Podcasts about greater yellowstone

Headlines include stories from Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest, Florida's Ocala National Forest, and the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.SUPPORT THE SHOW: We would love your support so we can keep the episodes coming!For bonus content join our Patreon!patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGridFor a one time donation:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotgFor more information about the podcast, check outhttps://crimeoffthegrid.com/Check out our Merch!!  https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shopFollow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and  (1) Facebook

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin & Justin hit on a few of the more interesting and notable stories to come out of the outdoor community over the past week. The show kicks off by delving into a discussion about the complexities of brand loyalty in outdoor gear, based on the news that Rocky Mounts has been acquired by Clarus. The guys contemplate when brand identity truly matters versus when functionality takes precedence. Then they touch on the impact outdoor media can have when it comes to changing who lives or visits unknown mountain towns based on a recent article on Outside Online and the social media comments that article inspired.The episode then takes a trip to HOUSMAN'S HOUSE to get a deeper look at Justin's recent article on National Parks Traveler about the controversial topic of hunting grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, highlighting the ongoing debates around wildlife management and conservation efforts. And because every rock fight ends with a parting shot, Colin & Justin wrap up the show with... The Parting Shot! Justin has some words for a recent medical experience while Colin thinks anyone who only does one outdoor activity should examine their priorities. Hurricane Helene Relief Links:Support and Shop Western North Carolina BrandsFuel GoodsOutdoor Business Alliance Hurricane Relief FundGoFundMe for Bubba O'LearysWestern North Carolina Hurriance Helene Resource GuideEast Tennessee Foundation Relief FundHead to www.rockfight.co and sign up for News From the Front, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter!Please follow and subscribe to THE ROCK FIGHT and give us a 5 star rating and written review wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast on the Rock Fight Podcast Network: Gear & Beer! It's a relationship and advice show for those obsessed with the outdoorsy lifestyle.Have a question or comment for a future mailbag episode? Send it to myrockfight@gmail.com or send a message on Instagram or Threads.Thanks for listening! THE ROCK FIGHT is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Leon Kolankiewicz is Scientific Director of NumbersUSA and Vice-President of Scientists and Environmentalists for Population Stabilization. His career as a wildlife/fisheries biologist and environmental scientist spans more than 30 years, 40 states, and three countries.  He has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department Fish and Game, Orange County (California) […] Read full article: Episode 136: How To Save Greater Yellowstone From Runaway Sprawl

Mel Harrison, originally from Ventura County in Southern California, has always been deeply connected to the natural world. Her passion for the outdoors blossomed while attending Humboldt State University in Northern California, where she immersed herself in environmental studies and outdoor activities. This led her to a variety of seasonal jobs, including work as a cave guide and wilderness ranger, experiences that further fueled her love for nature and conservation. Pursuing her interests, Mel moved to Eugene, Oregon, for graduate school, where she specialized in environmental studies with a focus on natural history writing. Her career path eventually took her to Jackson, Wyoming, where she fell in love with the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. This newfound passion guided her to Montana, where she settled near Yellowstone National Park. In Montana, Mel has built a career around outdoor education, freelance writing, and blogging, particularly through her platforms "Traveling Mel" and "Yellowstone Trips." These outlets allow her to share her knowledge and love for Yellowstone, Montana, and family travel, while also promoting responsible tourism. Mel's adventurous spirit extended beyond Montana when she and her family decided to sell their home and embark on an almost three-year journey through Europe. Living in a new country each month, the family homeschooled their two young sons while Mel continued her work as a travel blogger and freelance writer. Their travels not only provided unforgettable experiences but also deepened their bond as a family. Returning to Livingston, Montana, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Harrison family seamlessly transitioned back to life in the U.S., thanks to their pre-existing homeschool and remote work lifestyle. Throughout the pandemic, Mel continued to thrive, finding new opportunities to write about responsible travel and outdoor activities. Today, Mel remains passionate about exploring the natural world and sharing her experiences with others. Whether she's planning a women's winter trip to Yellowstone, writing about her latest adventures, or simply enjoying the outdoors with her family, Mel continues to inspire others to appreciate and protect the environment.

“Preservation of public land, an act known round the world” -- Yellowstone hails as America's first National Park, coining what is widely known as America's Best Idea, the National Park Service. In this episode, we are chatting with the big kahuna, Cam Sholly, Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. From heroically navigating a historic flood in 2022 (an 100% increase in cubic ft/s in the river since the last recorded flood), to both recognizing progress from a conservation perspective (as compared to the 1950-60s with folks lining up to feed bears out of garbage cans & the extirpation of the whole wolf population) and continuing to push for better protection and management of Yellowstone, to setting the standard for employee housing across the park service, Cam's insight, leadership and experience captivates any listener. Did we mention Yellowstone was a big deal? With over 4M visitors annually, it is situated across three states (Montana, Idaho & Wyoming) and is known for its astonishing wildlife, geothermal wonders and awe-inspiring nature. Oh, and it also is the only place on the face of our planet that has this level of wildlife and visitor interface.For more rad & adventurous stories, follow Who Runs This Park on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, email us at info@whorunsthispark.com or check us out online at whorunsthispark.com. Who Runs This Park is hosted and produced by Maddie Pellman, with music by Danielle Bees.Episode Specific Links:Feeling inspired? Visit Yellowstone Forever (Yellowstone's official non-profit partner) to learn more and donate, ensuring Yellowstone continues to be protected and enjoyed!Mountain Journal: As a non-profit, Mountain Journal serves as both a journalistic watchdog and celebrant of Greater Yellowstone. What happens here has implications for other regions and MoJo is devoted to telling stories informed by truth and facts. They have an additionally awesome interview with Cam Sholly, check it out.

