The Wolf Connection

Leo Miranda was the USFWS Southeast Regional Director from 2018-2022, and is the Founder and CEO of Leo Miranda LLC which creates innovative wildlife conservation policy solutions. He also serves at the Executive Director for Conservation Without Conflict, a proven approach to conservation and a coalition of public and private partners with highly diverse goals who are united in their commitment t...

Adam Bronstein has been with Western Watersheds Project since 2020 and is the Oregon Director for the organization. Adam grew up exploring the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, and received a BS from SUNY ESF in Syracuse, NY in Environmental Studies and Geographic Information Technologies. He discussed the parameters of the Roadless Rule, explained specifics on protections for Inventoried...

Lizzy Pennock has been the Carnivore Coexistence Attorney for WIldEarth Guardians for 4 years. Earlier in August, a federal district court in Missoula r uled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it determined that gray wolves in the western United States do not warrant federal protections.  Lizzy went into great detail describing Senior District Ju...

Axel Hunnicutt has been with California Department of Fish & Wildlife for over 4 years and is the State Gray Wolf Coordinator. He has previously worked in Africa with multiple endangers and threatened species, protecting habitats and wildlife while promoting coexistence benefits to the surrounding communities.  Axel discussed the recolonization of wolves in California, their territories, pack...

James Holt has been a tribal member of the Nez Perce for 13 years and has worked in Environmental Sciences & Tribal Community Engagement for nearly three decades. He also specializes in tribal public policy, including natural resources and water policy development; climate change planning; wilderness management; and utilities administration for the Nez Perce.  James shared insights into his up...

Laurie Cousins is a Trauma-Informed Mindfulness Teacher who has been with Wolf Connection since 2018. Known for her work in healing trauma and addiction recovery, Laurie focuses on treating the cyclical root causes of compulsive behaviors while building self-love and resiliency.  She spoke about the ways that nature based therapy can help us reconnect with the environment, how those practices inte...

Alma "Rosie" Sanchez is the Carnivore Biologist for the Nez Perce Tribe and is also a PhD student at The University of Colorado Boulder. She combines Indigenous political ecology and carnivore ecology in both fieldwork and research. Rosie has focused on revitalizing management plans, deploying field projects to determine occupancy and migration, and expanding opportunities for community...

Nita Strauss is a Los Angeles born guitarist who has toured around the globe, playing with musical artists like Demi Lovato and Alice Cooper, while releasing two solo albums Controlled Chaos (2018) and The Call of the Void (2023). She was also the first female to have a signature guitar through Ibanez guitars, the Ibanez JIVA.  We spoke with Nita about her creative process, both in her instrumenta...

Hannah Rheaume has been a professional photographer for 5 years. She has traveled the globe, sharing her stories through the lens of her camera, while aiming to explore the complexities of humans and their impact on the natural world.  Hannah spoke about her interactions with the pack at Wolf Connection, the photo workshop she hosted in Yellowstone, and her encounter with a yearling wolf inside th...

Dan Flores is A. B. Hammond Professor Emeritus of the History of the American West at the University of Montana-Missoula. He has authored ten books, including his New York Times Bestseller Coyote America , along with American Serengeti and Wild New World.  We had a powerful conversation about how coyotes have shaped both Indigenous and early American storytelling, the rise and impact of extirpatio...

Nadia Steinzor is a collaborative environmental professional for over 25 years, whose knowledge ranges through environmental issues, policies, and regulations to help produce reports, outreach materials, comments, and testimony. Nadia works with the Rewilding Institute to ensure that wolves and other carnivores thrive and roam in the Northeast and beyond. We discussed what goes into drafting envir...

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 three books, Wolfer, Wolf Land, and The Other Ten Wolves, which can be purchased through multiple book retailers.  Carter spoke about his latest literary entry...

