The Wolf Connection

Adrian Wydeven is a former Wildlife Biologist and Wildlife Manager for the Department of Natural Resources in Wisconsin. He headed up the Wisconsin wolf recovery program that included intense monitoring of the state wolf population from 1990 through 2013. He is currently a member of the conservation group Wisconsin's Green Fire and chair of the Timber Wolf Alliance. Adrian spoke about his tim...

Delia Malone is the Wildlife Chair for the Sierra Club's Colorado Chapter and an Ecologist with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Delia spoke about the ecological impacts that the wolf reintroduction could have on Colorado's West Slope, the history of wolves in Colorado and how the state is managing expectations for the reintroduction. Rocky Mountain Wolf Project Sierra Club Colorad...

Wolf Connection's Pack Services Manager, Elena Albanese, joins John, Stephen, and Renee to share their personal stories from their recent trip to Yellowstone National Park. They also recall the changing dynamics between bison and elk within the park and discuss the possibility of wolves evolving to kill larger prey. Wolf Connection @calfanation @srprodllc @reneealfero22 @elena_ny2ca

Podcast Producer Stephen Rivera, Wolf Connection Behavior Specialist Renee Alfero,  and host John Calfa recap their recent experience in Yellowstone National Park. Learn more about the amazing people they met, new information about wolves, Yellowstone’s ecosystem, and how humans affect the wildlife inside the park. Wolf Connection @wolfconnection @srprodllc @calfanation

Adrian Treves is the founder of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab based in Madison, Wisconsin. His research focuses on ecology, law, and human dimensions of ecosystems in which crop and livestock ownership overlaps the habitat of large carnivores from coyotes up to grizzly bears. Adrian earned his PhD at Harvard University in 1997 and is a Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wiscon...

Ellen has studied and investigated the effects of pathogen infections on social groups within wolf and elk populations in Yellowstone National Park. Her research is focused in canine distemper virus, sarcoptic mange, and chronic wasting disease. She has also been involved in research that informs wolf management, such as disease risk analyses for endangered species act petitions and wolf re-introd...

Karin is the founder and director of Working Circle, a comprehensive community-based program dedicated to supporting working ranch stewardship to ensure that wolves, livestock, and people can thrive on shared landscapes in today's world. The effort continues to focus on sustainable and long-term strategies to reduce wolf-livestock conflict; strategies that unite rather than divide the values...

Rachel Tilseth has been a volunteer winter wolf tracker for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources since 2000. Rachel has also worked with the Wisconsin Wolf Recovery Program since 1998. She is an author for the Wolves of Douglas County News website as well as an artist, educator and environmentalist. Rachel joined us to discuss the recent wolf hunt in Wisconsin that took place in February...

Wendi McLendon-Covey is an actress and comedian who stars in the television series Reno 911!  (Comedy Central) & The Goldbergs (ABC) and played a supporting role in the movie Bridesmaids (2011). She has been in multiple movies and television shows over the course of her career and is currently involved in three new releases:  Sylvie's Love, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, and Long Week...

Suzanne has spent over 30+ years looking to restore wolves to the Rockies and Pacific Northwest. She was a member of both the Idaho and Yellowstone wolf reintroduction teams that restored wolves to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. She is co-founder of the Wood River Wolf Project which promotes the coexistence of livestock and wolves by proactively using non-lethal  measures to prevent...

Mike Phillips has played a key role in wolf conservation and recovery for 40+ years. He was part of the red wolf & gray wolf recovery efforts in the 1990's and is a founding member of the Turner Endangered Species Fund and Turner Biodiversity Divisions. As a former Democratic legislator in Montana, Mike helped inform the public about Colorado Proposition 114, which will be reintroducing g...

Carter Niemeyer 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, Wolfer and Wolf Land which can be purchased through multiple book retailers. He spoke about growing up in Iowa, his time spent as a government trapp...

**Click the link to view Kate's pictures that we discuss on the podcast**  https://www.instagram.com/p/CLe9h2eAgtg/?igshid=sg4hdl5rcgp1 Kate Ochsman is a wildlife photographer, certified South African Safari Guide and conservationist. She has traveled the globe photographing, guiding and conserving wildlife until it landed her in Montana - on the doorstep of Yellowstone National Park. Kate sp...