Hey look everyone, it's finally the second part of our bison coverage! We're back on track for the new year, so join us and a special guest to discuss The Great Slaughter of bison, conservation efforts, where we go from here, and a tragic yet unavoidable situation Pam witnessed in 2022. Find us on all the things: http://linktr.ee/bearsandbrewspodcastSources Cited:Bryant, Charles, and Josh Clark. “What Saved the American Bison.” Stuff You Should Know, iHeart Media, 3 Nov. 2022, https://omny.fm/shows/stuff-you-should-know-1/what-saved-the-american-bisonClark, Carolf. “Buffalo Slaughter Left Lasting Impact on Indigenous Peoples.” Emory University, news.emory.edu/stories/2023/08/esc_bison_impact_24-08-2023/story.html. Accessed 23 Aug. 2023. Danielle, Mamers. “Historical Photo of Mountain of Bison Skulls Documents Animals on the Brink of Extinction.” The Conversation, 21 Sept. 2023, theconversation.com/historical-photo-of-mountain-of-bison-skulls-documents-animals-on-the-brink-of-extinction-148780. Ehrlick, Darrell. “Environmental Groups Criticize Bison Hunt near Yellowstone National Park.” Great Falls Tribune, Partner Content, 9 Mar. 2023, www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2023/03/09/environmental-groups-criticize-bison-hunt-yellowstone-national-park/69990940007/. Gammon, Katharine. “Bison Slaughter's Destructive Legacy for Native Americans.” Inside Science, 1 Mar. 2018, www.insidescience.org/news/bison-slaughter%E2%80%99s-destructive-legacy-native-americans. Gwadzinski. “The Photo That Saved the Bison in Yellowstone.” Yellowstone National Park, 14 June 2023, www.yellowstonepark.com/park/conservation/photo-saved-bison/. Kuhn, Kristen, and Shana Drimal. “Where the Buffalo Roam.” Voices of Greater Yellowstone, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. 7 Sept. 2022, https://greateryellowstone.org/podcast/10 Merchant, Carolyn. American Environmental History: An Introduction. Columbia University Press, 2007. “People and Bison.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 25 Sept. 2023, www.nps.gov/subjects/bison/people.htm. “Yellowstone Buffalo Slaughter History.” Buffalo Field Campaign - West Yellowstone, Montana, www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/yellowstone-buffalo-slaughter-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stealth aka Silent Hunting. We do so chasing big game, learn why it applies to hunting upland game, especially pheasants. News headlines of a self-defense grizzly kill to recent legislation protecting our hunter education in schools. This is Rebecca Wanner aka 'BEC' and Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt with the radio show The Bend Radio Show & Podcast, your news outlet for the latest in the Outdoors & Western Lifestyle! Episode 155 Details     How many of you are locked and loaded, westward bound for the long awaited elk rifle season? For example, Montana's opens Saturday October 21st and Colorado has already started kicking off it's first season with the second season soon to start while Nebraska will be wrapping up bull elk seasons on October 31st.    We want to be sure to wish everyone the best out there on a successful trip! In our news shortly, we have another grizzly story you'll want to hear and then also for those that are leaving on that long awaited hunting or fishing excursion… we share ideas that Tigger & BEC personally do so that when a spouse or loved one is left behind, they don't feel lonely, avoid the jealousy that could stem and keep everyone part of being part of a memorable trip.   Also on today's show, we have an expert in upland game hunting joining and we are talking about STEALTH pheasant hunting. With all that on deck - Let's Ride and get this show on the Road!      NEWS   HUNTER EDUCATION PROTECTED   According to Outdoor News, President Joe Biden has signed the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act, which protects funding for schools that provide hunter education, archery, shooting sports and other programs. The signature comes after both chambers of the U.S. Congress solidly passed the legislation that fixes language from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 that potentially allowed the U.S. Department of Education to pull federal funding from schools that have hunter education, archery and other shooting sports programs.     FLORIDA ENCOURAGES RESIDENTS OUTDOORS       According to WFLA, News Channel 8: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a new initiative that went into effect this week to encourage Floridians to get outside, including discounts to state parks and for obtaining hunting and fishing licenses. The Great Outdoors Initiative was created to encourage residents to explore Florida's state parks, recreation areas, and waterways. The executive order directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to offer 50% off annual state park passes and Gold Sportsman's hunting and fishing licenses. The following are the discounted rates that are available until Jan. 13, 2024: Florida State Parks Family Annual Pass: $60, plus tax Florida State Parks Individual Annual Pass: $30, plus tax FWC Annual Gold Sportsman licenses: $50.75, plus applicable fees FWC Five-year Gold Sportsman: $247.75, plus applicable fees FWC Lifetime Sportsman License: Age 4 or younger- $201.50, Ages 5-12- $351.50, Ages 13 and older- $501.50, plus applicable fees “Florida is home to some of the best state parks, waterways and recreational lands in the country, and I encourage all Floridians to get outdoors, experience our extraordinary natural resources and enjoy our fundamental right to hunt and fish,” DeSantis said. “And we are now making it more affordable for families to get outside and enjoy these wonders by offering state park passes and fishing and hunting licenses at sharply discounted rates.” We hope other states look into doing something similar for their residents. To Learn more about the FWC head to MyFWC.com.   IDAHO GRIZZLY KILLED IN SELF-DEFENSE   According to Fox News, An elk hunter in Idaho shot and killed a grizzly bear in self-defense after the animal charged directly at him in a "surprise encounter," wildlife officials said.   The hunter was moving through heavy timber near Henrys Lake State Park the evening of September 30th, 2023, when the large adult female grizzly bear emerged from the brush a short distance away, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) said in a statement. When the hunter, who was not publicly identified, yelled to warn his hunting partner about the bear, the grizzly rushed toward him, according to the department. The hunter drew his sidearm and fired several times as the charging bear closed in on him, striking and killing the animal before it was able to make contact, officials said. After killing the grizzly, the department said the hunter immediately called the Citizens Against Poaching hotline to report the incident. IDFG officers responded and conducted a thorough investigation. It was determined by wildlife officials that the hunter acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance. Officials are reminding hunters again that grizzly bears are protected under state and federal law, and that the animals may be encountered within the Greater Yellowstone and north Idaho areas. When hunting in grizzly country, the department encouraged visitors to carry bear spray and keep it accessible, hunt with partners, look for signs of grizzly bears and retrieve meat quickly and hang it – along with other food and garbage – at least 10 feet off the ground and 200 yards from camp. Most attacks occur by inadvertently surprising a bear at close range, according to officials, who advised visitors to make noise around creeks and thick vegetation when not hunting.   According to Fox news, This comes after earlier in the month when Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who chairs the Congressional Western Caucus, introduced legislation that would block a federal proposal to release grizzly bears in a forest area in Washington. The legislation would force the Department of Interior to withdraw a proposed rule introduced in September that would involve actively restoring populations of the Grizzly Bears in Washington. We are following this as 2023 is shaping up to be the year of Beware of Bears.   FEATURE STEALTH UPLAND BIRD HUNTING The Do, The Do Not & Did You Know About Pheasants Feature: Rick Acker, Award-Winning Taxidermist, Expert Upland Game Hunter Roughrider Game Birds https://www.facebook.com/roughridergamebirds After opening weekend, pheasant hunting can seem more of a challenge at times after the birds have been chased. That is why it is important to now quiet hunt or stealth hunt upland game birds. If hunting with youth, it is understandable to still communicate the sex of a bird, rooster vs hen. However, if with experienced hunters, to be more successful consider leaving the cheers, yells and talking for once back at the vehicle. STEALTH SILENT HUNTING Pheasants' strongest sense is sound. Quiet is key. Pheasants see color. Dress to blend into surroundings. Do Not be yelling "bird bird" to flush. Do Not be yelling “Rooster” or “Hen” Develop hand signals that all members of your group understand. Train your dog to fully understand the shock collar being worn, so that one does not need to call for your dog. Check your state's regulations for upland game hunting. Some states may require fluorescent orange vests and/or hats. Every year laws can change, so it is very important to know the laws before hitting the field regardless what species one is hoping to hunt or catch. THE BEND FIELD REPORT - HEATHER KROHE SMASHING PUMPKIN RECORD Did you know there is a Guinness World Record for longest distance paddled in a pumpkin? Well there is! And now a new record has smashed the previous pumpkin paddling record done so again on the mighty Missouri River. Here is Bend Field Staffer, Heather Krohe with the details. Steve Kueny grew his 1,293 pound pumpkin, carved it out, and paddled it 38.4 miles down the Missouri River from Kansas City to Napoleon. WAYS TO FLIRT FROM THE FIELD Both pack for the trip, try out the gear together. Compliment the other often, that it's fun to plan the adventure together. Leave notes in unexpected places before leaving. Flirty Text Messages Joke, tease, be playful when texting is possible. Offer to help with small chores or surprise by doing them, goes both ways. Touch affectionately. Give that BIG KISS or HUG before leaving. AND be sure to do the same upon returning, reminding the other of how much they were missed. FIELD REPORTS & COMMENTS Call or Text your questions, or comments to 305-900-BEND or 305-900-2363 Or email BendRadioShow@gmail.com FOLLOW Facebook/Instagram: @thebendshow SUBSCRIBE to The Bend YouTube Channel. Website: TheBendShow.com https://thebendshow.com/ #catchBECifyoucan #tiggerandbec #outdoors #travel #cowboys The Outdoors, Rural America, And Wildlife Conservation are Center-Stage. AND how is that? Because Tigger & BEC… Live This Lifestyle. Learn more about Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt & Rebecca Wanner aka BEC here: TiggerandBEC.com Home - Tigger & BEC WESTERN LIFESTYLE & THE OUTDOORS Tigger & BEC are News Broadcasters that represent the Working Ranch world, Rodeo, and the Western Way of Life as well as advocate for the Outdoors and Wildlife Conservation. Outdoorsmen themselves, this duo strives to provide the hunter, adventurer, cowboy, cowgirl, rancher and/or successful farmer, and anyone interested in agriculture with the knowledge, education, and tools needed to bring high-quality beef and the wild game harvested to your table for dinner. They understand the importance in sharing meals with family, cooking the fruits of our labor and fish from our adventures, and learning to understand the importance of making memories in the outdoors. Appreciate God's Country. United together, this duo offers a glimpse into and speaks about what life truly is like at the end of dirt roads and off the beaten path. Tigger & BEC look forward to hearing from you, answering your questions and sharing in the journey of making your life a success story. Adventure Awaits Around The Bend. REFERENCES https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/BigGameDatesandFees.aspx https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/seasons https://outdoornebraska.gov/hunt/game/elk/ https://www.outdoornews.com/2023/10/16/biden-signs-bipartisan-shooting-education-bill-that-protects-funding-for-hunter-ed-archery-programs/ https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/desantis-announces-50-discounts-for-parks-fishing-licenses-to-encourage-floridians-to-get-outside/ https://myfwc.com/license/recreational/ https://www.foxnews.com/us/idaho-elk-hunter-shoots-kills-charging-grizzly-bear-surprise-encounter-officials https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-republican-takes-action-block-biden-plan-release-deadly-grizzly-bears-near-rural-community

Student reporter, Chandler Guadagnin, sits down with Mandy Crane, who is the Outreach and Events Coordinator with Teton Regional Land Trust. During the interview, they talk about the 6th Annual Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival from September 20-23 and how you can help protect wildlife habitats.

We know Greater Yellowstone is a remarkable ecosystem. It is also an increasingly vulnerable ecosystem. The impacts of climate change on this landscape can be felt far and wide and are showing up in some surprising ways. As the impacts of climate change put our communities, water, and wild lands at risk, GYC is working alongside diverse partners and stakeholders to better understand climate-related threats, prepare for a warmer, drier future, and protect our most climate-sensitive resources.On today's episode, we're sitting down with GYC's Climate Conservation Coordinator Sierra Harris to learn about her work in climate resiliency. Most recently, she finished a series of interviews with folks on-the-ground across Greater Yellowstone to get a sense of the climate change impacts people are seeing in real time. With Sierra, we'll also unpack some of the dynamics between weather and climate, hear what brought her to climate work in the first place, discuss some things average people can do to make their communities more resilient, and learn why you probably shouldn't go fishing when it's hot outside. But most of all, we'll talk about how one of the most important things you can do about climate change is simply to talk about it. Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Donate to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition> Become a Podcast InsiderPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

George Wuerthner is an ecologist, writer, photographer who has He recently published an article about the need to expand Yellowstone National Park to embrace the much larger Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. George has studied, written about, and photographed natural habitats in many American locales, especially the mountains of the eastern U.S., the lake region of Minnesota, the Sierras, the Cascades, and the Rocky Mountains of the west. Holds degrees from the University of Montana and University of California Santa Cruz, and graduate work at MSU and U of Oregon. He's worked in many places in the U.S., border to border, and he specializes in studying predators. He is the author of 38 books and innumerable articles. Support the show

George Wuerthner, an ecologist, writer, photographer who has He recently published an article about the need to expand Yellowstone National Park to embrace the much larger Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.  George has studied, written about, and photographed natural habitats in many American locales, especially the mountains of the eastern U.S., the lake region of Minnesota, the Sierras, the Cascades, and the Rocky Mountains of the west. Holds degrees from the University of Montana and University of California Santa Cruz, and graduate work at MSU and U of Oregon. He's worked in many places in the U.S., border to border, and he specializes in studying predators. He is the author of 38 books and innumerable articles. Support the show

Listen every weekday for a local newscast featuring town, county, state and regional headlines. It's the daily dose of news you need on Wyoming, Idaho and the Mountain West—all in four minutes or less. Fridays feature a roundup of KHOL's best stories of the week.

