The Wolf Connection

Lizzy Pennock has been the Carnivore Coexistence Attorney for WIldEarth Guardians for 4 years. Earlier in August, a federal district court in Missoula ruled 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 Judge Donald Molloy's reasons for ...

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 sizes and possible dispersal pattern...

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 upbringing with the lessons and guidan...

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 intertwine with the programs at Wolf Con...

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 involvement in conservation. 

She sp...

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 instrumental work and collaboration with vocali...

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 the park. 

Check out @thewolfconnection...

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 extirpation campaigns against them and other No...

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 environmental policy, some of the differe...

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 The Other Ten Wolves, the story beh...

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 wolf projects, and promoting conservat...

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 of predators in Britain, Ireland, S...

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 importance of storytelling when sha...

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's with Slovak Wildlife Society...

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 changing landscape in Italy, describing...

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-invasive data collection, and futur...

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 reshaping the landscape. 

Pacific Wild

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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 photography, and recounted her two rece...

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 management, wolves returning to the are...