently visited Wolf Connection, and we did our first ever onsite video podcast! Check out the Wolf Connection YouTube Channel to see the episode premiere this afternoon here. Ronan discussed his project called ‘Wolves: Photography Exhibit’ which is coming to Los Angeles soon! For over a decade, Ronan has been a Conservation Filmmaker & Photographer. His work includes studying c...

Austin Smith Jr. is a Tribal Member and the General Manager for the Branch of Natural Resources with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. He was part of a multi-person panel called “Face to Face with Oregon’s Wolves: Expert Perspectives” at the High Desert Museum in Oregon hosted by Ronan Donovan. Austin detailed his journey growing up on the reservation, the many ecological issues he deals wi...

Bridgett VonHoldt and Kristin Brzeski are the Director and Co-Director of the Gulf Coast Canine Project. The GCCP was created to encompass their research and the community-based approach they are developing to understand, monitor, and manage the unique canines persisting across the Gulf Coast. With habitat being threatened of these unique canids on Galveston Island in Texas, the GCCP has looked at...