‘We were modeling appropriate ecotourism and making sure that the monies generated hired local people, bought local products, and stayed in local hotels, all to keep the money in Wyoming.' - Tom Segerstrom Tom Segerstrom had a lifelong desire to forge a bond between man and wildlife. Born and raised in the suburbs of Minneapolis, an early obsession with wildlife led him to major in Montana State University. His passion for wildlife spilled over into his career with Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Despite the success, something didn't sit right with Tom. He noticed a widening gap between the public and their interaction with wildlife. Inspired by Harvard studies, he realized people's perception of wildlife was skewed by a lack of interaction. He was determined to bridge this gap, to show people the beauty he saw in wildlife. Tom took the road less travelled, moving to Jackson Hole and launching his own business to give people a whole new wildlife experience. He saw potential in a market that overlooked wildlife's appeal, creating a novel niche that thrived on people's curiosity and desire to connect with nature. With eyes sparkling with passion, young Tom Segerstrom set off from his home in Minneapolis, dreaming of connecting people to the wildlife he had loved since childhood. The next step? Jackson Hole. Here, Tom endured the obstacles of securing permits, learning the area, and establishing his company. Tom had a clear vision and an unwavering determination. He gave tourists the chance to observe, appreciate, and learn about animals in their natural habitat. He was able to turn the tide of the tourism industry, emphasizing the importance of wildlife and pioneering a new form of engagement. My special guest is Tom Segerstrom Meet Tom Segerstrom, a naturalist at heart and a trailblazer in the field of eco-tourism. Growing up with an unwavering interest in wildlife, Tom expanded his passion into a commendable career. As a certified wildlife biologist, he broke the mould by initiating the concept of wildlife viewing ecotourism in the Greater Yellowstone area. Notably known for his innovative approach, Tom embarked on a journey to make wildlife experiences accessible for people who are not necessarily hunters or fishermen. His success in setting up participatory conservation experiences have opened a new dimension in wildlife stewardship. Despite the high stakes and varied challenges, his relentless dedication gives his audience the chance to tangibly partake in wildlife conservation. The key moments in this episode are: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Wildlife Viewing Ecotourism, 00:02:07 - Creating Opportunities for Wildlife Experiences, 00:08:05 - The Controversy and Expansion of Wildlife Viewing, 00:11:16 - Researching Wildlife Migration Routes, 00:13:59 - Modelling Appropriate Ecotourism, 00:15:20 - Deliberate Move to Jackson, 00:16:10 - Working with Landowners, 00:19:24 - The Role of Conservation Districts, 00:21:56 - Wildlife in Greater Yellowstone, 00:24:29 - Balancing Human Activity and Wildlife, https://www.facebook.com/storiesaboutwhy   https://www.linkedin.com/in/emydigrappa/  https://www.thinkwy.org/podcasts   https://www.twitter.com/emydigrappa   Listen on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts and many more. ThinkWY.org Sign up for our Storytelling Podcast Newsletter! Follow this link or use the QR code

In this episode I sit down with Boots Allen. Boots is a third generation fly fishing guide who each year guides 130-plus day on the waters of the Greater Yellowstone area.  He is the author of numerous publications including Modern Trout Fishing (Lyons Press) and Catching Trout in All Conditions (Graphic Arts Books) and top finisher in numerous fly fishing tournaments and contests over the years.  Boots also hosts trips to destination lodges in South America, the Caribbean,  the Pacific, and gives talks at fly fishing events throughout the country.  His popular fly patterns are available through Montana Fly Company.  In addition to his guiding Boots is also the Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator at the Snake River Fund a fund whose mission is to promote stewardship of and recreational access to the Snake River Watershed in WY with an emphasis on partnerships education and public outreach.  Boots is an amazingly well respected guide, father and husband and currently lives in Victor ID.  Without Further adieu please welcome Boots to the show!!Be sure to subscribe to this show on iTunes, Spotify, and your favorite podcast hosting platform. Check our website (www.permittothink.com), subscribe to the newsletter, and get updates on the show.  Please forward the show onto anyone who you think might dig it. Reviews help, thank you!

Kris Millgate is our guest on the Outdoor Adventure Series today.Kris is an Emmy-nominated outdoor journalist, CEO of Tightline Media, and the mastermind behind the upcoming documentary "On Grizzly Ground." Get ready to embark on a thrilling journey through the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem as Kris shares the fascinating life and struggles of the iconic grizzly bear.TOPICS WE DISCUSSED  What led Kris to want to plan and produce this project? Why are Yellowstone Bears and their habitats so important? How do projects like On Grizzly Ground aid in maintaining access to wild places and preserving habitat for wildlife? What federal protections do grizzlies have through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming? How can the public contribute to preserving the natural world and protecting endangered species like Grizzly Bears? How does Kris' career as a journalist and storyteller contribute to raising awareness and connecting people with the natural world? What is the impact of projects like "On Grizzly Ground" and other outdoor documentaries in shaping people's perspectives and inspiring hope for the future of our environment?LEARN MORETo learn more about Kris and her work, visit her website at https://www.tightlinemedia.com/ or on these social sites:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TightLineMedia/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/krismillgate/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf8kYb9yzmlLepftlISR8YDitPio96wz7LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-millgate-5b838a7/KRIS' BOOKSMy Place Among Beasts (2023) My Place Among Fish (2021)  My Place Among Men (2019) NEXT STEPSIf you enjoy podcasts devoted to the outdoor adventure space, find us online at https://outdooradventureseries.com. We welcome likes and comments, and if you know someone who is also an outdoor enthusiast, go ahead and share our site with them too.KEYWORDSGreater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Yellowstone National Park,  Grand Teton National Park,  Grizzly Bear, Tight Line Media, Kris Millgate, Toyota, Four Wheel Campers, Howard Fox, Outdoor Adventure Series #ongrizzlyground, #tightlinemedia, #drivetoyota, #fourwheelcampers #PodcastGuest #OutdoorAdventure #OWAA2023  #PodcastGuest #OutdoorAdventure #OWAA2023Podcast produced using DescriptPodcast hosted by BuzzsproutShow Notes powered by CastmagicWebsite powered by Podpage

**UPDATE** Shortly after we recorded this episode, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife kill order for the Five Points Pack, claimed the lives of 4 wolves from that pack. That order has been lifted, however another kill order was issued for the Lookout Mountain Pack for up to two wolves. These orders were issued due to livestock depredations and conflicts. Updates on these lethal removal orders from Oregon Department of Fish Wildlife can be seen here also follow John Marchwick on Twitter (X) for more information @JohnMarchwick John Marchwick is a multi-generational Montanan who grew up in the Greater Yellowstone area, and as a young child he was taught to have a hatred towards wolves. However, at 15 years old, wolf OR-54 whom he learned about from a family relative in California, began to change his perception of wolves. He is currently a sophomore at Cal Poly Humboldt majoring in wildlife management and conservation, and hopes one day to become a wolf biologist. We first heard about John's story at the Yellowstone Wolf Summit in Gardiner, Montana. He spoke candidly about his upbringing, the ways he was taught to dislike wolves, and how he became a wolf advocate on multiple fronts.  @thewolfconnectionpodCalifornia Wolf Watch

Directly on the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park, Crevice Mountain rises some 3,000 feet above the Yellowstone River and is a prime example of what makes the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem so extraordinary. The area provides vital habitat for grizzly bears; is an important migration corridor for elk, mule deer, and big horn sheep; and is one of the few designated places outside the park where Yellowstone bison can roam.Now imagine a full-scale gold mining operation right in the middle of this wild landscape. That's exactly what's in store for Crevice Mountain. New roads, clear cuts, blasting, heavy equipment traffic, and a host of other industrial activities would permanently scar the landscape and negatively affect the wildlife that depend on this remote habitat. On top of that, industrial gold mining is a notoriously dirty and destructive activity with the potential to severely impact water quality - and in this case, that means the health of the Yellowstone River.  As the communities adjacent to the park have been saying for years: Yellowstone is no place for a gold mine.So, how do we stop a gold mine? On this episode, we sit down with Scott Christensen, the executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. Scott and the GYC team are taking on the substantial challenge of preventing Crevice Mountain from being mined. Join us as we discuss GYC's history of stopping mines near Yellowstone, the background behind this new mining threat on Crevice Mountain, and what Scott and the GYC team are doing to put an end to mining on the Yellowstone border once and for all. Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> DONATE NOW TO STOP THE MINE> Learn more about the campaign> Get in touch with us to learn about your giving optionsPhoto > © William CampbellPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