Maddy Jackson is a Project Technician with the Yellowstone Wolf Project. She is currently working on studies pertaining to wolf scat and the information that can be gathered non-invasively from wolf packs. She has a B.S. in Ecology/Evolution/Behavior from the University of Minnesota and currently resides in Gardiner, Montana. Maddy described growing up in Minnesota close to the Superior National F...

Taylor Bland has been a wildlife guide and wolf observer for over 2 years with Yellowstone Wolf Tracker. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Zoology, studied abroad at Kruger National Park in South Africa and now sits on the board of the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota. Taylor talks about her guiding style when she takes groups around Yellowstone. She also dis...

Jack Rabe is currently obtaining his Master's Degree in Conservation Sciences at the University of Minnesota in conjunction with the Yellowstone Wolf/Elk/Cougar projects. Jack has studied all 3 species at length as a Biological Technician and examined the dynamics they have within Yellowstone National Park. He has a B.S. in Forest, Fishery and Wildlife from The Ohio State University. Jack dis...

Dylan Sanborn is an Avian Field Technician and Park Ranger in Yellowstone National Park. He has studied corvids and raptors for the last few years and their impact on the environment inside the park. Dylan joined us to discuss the unique dynamic between birds and wolves - specifically ravens - since wolves have rejoined the landscape. He spoke about foraging strategies and pack detections used by...

Rick Lamplugh is an Amazon best selling author who has written 3 books, including In The Temple of Wolves: A Winter's Immersion in Wild Yellowstone,  and Deep Into Yellowstone: A Year's Immersion in Grandeur & Controversy.  A naturalist and wildlife advocate, Rick weaves his knowledge and experience into all of his works.   He writes and speaks about wildlife to help preserve wild la...

Wolf Tracker, Naturalist and Field Biologist Nathan Varley studied the relationship and impact between wolves and elk in Yellowstone National Park for almost 20 years. He was involved in the Yellowstone Gray Wolf Recovery Project and studied the environmental impacts of reintroducing wolves to the park. Nathan and his wife Linda Thurston now run a wildlife guide service called Yellowstone Wolf Tra...

Wolf Tales explores the journeys of Wolf Connection's staff and volunteers explaining how they made their way to Wolf Connection and the impact that the wolves and the organization has had on their lives. Stephen Rivera relocated to Los Angeles from Connecticut at 23 years old and joined Wolf Connection in 2018. He has immersed himself in all forms of media at Wolf Connection from photography...

Forrest Galante is the host of Animal Planet's Extinct or Alive  where he travels the world in search of species on the brink of extinction or species believed to be extinct. He is truly passionate about education and helping people save our planet. As a conservationist, he attempts to leave a positive biological impact in every place he visits. Forrest works with a variety of conservation gr...

Jeremy SunderRaj is a Biological Science Technician for the Yellowstone Wolf Project. He discusses his path from being a visitor at Yellowstone National Park at the age of 11 to working alongside Doug Smith and Rick McIntyre. Jeremy describes what wolf hazing is, the benefits it has to wolves in Yellowstone National Park and sheds light on the current state of wolf populations in the Western Unite...

Miguel Rivera has been doing healing work for over 40 years and leads multiple ceremonies that include talking circles, vision quests and has participated in over 5,000 sweat lodges. He is a founding member of the Western Gate Roots and Wings Foundation, a member of the Guild of Future Architects and a Board Member for Wolf Connection. Miguel joined us to discuss his journey to learn these ceremon...

Wolf Tales explores the journeys of Wolf Connection's staff and volunteers explaining how they made their way to Wolf Connection and the impact that the wolves and the organization has had on their lives. Annette Golden relocated from Chicago, Illinois more than 7 years ago and now serves as Wolf Connection's Operations Coordinator, an interdepartmental support and advisory role that cha...

Research Associate and Biologist for the Yellowstone Wolf Project with Yellowstone Forever, Kira Cassidy joins the podcast to discuss her findings on pack dynamics, mortality rates of wolves, pack altercations and the impact of elder wolves within the packs in Yellowstone. Kira also talks about the longest surviving wolf pack in Yellowstone, the Mollie's Pack. Kira Cassidy has been with the W...