Wildlife Wire

Talking State Wildlife Agencies w/Dr. Michelle Lute

Michelle Lute is a conservation scientist and advocate with nearly twenty years’ experience in biodiversity conservation on public and private lands around the globe. She dedicates her professional life to promoting human-wildlife coexistence through effective public engagement, equitable participatory processes, and evidence-based decision-making.
Michelle holds a PhD in wildlife management from Michigan State University, an MS in Animal Behavior and Ecology from the University of Notre Dame, and a BS in Geography and Environmental Science from Valparaiso University. She started her environmental career in the National Park Service, worked for large and small nonprofits, state government and held research positions at universities across the US.  Michelle has authored over 30 publications in ecology and social sciences to develop evidence-based approaches to human-wildlife coexistence.

Trolling Doge, Right-way Whales, and Ranch Kickbacks

We are shifting formats here at the Wildlife Wire! News is coming every Tuesday and Interviews on Thursday. Today's news has the following:
 
https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/how-colorados-first-elk-migration-agreement-marks-a-big-step-for-conservation-and-agricultural-productivity
Billboards celebrate parks, call out DOGE
Right-way Right Whales
The Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust and the Property and Environment Research Center combine efforts to provide elk habitat, while More Perfect Union trolls DOGE with brilliant billboards. Finally, 2 lost Right Whales left Alabama for Canada.

Ep. 20 Fires and Carnivores: Learning how everything has it's place with Matt Barnes

Join Mark and Sam for the top wildlife news stories, including:
New Mexico wildlife agency gets new name and mission
Cougars coming back to Vermont?
After 11 more bears killed, judge orders stop to Alaska predator control program
California California county declares state of emergency over gray wolf activity
Then we are joined by Matt Barnes. Matt is a conservation scientist, rangeland ecologist, and advocate for human-wildlife coexistence based in southwestern Colorado. With a background in wildlife ecology and range science, he has dedicated his career to integrating ecological principles into land management practices across the American West. Barnes has served in various roles, including as a rangeland management specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and as a prescribed fire manager with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Through his multifaceted work, Barnes continues to bridge the gap between ecological science and practical land management, aiming to create resilient landscapes that support both human livelihoods and wildlife conservation.

Ep. 19 Black, White, and Indigo News

Join Mark and Sam for the top wildlife news stories, including:
Indigo Snakes released in FL
Great White Shark Killers
Alligators at the door
Rare Black Jaguar
**Mark said that an animal lacking pigment is melanistic, but they are actually leucistic.**
We will be back to our standard format next week! 
 

Ep. 18 The coyotes and wolves of the east w/Chris Schadler

Join Mark and Sam for the top wildlife news stories, including:
The US government’s war on wildlife, explained in 3 charts
'Unparalleled' snake antivenom made from man bitten 200 times
This cute animal is one of Yosemite’s ‘most dangerous,’ rangers say
Attenborough at 99: naturalist ‘goes further than before’ to speak out against industrial fishing in new film
Then we interview Chris Schadler about eastern coyotes and wolves. Chris taught in the Department of Natural Resources at UNH and lectured at Granite State College since 1993. Her MS in Conservation Biology focused on wolf recovery in Michigan but her real education occurred in NH on her sheep farm, figuring out how to live with coyotes. She is now the NH and VT Rep for Project Coyote, a national organization promoting coexistence with coyotes and for 30 years has lectured throughout New England on the Eastern Coyote. She is a member of the North East Wolf Coalition and leads Wolf Trips to Algonquin Provincial Park and beyond.

Ep. 17- Are we wildlife philosophers now? Ryan Sedgeley has the answers!

Join Mark and Sam for the top wildlife news stories, including:
Feds kill endangered, potentially pregnant, Mexican wolf
Is killing animals an effective way to regulate populations?
Why are we afraid of snakes?
Building bobcat alley in New Jersey
Then, Mark and Sam are joined by Ryan Sedgeley, an advocate for gray wolves and other imperiled species in Colorado for the Endangered Species Coalition.
He holds an M.A. in Environment and Natural Resources and a J.D. from the University of Wyoming. Along with his formal education, he spent nearly 10 years living with wolves, grizzly bears, and bison in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. He brings that knowledge and experience to his work helping people and organizations in Colorado understand how to live peacefully with wolves and other imperiled species.

Episode 16, Dung beetles, international adventure and aquaculture with Max Seigal

Join Mark and Sam for the weekly top wildlife news stories including:
Trump threatens to revoke tax-exempt status of environmental nonprofits
Frog, Lizard, Salamander Added to New York’s Endangered Species List
Patenting woolly mammoths
Are Dire wolves Pontiacs with a body kit?
Baby Colossal Squid caught on camera
Then, we are joined by Max Seigal, renowned photographer and biologist, to talk wildlife expeditions, how to be a professional adventurer and photographer, and dung of all kinds.

Episode 15, Urban "nuisance" wildlife with wildlife rehabbers Jack Murphy and Katherine McGill

Join Mark and Sam for the nation's top wildlife news stories, including:
REI backtracks endorsement
Demonic sea lions (they can be treated!)
Colossal Dire Wolf de-extincted
Italian town welcomes bears
Then, urban wildlife rehabbers Jack Murphy and Katherine McGill join to discuss nonlethal wildlife conflict solutions for folks encountering unwelcome possums, raccoons, squirrels and more! 

Ep. 14, Grizzlies of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with Dr. Chris Servheen

Join Mark and Sam for the top wildlife news stories including:
Monarch butterflies get sick from the wrong milkweed 
Landowners in Wyoming paid for elk presence?
Unlimited wolf hunting bill dies in Montana
Essay on insights into human wildlife coexistence using indigenous and traditional knowledge
Then, an interview with leading Grizzly Bear expert, Dr. Chris Servheen on how we can support Grizzly Bear recovery in today's political climate.
Chris was the Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 35 years until retiring in 2016. He coordinated grizzly recovery actions for grizzly bears in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington and cooperated with Canadian researchers and managers in adjacent areas of British Columbia and Alberta.
As a Research Associate Professor at the University of Montana, he taught International Wildlife Conservation for 18 years. He advised 21 graduate students at the University of Montana who worked bears and various research projects in the US and in 7 foreign countries. He was co-chair with Steve Herrero of the BSG for 12 years.
Dr. Servheen has also chaired 8 interagency Boards of Review on human fatalities due to grizzly bear attacks in the lower 48 states.

Ep. 13, Conservation ethics in wildlife management with Dr. Fred Koontz

Join Mark and Sam for the weekly top wildlife news stories including: 
Sharktopus
Lauren Boebert wants to delist wolves federally
Point Reyes public access
Turtle leaps to safety from eagles nest
Then, an interview with Dr. Fred Koontz an ethological zoologist on ethical considerations in wildlife management.
Dr. Koontz has a long, diverse, wildlife career at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife Trust (now “EcoHealth Alliance”), Teatown, Woodland Park Zoo, and Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission. Fred has held adjunct appointments at Columbia University, New York University, and University of Washington.