The beautiful, unbroken forests found in Greater Yellowstone are an integral part of the ecosystem's overall health and vitality. They provide crucial habitat and forage for its many wildlife species, are buffers against the effects of climate change, and offer nearly endless opportunities for solitude and recreation to us human inhabitants of the region. Many of the forests here in Greater Yellowstone are part of the national forest system – federally managed lands overseen by the U.S. Forest Service. The national forests within Greater Yellowstone cover just under 15 million acres – that's nearly seven times the acreage found in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks combined. Needless to say, while Yellowstone and Grand Teton may make up the beating heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the national forests are maybe the torso, head, and a few appendages.So, what is a national forest and how is it different from just a regular ol' group of trees? And why are national forests in particular so crucial to the well-being of the ecosystem's waters and wildlife? On today's episode, we are sitting down with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's very own western Wyoming conservation associate, Teddy Collins. Our conversation focuses on the role national forests play in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, what GYC is doing to ensure their long-term protection, and how you can make a difference for the future of our forests. Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYC> Vote for your favorite national forest!Podcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

If you've ever spent time in the high, wild reaches of Greater Yellowstone, up near the tree line, you may have come across a silvery, gnarled pine tree. If you've seen it, chances are you've encountered a whitebark pine. These remarkable trees can live upwards of 1,000 years, and are often the highest elevation pines you'll find in Greater Yellowstone. And not only that, but they are important to the overall health of ecosystem in some surprising ways.On today's episode, we sit down with Dr. Danielle Ulrich, a plant physiologist and assistant professor in Montana State University's department of ecology. Dr. Ulrich runs a lab conducting research to better understand how high elevation pines respond to a variety of environmental stressors. Among her research subjects is the vitally important keystone species: the whitebark pine.These trees are a key food source for wildlife such as the Clark's nutcracker and the iconic Yellowstone grizzly bear. But their impacts don't stop at wildlife. As you're about to learn, they also have a vital role to play in protecting the ecosystem and its inhabitants from drought and other impacts of climate change. But as important as they are, the future of the whitebark pine is uncertain. Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYC> Dr. Danielle Ulrich (danielle.ulrich@montana.edu) and her lab> Whitebark Pine Ecosystem FoundationPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is home to awe-inspiring landscapes and iconic wildlife. And since time immemorial, it's been stewarded by Indigenous People who view its lands, waters, and wildlife as sacred. The Indigenous way of caring for the land acknowledges its life-giving energy, is centered on reciprocity, and uses Traditional Ecological Knowledge to keep the ecosystem in balance. Recognizing and reinstituting Indigenous values, beliefs, and practices is a vital step in restoring the cultural and ecological integrity of this region.Over 49 Tribes have current and ancestral connections to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Hinono'eino' People, also called Northern Arapaho, are based on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, just southeast of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. In this episode, we talk with the incredible Crystal C'Bearing, the deputy director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. Crystal and her team are responsible for the preservation and protection of the Northern Arapaho culture and way of life. Safe to say she's a pretty busy person! We discuss the many responsibilities and tasks her office takes on, including the innovative ways they're preserving the Northern Arapaho language, repatriating ancestral remains from museum collections, spearheading the renaming of derogatory and offensive location names, and getting kids connected to their cultural heritage. Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Northern Arapaho Language app> Mt. Blue Sky - Mestaa'ėhehe Coalition> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYCPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is replete with opportunities for adventure. There is no shortage of hikers, mountain bikers, climbers, mountaineers, hunters, and more out exploring the ecosystem at any given moment. With all that space, and so many people out in it, there is also no shortage of opportunities to get in a bit of trouble. So, what happens when you fall down a slope and break your leg miles from the trailhead? Or a friend of yours went out for a hike, but it's hours after they were supposed to return and there's no sign of them? Luckily, Greater Yellowstone is home to a number of amazing Search and Rescue Teams, such as Teton County Search and Rescue, whose highly trained members are equipped to respond to emergencies across an unpredictable and sometimes unforgiving landscape.Search and rescue teams are made up of dedicated volunteers specializing in backcountry medicine, missing person behavior, swift water rescue, technical rope rescue, and so much more. In Episode 11, we talk with Jenn Sparks, a member of the Teton County Search and Rescue team. Jenn has been a Search and Rescue volunteer since 1998, and she is also a board member of the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation. The foundation supports the team and conducts mountain safety outreach and education in the greater Jackson Hole community. We'll also hear about a few memorable moments from the field, discover what's in Jenn's pack, most importantly, learn what her favorite knot is. Let's jump in—albeit carefully—and learn more about the incredible work that goes into search and rescue operations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Teton County Search and Rescue> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYCPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

Christine was born and raised in Montana, growing up in a rural area, fairly feral, with lots of pets. From a young age Christine would obsessively draw flowers and horses (foreshadowing).  Christine attended the university of Montana, earning a BFA in painting and printmaking, and almost didn't finish due to getting hired on as a cook in elk hunting camp. After college Christine became a horse packing guide, and got to explore the magical lands that make up The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, having many adventures involving horses, mules, bears, wolves, elk , etc. It wasn't until later, when Christine had her first child that she returned to art, painting mostly images of birds, which inspired her business name, Little Bird Painting. Around 2016 a good friend of hers got a kiln, and Christine started teaching herself how to make pinch pots and throw. She was immediately obsessed, fell in love with scraffito, and has not stopped making pottery since. Christine's pottery is folk art inspired and tells the stories of the animals and adventures from her life.  http://ThePottersCast.com/871

Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam. This 19th-century poem line turned western song lyric evokes days past when wild bison covered wide open spaces across North America. But these days, the only place wild American plains bison can be witnessed in large, free-roaming herds is within Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone bison are the descendants of just two dozen animals who found refuge in Yellowstone's high interior during the mass extermination of bison that took place in the late 1800s at the hands of European settlers and the American military. Today, nearly 6,000 bison roam Yellowstone, but you may be surprised to learn that unlike other wild animals that are free to move in and out of the park, bison are largely confined to Yellowstone.In Episode 10, we'll sit down with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's own senior wildlife conservation associate, Shana Drimal. Shana is a wildlife biologist by training who spends her days working to restore bison to the American west and make it easier for people and bison to coexist. We'll discuss why she thinks bison are the coolest, hear a remarkable story about a mother bison devoted to her calf, and learn about some of the challenges we face in trying to restore bison to their ancestral habitat beyond Yellowstone National Park itself. So, get ready to learn a whole lot about North America's largest land mammal, the bison.Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Join our bison advocate list or email Shana at sdrimal@greateryellowstone.org> Learn more about GYC's bison work> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYCPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

President Biden recently invoked the Defense Production Act to stimulate domestic production of clean energy technology including solar panels and heat pumps. And, how a seaweed supplement, currently in the experimental phase, may help reduce methane emissions from cattle. Also, Admiral David Titley, former Chief Operating Officer for NOAA, shares his observations on how climate change is affecting the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem from his home in Grand Teton National Park.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Panther, painter, mountain screamer. Catamount, ghost cat, puma. These are just a few of the regional and colloquial names for an elusive carnivore that stalks the wilds of Greater Yellowstone. It's an animal many folks go their whole lives sharing habitat with without seeing even once in the wild.  Here in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, it is more commonly known as the mountain lion or cougar.  In Episode 09, we are sitting down with Daniel Stahler of Yellowstone National Park. Dan is a wildlife biologist who has been working in the park for 25 years, and—among many other things—serves as project leader of the Yellowstone Cougar Project.  We discuss everything from how to confidently identify mountain lions, to how they quietly reintroduced themselves to Yellowstone after being nearly hunted out of existence in the early 20th century, to how the Yellowstone Cougar Project keeps tabs on the park's few dozen cats today.  And of course, Dan shares some memorable stories from his time in the field working hands-on with these magnificent animals and their mega cute offspring. So, grab your housecat and curl up with us for episode nine of the Voices of Greater Yellowstone podcast: Yellowstone's Resilient Cougars.  Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Tell us which is cutest: cougar kittens, wolf pups, or grizzly bear cubs> Cougar facts!> Yellowstone Cougar Project> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYCPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

The Sierra Club began in 1882, founded by Californians who wanted to sponsor wilderness outings. Its first president, conservationist John Muir, rallied to preserve California forests, the Sierra Nevada, and the Pacific Coast. 140 years later, the Sierra Club has evolved into the prevention and now recently environmental activist that it is today. Chance Cutrano is on the all-volunteer executive committee of the Sierra Club. Originally from Chicago, Chance studied political science and philosophy at Saint Xavier University, where he analyzed wildlife policy and systems in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Chance has traveled to Morocco, Vietnam, and Bolivia to research food, water, and energy management, and has worked on policy analysis with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. He lives in Marin and has dedicated his adult life to the health of the planet and its people. Our guest host for this episode of Beyond The Fog Radio is John Ribeiro-Broomhead, a native to San Francisco and a recent Stanford graduate with a Master's in Atmosphere & Energy Sciences. John's interest is in the intersection of policy, science, people, and institutions. He is a deep thinker and a kind soul, and is ready to help others navigate the challenges to our climate that lie ahead. Meet Chance Cutrano and John Ribeiro-Broomhead! https://www.sierraclub.org/san-francisco-bay https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ribeiro-broomhead-37b809182/