Matt James is the Chief Animal Officer for Colossal Biosciences. Colossal Biosciences is dedicated to genetic engineering and de-extinction projects to advance conservation efforts for current species, like red wolves, ecosystems and biodiversity throughout the globe with cutting-edge biotechnology.  Matt went into detail about the mission of Colossal, long term goals with the dire wolf and red wo...

Jonny Hanson is an Environmental Social Scientist, award-winning social entrepreneur, snow leopard conservationist and former community farmer. He is particularly interested in understanding coexistence between livestock farming and large carnivore conservation. He recently published his first book Living with Lynx, Sharing Landscapes with Big Cats, Wolves and Bears.  Jonny spoke about the history...

Tom McPherson has been guiding for 21 years and running Seaforth Expeditions for 6 years. His work with sea wolves has been featured on Netflix with Island of the Sea Wolves, and guiding BBC shoots for the Americas series on NBC.  Tom and his family were able to spend some time at Wolf Connection, meet the pack, and sit down for a brief podcast. We spoke about his experiences at the sanctuary, the...

Mich Biesbroek has been tracking wildlife since he was a young boy. He is one of the group leaders and guides for the White Wilderness weeks of Slovak Wildlife Society, where they monitor large carnivores in Slovakia with the help of volunteer citizens scientists. He is also a core member of Werkgroep Wolf Nederland.  Mich spoke about his experiences tracking animals, his guiding practices when he...

Luigi Boitani has been studying, researching and propelling the conservation of wolves in Italy for over 50 years. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Rome, Italy, and Chair of the IUCN Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe.  Luigi went into great detail explaining his initial experiences researching wolves, how wolves, other predators and ungulates have had to adapt to a cha...

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. Bridgett and Kristin gave updates on genomics research, community scientific engagement, expansion of non...

Mollie Cameron is the Wolf Campaigner for Pacific Wild in British Columbia. She has extensive field experience monitoring carnivores, studying their behavior through remote camera traps, investigating wildlife signs, and documenting predation events. She discussed the impact of old-growth forest loss, the history and current status of the wolf cull, habitat destruction, and how these factors are r...

Michelle Valberg has been a fixture in the photography world for over 40 years. A Nikon Ambassador, she was honored with the prestigious Order of Canada in 2022 for her contributions to the craft. Additionally, she is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In our conversation, Michelle shared the story of her photographic journey, discussed how she mentors newcomers to the art of pho...

Ian Wargo is a first generation Montanan who is a member of the Region 1 FWP Citizen Advisory Council and FWP Mule Deer Citizen Advisory Council. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunter and concerned resident on the state of the land, herds and practices impacting wild spaces in Northwestern Montana.  Ian discussed changes he's been witnessing on the landscape, practices that have impacted land man...

Ian Wargo is a first generation Montanan who is a member of the Region 1 FWP Citizen Advisory Council and FWP Mule Deer Citizen Advisory Council. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunter and concerned resident on the state of the land, herds and practices impacting wild spaces in Northwestern Montana.  We discussed potential common ground issues between the non-consumptive and hunting communities, includ...

Brenna Cassidy started her work with Colorado Parks & Wildlife as the Wolf Monitoring and Data Coordinator in late 2023. She had a pivotal role in both wolf translocations, bringing wolves from Oregon and B.C.  Brenna went into detail about her new position at CPW, the data she is looking for with the new wolves in Colorado, how she is able to track collar information, and what this data is go...

Caitlin McLean is studying Ecology and Conservation Biology at the University of Stirling and recently returned from tracking predators with The Slovak Wildlife Society.  She explained the absence of predators in her home country of Scotland and the impacts on the landscape, her deep connection to nature, the experiences she had in Slovakia, and her engagement in conflict mitigation with groups in...

Hannah Rheaume has been a professional photographer for 5 years. She has traveled the globe, sharing her stories through the lens of her camera, while aiming to explore the complexities of humans and their impact on the natural world. She spoke at length on her process when preparing to go on photo shoots, how  photography is unique to her vision, promoting wild places and human spaces to help wit...