New regulations help wildlife on federal lands. But they’re still no match for state predator control.
Wolves
Posted inOctober 26, 2015: Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
Washington welcomes wolves back — across deep political divides
The state’s emphasis on non-lethal control is saving livestock and wolves, but rural residents are still leery.
Posted inArticles
Can studying morality help Yellowstone’s wolves and bison?
Sociologist Justin Farrell plumbs the spiritual depths of environmental struggle.
Posted inArticles
Mexican wolf restoration hits (another) snag
The feds want to release captive animals to increase genetic diversity in the wild, but New Mexico isn’t having it.
Posted inArticles
Video: Guardian dogs
What the right livestock dogs can mean for the maintenance of large predators, like the wolf, on the landscape.
Posted inArticles
Searching for the best dog to save livestock — and wildlife
Can the right breed keep both domestic animals and native carnivores alive?
Posted inArticles
Who should manage Grand Teton’s private inholdings?
A dead wolf and jurisdictional confusion in an iconic national park.
Posted inDecember 8, 2014: The Great Salmon Compromise
Have returning wolves really saved Yellowstone?
Researchers fear that some damage can’t be undone.
Posted inArticles
Killing wolves to protect cattle may backfire
A new study raises questions about how to handle livestock conflicts.
Posted inOctober 13, 2014: Charles Bowden's Fury
The Latest: Wyoming’s wolf delisting thrown out
A U.S. District Court hands management back to the feds.
Posted inArticles
Sweeping new rule for Alaska’s predator control
Federal versus state wildlife politics get even hotter.
Posted inArticles
Former governor Tony Knowles on Alaska’s predator policies
During his 1994 to 2002 tenure, former Democratic Alaska governor Tony Knowles implemented non-lethal — albeit expensive — ways to control predator populations in Alaska: Instead of shooting wolves from helicopters, for example, he relocated and sterilized packs that preyed on the caribou herds Alaskans relied on for food. Since he’s left office, though, the […]
Posted inAugust 18, 2014: Alaska's Uncertain Food Future
The Latest: Wild Mexican wolf pups born in Sierra Madre
The species still struggles on both sides of the border.
Posted inAugust 18, 2014: Alaska's Uncertain Food Future
Wolf pups, and the return of wild wonder
California’s fall from grace hit me in 2007, at around 9,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada. A friend and I were returning from a backpacking trip, still about a mile-and-a-half deep in the Mokelumne Wilderness, when a stroller rattled around a bend in the trail, its tiny passenger jabbering away as Dad navigated the rocky […]
Posted inGoat
Infographic: Hey, Wildlife Services — what did you kill?
Earlier this month, Wildlife Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture division responsible for animal control, released data indicating that it killed over four million creatures in 2013 — a million more than it did the previous year. The agency, whose stated mission is to provide “leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts,” undertakes plenty of […]
Posted inMay 26, 2014: The Great Gun Rights Divide
Alaska’s wildlife war
The federal government pushes back as the state ramps up predator control.
Posted inGoat
Against all odds, wolf OR7 may have found a mate
On May 3, a wolf slipped through the frame of a remote camera in southwestern Oregon, a blur of black and brown. The next day, under the cover of darkness, it stared directly at a camera, eyes aglow, and did something ordinary that, under the circumstances, was an extraordinary sight: It squatted and peed. This […]
Posted inApril 14, 2014: A landscape of surprises
Adventure travel vs. conservation
A conversation with outdoor entrepreneur Bill Bryan.
Posted inRange
Man’s (and livestock’s) best friend
It’s always fascinated me that domestic dogs are widely embraced as “man’s best friends,” while wild dogs like coyotes and wolves often elicit deep-seated animosity. So I was particularly taken by this video of livestock guard dogs by the Montana-based conservation group, People & Carnivores. The good folks at People & Carnivores work to resolve […]