As Aristotle once said, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” It is no secret that the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem inspires countless artists using every medium imaginable to create masterpieces depicting what this landscape means to them. In Episode 08, we sit down with artist DG House in her studio in Bozeman, Montana. DG is a contemporary Indigenous painter and photographer who is best known for her boldly colored and beautifully rendered paintings of iconic Yellowstone wildlife. She is an artist-in-residence within both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.In the colorful front room of her studio, surrounded by house plants and stacks of books, we discussed the role of art in our ecosystem, artists as conduits for bringing the natural world to others, and learn how ice hockey played a role in how her name came to be. Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> DG House's Website> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYCPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show

When you look at pottery, have you thought much about the clay used to make it? The indigenous Shoshone people of the Greater Yellowstone area sure did! The different clays used in their wares consist of minerals that can be traced back to rock types in the region and where those pieces were found tells us how far the people travelled within a region. Geo-archeological searcher Chloe Geddes tells us of her findings and explains how geology overlaps with archeology in many interesting ways. Source Material (PDF Poster): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JxNvT6ctsbHg_7qNEz-cX9o5TcSTRDxf/view?usp=drivesdk Follow Chloe on Instagram: https://instagram.com/geologywithchloe Download the Callin app for iOS and Android to listen to this podcast live, call in, and more! Also available at callin.com

March 1, 2022 marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of Yellowstone National Park. This important milestone is reason to celebrate this special place, but also reflect on its history and envision a more inclusive future. Despite myths about Yellowstone being an untouched, uninhabited land before the Yellowstone Park Protection Act was signed in 1872, the lands that became the world's first national park were inhabited by or important to many Indigenous peoples. Today, dozens of Tribes can still draw ancestral connections to the park.In this episode, we sit down with Wes Martel, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's Senior Wind River Conservation Associate. Wes leads GYC's work to protect and restore Indigenous conservation priorities that honor cultural landscapes, Tribal rights, and ways of life. We'll discuss his work, some of his favorite moments from the recent virtual gathering, and hear a few personal stories about what has shaped Wes' storied career in championing both conservation and Tribal sovereignty. Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Read more  about or watch the virtual Wind River Inter-Tribal Gathering> Learn about the in-person Wind River Inter-Tribal Gathering this June> Greater Yellowstone Tribal MapPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show (https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E3169&id=15)

This week on Jackson Unpacked [Feb. 25]: The latest on the debate over crossover voting in the Wyoming State Legislature. A conversation with author Tom Turiano about updating his landmark backcountry ski guidebook, “Select Peaks of Greater Yellowstone,” and the controversy that accompanies his work. From Arizona, the Navajo Nation looks to move beyond coal. Plus, an interview with local farmer Curtis Haderlie of Thayne and KHOL's roundup of this week's headlines. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m., Tuesdays at 3 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson's only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

Elk in Paradise: it doesn't get more idyllic than that. In Montana's appropriately named Paradise Valley, an enormous amount of elk congregate to forage, rest, and find safety in numbers. Many travel straight over from Yellowstone National Park, which sits at the southern end of Paradise Valley. However, elk encounter numerous barriers within Paradise Valley. The road to Yellowstone National Park stretches through the valley and is a site for elk-vehicle collisions. Fences crisscross the landscape and make it difficult to elk to move uninhibited. Ranchers are wary of elk for their possible transmission of brucellosis, a disease harmful to cattle, to their own herds. So, what can we do to better coexist with elk in Paradise Valley?In Episode 06, we'll chat with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's Volgenau Foundation Wildlife Program Associate Blakeley Adkins. Blakeley focuses on wildlife issues in Paradise Valley and works with agencies, individuals, NGOs, and more to find creative solutions for reducing wildlife conflict. We'll discuss why Paradise Valley is such a remarkable landscape and what innovative projects GYC is working on to keep elk and humans safe.To Blakeley, doing this work is just another day in paradise. Thanks for tuning in!Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition> Follow GYC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram> Yellowstone Safe Passages> Elk Occupancy AgreementPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Support the show (https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E3169&id=15)

Towering geysers. Colorful hot springs. Gurgling mudpots. Steamy fumaroles. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the greatest destinations on earth for observing hydrothermal features. So, what makes it such a geological hotspot?In Episode 05, we'll chat with geologist and volcanologist Dr. Lisa Morgan, a scientist emeritus with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Lisa has studied the geological activity in Yellowstone National Park for decades and notably completed the most detailed mapping of the bottom of Yellowstone Lake. We ask her what makes the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem so geologically unique, how hydrothermal features are formed, and just how worried should we be about that "supervolcano" erupting. So tune in and learn why Yellowstone "rocks!"Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list: https://bit.ly/3hHSCIM> Give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition: https://bit.ly/3piYQmk> Follow GYC on Facebook, Twitter, and InstagramPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/

WIldlife migration and movement is the heartbeat of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It ebbs and flows as one of the most astonishing and ancient movement corridors on Earth. What barriers do these species face while traveling across their habitat?We'll learn all that and more in Episode 04.  During this chat with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's Wildlife Program Coordinator Chris Colligan, we'll learn about why wildlife moves, what wildlife crossings are and how they benefit both wildlife and humans, what projects are underway to enhance or maintain habitat connectivity, and the importance of preserving these corridors. We're also excited to feature our first episode with questions submitted by listeners like you!Why did the elk, deer, pronghorn, and more cross the road? You'll learn why in Episode 04 | Wildlife Migration and Movement!Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts.> Learn more about our wildlife crossing work> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list> Give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition> Follow GYC on Facebook, Twitter, and InstagramPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/ /Deer Photo > Mark Gocke

Reduction in snowfall and snowpack. Warmer water temperatures. Increased droughts. More forest fires.What does this all mean for our future? Climate change is a real threat to the planet, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is not immune to it.In Episode 03, we sit down with paleoclimatologist Cathy Whitlock to discuss what climate change is doing to this special place. Dr. Whitlock is the co-lead author and scientist for the Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment, an “in-depth summary of past, historical, and projected future changes to temperature, precipitation, and water in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.” Released in June 2021, the Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment uses the best available science to explore climate change impacts to our region and provide a basis for informing adaptation and mitigation strategies moving forward.Join us and learn about the first ecosystem-scale climate study of its kind!Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 30+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Read the Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment: http://www.gyclimate.org> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list: https://bit.ly/3hHSCIM> Give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition: https://bit.ly/3wMaCFW> Follow GYC on Facebook, Twitter, and InstagramPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/ /

Today's guests are Dr. Cathy Whitlock, Regents Professor of Paleoecology at Montana State University, and Dr. Steven Hostetler, Hydrologist at the Northern Rocky Mountains Science Center of the US Geological Survey. These two are the lead authors of the recently published Greater Yellowstone Area Climate Assessment. The front matter of the assessment perhaps says it best: "The Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment draws on the best-available science to provide a basis for understanding the consequences of climate change in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). Compared to both distant and recent past, temperatures are increasing, snowfall is decreasing, and peak stream flow is occurring earlier. These climate trends are projected to continue and accelerate in the future." Transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F6T5SO_Uf_9cCTSoF4cwGW_rxQ6xWqH3im0EuaOEHSg/edit?usp=sharing

Meredith and Tory Taylor have been outfitters, guides and conservation leaders in the wild heart of Wyoming's Greater Yellowstone for almost 50 years. Over those decades, they have explored places few others have ever seen, shown generations of Americans the wonders of hunting and fishing and wilderness, horses, wolves, storms and stars, wildflower meadows and summer snowbanks, tumbling whitewater creeks and towering black-rock peaks. Theirs is a marriage and an adventure partnership, based in their modest home and native plant gardens and horse pastures on the Wind River, carried as far afield as Outer Mongolia. Join us for a wide-ranging discussion of lives lived large, elk-fed, and mostly on horseback. 

Grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are an iconic species. After almost disappearing from the landscape, they've made a miraculous recovery over the past several decades and are once again a steady presence. However, there's lots of work to be done to ensure bears and people thrive on the land together for generations to come. So, what's the future for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem?In Episode 02, we sit down with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's Senior Wildlife Conservation Associate Brooke Shifrin to hear about her work in the field and what she's focused on now for grizzly bear conservation.  We'll also get to answer some commonly asked questions about these bears!You definitely don't want to miss this bear-y informative and fun episode!Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 30+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list: https://bit.ly/3hHSCIM> Give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition: https://bit.ly/3wMaCFW> Follow GYC on Facebook, Twitter, and InstagramPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/ /

Montana's rivers are a lifeblood for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and its wildlife and people. They provide habitat for aquatic species, drinking and agricultural water, and countless jobs for Montana's $7.1 billion outdoor recreation industry and beyond. So, how do we ensure these crucial rivers are protected for generations to come?In Episode 01, we sit down with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's Charles Drimal and Ryan Cruz to hear about their work conserving the waterways in Montana's section of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We'll focus on the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act, a made-in-Montana bill that protects more than 380 river miles from development and degradation. Our rivers take care of us, now it's time we take care of them! Thanks for tuning in.Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 30+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list: https://bit.ly/3hHSCIM> Give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition: https://bit.ly/3wMaCFW> Learn more about the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act: https://bit.ly/3zetFdL> Follow GYC on Facebook, Twitter, and InstagramPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)Artist: http://audionautix.com/ /

Today, I'll be speaking with Mel Harrison about all of her favorite outdoor adventures around Livingston, Montana. Join Mel and me as we spend a winter day cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snowshoeing, hiking, skiing, and ice skating all around Livingston, Montana. Then, in the end, we'll also dive into a few summer-weather outdoorsy activities, including fishing, floating, and hiking, that can be enjoyed in the Livingston area! About Mel Harrison Mel is an expert on Montana and Yellowstone outdoor recreation and has spent years exploring both for work and pleasure. She and her family are unschoolers who have shaped their life to include year-long travels, overnight rafting trips, weekly hikes with their homeschool group, backpacking into the wilderness, cross-country skiing, and more. At TravelingMel.com, Mel writes about her family's adventures in Montana and worldwide. She has also authored two guide books focusing on hiking and skiing in the Greater Yellowstone area. Learn more about Livingston, Montana from Mel's website: Traveling Mel What We Cover in this Episode What it entails to be considered a Montanan “local.” What makes Livingston, Montana “eccentric” and “quirky.” What makes the wilderness in Montana different than wilderness elsewhere in the world. Why you should be ready to be a bit “self-sufficient” when driving through Montana. The difference between visiting Montana during the winter or summer and why a winter visit should be considered. A historic hotel that's a must-stay when in town. The best spot to get coffee in Livingston, Montana, where everyone knows your name – and your order. A breakfast destination with no menu items to order from. The best groomed and ungroomed nearby trails for cross-country skiing. How to create a feeling of “hygge” in the winter months in Montana, and why you should. Hiking, snowshoeing, dog sledding, downhill skiing, ice skating, and forest service cabins spots are all worth exploring nearby. The best places for lunch and dinner in Livington, Montana. Two amazing hot springs locations worth exploring in both winter and summer. A local bartender you should visit with and order a drink from. Where to fish and raft in the area. The best bear deterrents to have with you when hiking in Montana. A biking path that will take you from Livingston, Montana, all the way to Yellowstone National Park. The best Instagram spots in town. The difference between what defines a trail as popular and overrated in Livingston for this local, compared to others in more populated areas. Why this iconic cowboy town should be explored. Quotables And as having only lived in Livingston for 20 years, we're relative newcomers. People would not consider us locals who've lived here, you know, generations. Mel Harrison Livingston has a great community. We love the people here. We love… it's eccentric. There are some quirky folks out there. But that's really what makes it pretty fun too. Mel Harrison And the other thing that I've really realized from traveling all over the world and other places … there aren't a lot of places that have kind of the wilderness that we have here. Where you can go into the mountains and not see anybody or see any sign of humans other than the trail or a sign for kind of a long time. And I just haven't found places like that on our travels. So that kind of always… the wildness of it, always brings me back. Mel Harrison That's a good point, though, that I usually try to bring up is that there are a lot of places where you won't get cell service. And so you need to download your Google Maps, and you need to come ready to be a little bit self-sufficient. I mean, it's not the wild west out here, but you can't always get what you want right away. Mel Harrison And there's just a really outdoors mindset here … most people who live here, not everybody, gets outside. Because I mean, what else are you going to do? Right. There's some great restaurants. There's a couple of small galleries. There's a great art community here in Livingston, too. But really, if you don't get outside, you would just go crazy here. Winters are long, and if you weren't outside enjoying them, that'd be kind of brutal, in my opinion. Mel Harrison So for such a small town of 7,000 people or 8,000 people, it's pretty foodie, and there's a lot of artists, you know, they say it's where Cowboys and artists meet. Mel Harrison And a lot of times, what we'll do is maybe we'll ski for a few hours and then come back to the car or somewhere nearby, and we'll have a fire … and then just kind of hang around the campfire in the snow for another couple hours. Mel Harrison I can't imagine skiing somewhere that had lift lines. I kind of forget that that's even a thing, but yeah, no lift lines. Mel Harrison That Pine Creek trail I told you, it is kind of popular, but I think I sometimes forget that what I think is a lot of people on a trail might not seem like a lot of people on a trail if you're coming from somewhere else. You know, if I see other people on the trail, it seems like too many other people on the trail, which is not, you know, which is crazy. Mel Harrison This historic downtown of Livingston is beautiful. Once you see it, you'll realize that, oh, I've seen this in other ads and commercials and things like that, because it's so iconic with this western downtown, big mountain in the background, the neon signs, and we just have such a great community. And like I've said a couple of times, you know, there's all these artists and cowboys and writers and foodies, you know, chefs and it's this combination of all these interesting people, creative people, in this big outdoor setting that inspires it all. Mel Harrison Links to Places Mentioned in this Episode Where to Stay in Livingston, MT: The Historic Murray Hotel A Stone's Throw Bed and Breakfast Livingston, MT Outdoor Activities & Rental Outfitters Mentioned in the Episode: Livingston Depot Center Dan Bailey's Outdoor Co. Mill Creek Road B Bar Ranch West Boulder Campground Bridger Bowl Ski Area Showdown Mountain Chico Hot Springs Pine Creek Lake Trailhead Yellowstone Hot Springs Mallards Rest Fishing Access Emigrant Peak Livingston, MT Restaurants Mentioned in this Episode: Coffee Crossing Faye's Cafe Pinky's Gil's Goods The Murray Bar Park Place Tavern Thanks for Listening! We love our listeners! If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a comment below and let me know about your favorite part! If you've been enjoying the show, please also consider leaving me a review in Apple Podcasts. It's super easy; click here and go to “ratings and reviews.” I read and appreciate every single one! Each review helps new listeners find the podcast. Thank you!! Follow Cinders Travels on Facebook or Locals Knows Best Podcast on Instagram for Locals Know Best updates. 

Welcome to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's new podcast, Voices of Greater Yellowstone!Join us on this journey to hear the stories of those who love the wild landscape known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. If you've been lucky enough to live or travel here, you know just how special it is. With Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks at its heart, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem spans over 20 million acres and contains rugged peaks, alpine streams, and countless species of wildlife. Throughout this series, we'll sit down with biologists, artists, advocates, photographers, conservationists, Greater Yellowstone Coalition staffers, and many more to learn about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and what we all can do to help keep it remarkable.The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 30+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list: https://bit.ly/3hHSCIM> Give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition: https://bit.ly/3wMaCFW> Learn more about conservation efforts within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: https://bit.ly/3z6ogp3> Follow GYC on Facebook, Twitter, and InstagramPodcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap ArtGrand Prismatic Spring Photo > Cindy Goeddel PhotographyMusic >Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) Artist: http://audionautix.com/ /

Show #99 – #smallbanana – On this month's spooktacular Trail Show… Special Guest Kevin “LarryBoy” DeVries talks to us about his hike of the Greater Yellowstone Route, bear jousting and hiking out with stitches, Brittney “Bert” Woodrum relays hiking all of Colorado's 14ers with a big green Shelterbox strapped to her back, Spesh talks maximum […] The post The Trail Show #99: The Greater Yellowstone Route first appeared on The Trail Show.

In this episode, I interview Phil Knight, a long-time wilderness and wildlands activist in Montana. We discuss Phil’s guiding in Yellowstone, recently watching wolves kill a Bison, the accelerating destruction of wild nature, the fallacies of forest health initiatives, promoting forest resiliency, Phil’s early years, his activist history, his time with Earth First!, his early frustrations learning about how the government was managing public lands, the timber wars and locking his neck to a loading machine, Cove Mallard in Idaho, the evolution of activism, what Phil is up to today, his project to climb all the high points in Greater Yellowstone which he just recently completed, his hopes for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the insane influx of recreationists on public lands this summer and the inordinate influence of mountain bikers on forest planning policy.Support the show (http://www.wildernesspodcast.com/support)

USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach was in Montana to announce a new draft policy for Brucella research. He shares more on the efforts to eradicate the disease in the Greater Yellowstone Area.

Western Senators Urge Colleagues to Delist Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bears

In this episode, I speak with David Mattson and Louisa Wilcox, grizzly bear and carnivore scientists and activists who live near Livingston, Montana. We talk about David and Louisa’s background, speaking truth to power in Greater Yellowstone concerning grizzly bear management, attempts to delist the grizzly bear, arguments for delisting, achieving viable population numbers, distrusting state management of endangered carnivores, hunting and conservation and as a business model, juxtaposing domination vs holistic world views towards natures, elk and deer population factors in grizzly country, shifting diets due to climate change, pepper spray vs firearms for countering grizzly attacks, preventing unnecessary grizzly deaths at the hands of hunters, all the positives of having carnivores on the landscape, native American relationships with grizzly bears, our responsibility towards bears, leaving wild things for future generation, the despair of the loss of wildness by Aldo Leopold and openly expressing the love we feel for the wild. www.grizzlytimespodcast.org/www.grizzlytimes.org/www.mostlynaturalgrizzlies.org/www.allgrizzly.org/Support the show (http://www.wildernesspodcast.com/support)

The National Park Service manages 84 million acres, in 419 parks, 1 in 4 of which have caves, and 1 in 3 of which have mines. Many of these caves and mines provide habitat for hibernating bats. Bats are an essential part of many American ecosystems, but they're under threat from a hidden illness called white-nose syndrome. Since 2006, this fungal disease has killed millions of bats in North America. In some caves and mines, 90-100% of bat populations have died. Parks in more than half of the United States are affected by the presence of White Nose Syndrom. Losing an important predator so quickly may have a drastic effect on the ecology of a given park. As the disease spreads, scientists consider the impact and potential for impact on national parks to be very high. Today on America's National Parks, Bats of the Greater Yellowstone area - and how National Park Service scientists are working to learn how to protect them.

Charles Post is an ecologist, a scientist and a storyteller. He joins me to talk about the ecological impacts of the Coronavirus lockdown, the dynamics and challenges of the climate change conversation and so much more. Ecology to psychology, this episode has a lot in it, thanks Charles! Follow Charles on Instagram @Charles_Post and find him on the web at www.charlespost.com Please support this show by sharing, subscribing and by leaving a review! It helps! Support by donating! 100% listener supported show. www.paypal.me/ariintheair Thanks to everyone who has listened, shared, donated and encouraged me on this podcast. It means a lot to me, I’m so grateful. So much good stuff coming up. Stay tuned! "Charles Post is an ecologist, storyteller and filmmaker drawn to stories anchored to the confluence of society’s relationship with wild and rapidly changing natural environments. After spending nearly a decade studying at U.C. Berkeley, Charles earned a B.S. and Master’s degree in ecology under the mentorship of Dr. Mary Power, which set him on a course to combine science, conservation and storytelling. Drawn to wildlife and conservation stories of the American West, Charles has traveled from the heart of the Nevada desert to explore the ecological and political state of wild horses on public lands, to South Texas to tell a story about the ecological service hunting whitetail deer can provide a landscape devoid of apex predators, and the plains of Colorado to tell a story of the Ranchlands, a 4th generation ranching family shaping the future of range management in the West. In the coming year, Charles will focus his efforts around a film that explores the nexus of ranching, wolves and grizzly bears within the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Charles’ work has come to life in many forms ranging from stories that explore culture like Foothills: The Unlinked Heritage of Snowboarding for Patagonia, to films that investigate environmental injustice such as the celebrated documentary Island Earth directed by Cyrus Sutton, to art directing Filson’s Fall2017 (Ranchlands) marketing campaign, and conservation and wildlife stories for National Geographic and Outside Magazine. Charles calls Montana home."

Geneen Marie-Haugen explores an emerging dimension of the human/Earth relationship – a relationship in which the human capacity for imagination is an essential component of planetary ecology. We’ll consider the possibility that our manner of approaching the wilder Others make a difference – both reawakening the older mind in us that knows the animate nature of the world, as well as re-enlivening the wilder Others themselves. “A practice of celebrating the wild Earth and cosmos – like other practices – holds the possibility of re-shaping consciousness; the more our thoughts, words and gestures are intertwined with the beings among whom we abide, the more the world pulses with life, the more we hear the exuberantly singing Earth, and perhaps even the songs of starlight.” –Geneen Marie Haugen from her essay, “Thomas Berry And The Evocation Of Participatory Consciousness,” which appears in Thomas Berry: Dreamer of the Earth.Dr. Geneen Marie Haugen grew up a little wild, with a run-amok imagination. As a guide to the intertwined mysteries of nature and psyche, she delights in multidimensional listening and in offering perceptive questions, ceremonies, escapades, and reflections that help expand a sense of our own possibilities as individuals (and as a species) and deepen our experience of participation with an intelligent, animate Earth/Cosmos. Her writing has appeared in many anthologies and journals, including Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth; Thomas Berry: Dreamer of the Earth; Written River; Parabola Journal; Kosmos Journal; Ecopsychology; and The Artist’s Field Guide to Greater Yellowstone. A former tipi-dweller and whitewater river guide, she now lives amidst the creatures and features of southern Utah’s sandstone labyrinth. She is exploring the awakening of what she calls “planetary imagination,” and the possible emergence of a new mode of the human that she has called Homo imaginans. She is committed to the world-transforming potential of the human imagination in collaboration with the Earth community.To know more about Geneen’s work visit https://animas.org or see her offering this spring at Esalen.Support the show (https://www.natureevolutionaries.com/donations)

In this episode, I interview Sarah Walker with Friends of Bridger-Teton National Forest. We discuss the increase in visitation numbers to Greater Yellowstone and surrounding National Forest Land including wilderness areas and what that means for land managers and conservation groups trying to protect wildlife and minimize human impacts. We discuss leave no trace ethics, the differences between primitive and dispersed camping, what you can do when visiting our public lands to be a better steward, the Continental Divide Trail, off highway vehicle use and more. Please visit www.btfriends.org to learn more about her organization and how you can support them and get involved. Support the show (http://www.wildernesspodcast.com/support)

Protecting lions in Kenya and grizzly bears in the US - two women tell Kim Chakanetsa about their experiences and achievements in the male-dominated field of wildlife conservation. When Shivani Bhalla realised that lions - her country's national symbol - were in trouble, she established a project in northern Kenya to protect them. She works with the whole community to prevent lion deaths. This includes the traditional Samburu women, who are leading their own conservation efforts under the title of Mama Simba, which means Mother of Lions. Louisa Willcox has spent the last three decades battling to protect the grizzly bear population in the US. In 2018 she helped get the bears back onto the endangered species list, meaning that planned trophy hunts on state lands had to be cancelled. There are around 700 grizzlies left in the Greater Yellowstone area, and Louisa says the females count the most, because they hold the key to recovery. L-Background image: Lion Credit: Ewaso Lions L-Image: Shivani Bhalla Credit: Nina Fascione R-Image: Louisa Willcox Credit: Louisa Willcox R-Background image: Grizzly bear Credit: Richard Spratley

In this episode, hosts Aidan Calvelli ‘19 and Noah Cowan ‘19 explore the contentious politics surrounding grizzly bears, biology, and hunting tags in Grand Teton National Park, as well as Brown’s own history surrounding these most iconic of carnivores. As you’ll learn in this episode, bears are cultural symbols in myriad ways… On the one hand, they’re fluffy, harmless toys for kids to play with; on the other, they’re fierce, formidable monsters. They’ve been used as circus animals and political symbols; school mascots and cartoon characters. There’s no denying it: there’s something about bears that captivates our imaginations, as well as our fears… Bears are deeply enmeshed in the political fabric of America, and today, you’ll find out why. ___ Special thanks to: Steve Cain - A senior wildlife biologist from Grand Teton National Park. In this role, he directed wildlife research, conservation, and management for 25 years. His work focuses on black and grizzly bears, elk, bison, bighorn sheep, and birds of prey. Todd Wilkinson - A renowned environmental journalist, whose work has appeared in sources such as National Geographic and The Washington Post. He is also the author of several books, including Science Under Siege: The Politicians’ War on Nature and Truth (1998), Last Stand: Ted Turner’s Quest to Save a Troubled Planet (2013), and Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone. Anna Gibson - A student at Brown and a local from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Her insights and research were integral to this episode. Tobi Lepecki - A student at Brown, and the author of this episode. Hosts: Aidan Calvelli and Noah Cowan Podcast Associates: Isabelle Belleza, Ali Martinez, Kate Dario, Rachel Lim, Ella Rosenblatt, Moses Lurbur, Henry Peebles-Capin Executive Producer: Emily Skahill

My guest is David Quammen. In his new book The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life (https://www.amazon.com/Tangled-Tree-Radical-History-Life/dp/1476776628), this nonpareil science writer explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology can change our understanding of evolution and life’s history, with powerful implications for human health and even our own human nature. In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important. For instance, we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived not through traditional inheritance from directly ancestral forms, but sideways by viral infection—a type of HGT. In The Tangled Tree David Quammen, “one of that rare breed of science journalists who blends exploration with a talent for synthesis and storytelling” (Nature), chronicles these discoveries through the lives of the researchers who made them—such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about “mosaic” creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health. “Quammen is no ordinary writer. He is simply astonishing, one of that rare class of writer gifted with verve, ingenuity, humor, guts, and great heart” (Elle). Now, in The Tangled Tree, he explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling recognitions about the tangled tree of life—including where we humans fit upon it. Thanks to new technologies such as CRISPR, we now have the ability to alter even our genetic composition—through sideways insertions, as nature has long been doing. The Tangled Tree is a brilliant guide to our transformed understanding of evolution, of life’s history, and of our own human nature. David Quammen’s fifteen books include_ The Tangled Tree, The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, and _Spillover, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. He has written for Harper’s, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review, Outside, and Powder, among other magazines, and is a contributing writer for National Geographic. He wrote the entire text of the May 2016 issue of National Geographic on the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem—the first time in the history of the magazine that an issue was single-authored. Quammen shares a home in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Betsy Gaines Quammen, an environmental historian, along with two Russian wolfhounds and a cross-eyed cat. Visit him at DavidQuammen.com. Special Guest: David Quammen.

In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery in this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the movement of genes across species lines. With insight to radically shift our understanding of the tree of life, we were joined by naturalist author and columnist David Quammen with wisdom from his book The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life. Expand your knowledge of the human genetic awakening as Quammen guides us through stories of technologies and new discoveries that are transforming our understanding of evolution, life’s history, and human nature. David Quammen is a journalist and author of fifteen books including The Tangled Tree, The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, and Spillover, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. He has written for Harper’s, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review, Outside, and Powder, among other magazines, and is a contributing writer for National Geographic. He wrote the entire text of the May 2016 issue of National Geographic on the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem—the first time in the history of the magazine that an issue was single-authored. Recorded live at Seattle University by Town Hall Seattle on Monday, September 10, 2018.

Teton Valley Land Trust Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival by KHOL Jackson

We look at efforts by the Idaho chapter of the Nature Conservancy to preserve the natural landscape of Yellowstone Park.

Description: This is the second episode in a series about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Bryan and Danielle talk about the second leg of their trip in Greater Yellowstone to Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Tetons National Park in the wintertime. They talk about snowshoeing (4:44), the National Elk Refuge (9:22), Dornan’s Restaurant and Million Dollar Cowboy Bar (12:15), wildlife viewing (14:50), and cross-country skiing at Teton Pines Nordic Center (22:10). Resources: Grand Tetons National Park https://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce https://www.jacksonholechamber.com Rusty Parrot http://www.rustyparrot.com A Quick and Dirty Guide to Snowshoeing in Jackson Hole https://rootsrated.com/stories/a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-snowshoeing-in-jackson-hole National Elk Refuge https://www.fws.gov/refuge/national_elk_refuge/ Dornans https://dornans.com Million Dollar Cowboy Bar http://www.milliondollarcowboybar.com Silver Dollar Bar http://www.worthotel.com/silver-dollar-bar/bar-menu/ Teton Pines Nordic Center http://www.tetonpinesnordiccenter.com Amangani Hotel for hot chocolate https://www.aman.com/resorts/amangani/dining-experience

Flying Dinosaurs as Tall as Giraffes If you're a regular listener of this podcast, then you know that I love dinosaurs. Living in Alberta is the perfect mix because we have one of the best landscapes for finding dino remains and there are new discoveries happening all the time. The Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller is one of the leading research centres in the world and for many visitors to Alberta, it is there first real opportunity to look at some of the most unique fossils that have been placed on display. One of their most recent exhibits shows the most well preserved dinosaur ever found, a Nodosaur, essentially an armoured dinosaur similar to the more well known Ankylosaurs. You can learn more about it in episode 30 at www.mountainnaturepodcast.com/ep030. Now comes an even stranger story from the Royal Tyrell Museum that has to do with those strange flying dinosaurs known as pterosaurs. These were formidable creatures, in some cases being as tall as a modern giraffe but potentially soaring on wingspans similar to airplanes. No creature, before or since has ever been a more fearsome presence soaring overhead. Donald Henderson is the curator of dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrell, and he came across an artist's rendering of the largest of pterosaurs, Arambourgiania philadelphiae, placed next to, and as tall as, a giraffe. The giraffe weighs in at 1,500 kg but a similarly sized pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus northropi, was thought to weigh far far less, perhaps as little as 70 kg. For Henderson, he felt that a pterosaur that tall had to weigh far more than 70 kg, and he did his own math and came up with an estimate of some 550 kg. This immense weight also meant that it was highly unlikely that the Arambourgiania could fly at all. He concluded that, like penguins, it had likely evolved to be flightless. A bird of this mass would have needed incredible muscle strength in order to take to the air. Based on his research, he was clipping its wings and grounding it. Well his paper got little response from fellow researchers…oh wait, it was like he'd said something crazy like pterosaurs can't fly. Well the opposition to his research was not long in coming. Mark Witton is one of the most recognized authorities on pterosaurs, and it was his rendering that Henderson had encountered that started this whole process. As he was quoted in a recent interview in the publication Inverse: “There’s a handful of people who sort of dip in and out of pterosaurs, who have suggested that they can’t fly, but most people who work on pterosaurs have never really questioned this. And that’s not in the sense of, they’ve not ever wondered it, but they’ve never seen any reason to think it’s a good hypothesis.” When Witton looked at the fossil physiology, his estimate showed these pterosaurs to be less than half of Henderson's estimate, closer to 250 kg. Pterosaurs had many of the same adaptations that modern-day birds have to help them fly. They had small torsos, hollow bones, and interior air sacs. All of these things combined to dramatically reduce their weight specifically to enable the ability to fly. As Witton put it: “All the ducks line up in a row, and it’s actually far more complicated for us to think of a reason why they’re not flying,” Working with Witton to refute Henderson's estimate was paleontologist Michael Habib. He is a recognized expert on the biomechanics of pterosaur flight but has now partnered with Henderson to take a renewed look at the Quetzalcoatlus based on new skeletal reconstructions. Their work has led Habib to the conclusion that they may have weighed far more than he previously thought, although not as big as Henderson's original estimate. Despite this, he's still two thumbs up on flight. I love science. The proper scientific method forces researchers to constantly challenge established research in order to test, verify and update previous peer-reviewed papers. Good research should be repeatable if it is to be proven correct. Good scientists embrace dissent and Habib and Henderson's recent work proves this. The thought of these massive predatory birds flying around, seeing small tyrannosaurs as a light snack is a visual that even the producers of Jurassic Park couldn't have conceived. As these two scientists continue their research it seems that a middle ground may be appearing. Habib believes that these pterosaurs did still fly, but that some of the largest ones may have been mostly ground dwelling but that the young would have flown immediately since the eggs were not tended by their parents. Young pterosaurs that lingered were essentially dinner for larger dinosaurs. The model that's emerging has these giant pterosaurs flying when they were young, and spending more time on terra firma as their large size made it harder to fly but also made them large enough that they didn't have to worry about becoming a meal for tyrannosaurs. They may have still been capable of short flights, perhaps to move between prime hunting grounds. Conversely, they may have become completely terrestrial as they aged. Comparing the bones of these giants to smaller pterosaurs, the bones show all the same adaptations to flight that their smaller relatives display. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…well you get the idea. Really, what is needed is an complete fossil. Pterosaur fossils are rare simply because the bones are so delicate that they rarely are preserved in the fossil record. Thinking of such huge creatures soaring overhead would have been a truly magical thing to see - all from the safety of a pterosaur proof bunker of course. Next up…loving the mountains to death. Loving the Mountains to Death As the 2017 tourism season begins to wane, This is a good time to take stock of what we have learned from the growing influx of tourists and how we can better manage the parks that we all love so that our grandchildren's grandchildren will be able to experience the same wonders that we do. Ideally, we could create a world in which the landscape they visit is even better than it is today, with more ecological integrity and less personal self-interest. Seeing the huge crowds at many mountain viewpoints these days makes me sad. When you can't take a photo without people crawling over railings and swarming over the very scene that has brought you soooo far to photograph. If you've gotten to the point where you really believe, in the pit of your stomach, that something's gotta give, then you're in good company. Many, many local people, people like me that earn their entire income from tourism, have come to the same conclusion. And we're not alone. Parks across Canada and the US are collapsing under their popularity and run the risk of being loved to death. Parks like Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, and Great Smokey Mountains in the US are feeling the same pressures that parks like Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay are. Visit Peyto Lake in Banff or the Natural Bridge in Yoho, and you can't even take a photo without clowns going out of the designated viewing areas to do selfies in areas that are either sensitive to disturbance or downright dangerous. If we look at Banff and Jasper National Parks, we can see time and time again where the Harper Government allowed developments that have no place in a national park to move forward. These include developments like the Glacier Skywalk at the Columbia Icefields, new 'roofed accommodation' at Maligne Lake in Jasper, glamping (glamorous camping) sites in Two Jack Lake in Banff, and even a paved bike path from Jasper to the Columbia Icefields through critical habitat for endangered caribou. Thankfully, this last development is currently on hold due to the strong negative public reaction. The Harper years were characterized by budget cuts for classic backcountry trail networks and over-emphasis on getting more cars through the park gates. $8/person, kaching, thank you very much…next! This creates a situation where 95% of the visitors see the same 2% of the park, the paved corridors. As locations like Moraine Lake and Lake Louise collapse under sheer numbers and parking lots and feeder roads clog up due to traffic, what kind of experience are visitors to the area getting? What kind of image is it giving the mountain national parks? What do we do when people flood to sites like TripAdvisor to say: "don't go to Banff, it's overrun, why not go to…?" In a Globe and Mail article, former Banff Park Superintendent Kevin Van Tighem stated that Canada's National Parks are being used merely as: "raw material to be commodified into a bundle of Disneyesque visitor attractions and marketing packages." It is as if "nature was no longer enough" Parks Canada's mandate, and I've harped on this time and again on this podcast, is that parks: "shall be maintained and made use of so as to leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." More importantly, the role of the federal minister of parks shall be the: "maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity, through the protection of natural resources and natural processes." I don't know anyone, either within parks or within the communities that serve to provide the services to park visitors that feels that this goal is even being attempted. Even the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau has made some huge blunders. Seriously…free park passes! I can guarantee that nobody working in the mountain national parks thought this was a good idea. While the numbers aren't in yet, I'm betting that we added another half a million visitors to an already overburdened landscape. They could have said: "here are 10 parks that are underutilized and so we're going to offer free access to them to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday", but alas no, the gates were tossed wide open. I'll give Justin this one giant oops. He did send out an intergovernmental panel to the mountain parks last year to see how people living and working in the parks felt about the current park management. They got an earful. If you'd like to learn more about the panel, check out episode 26 at www.mountainnaturepodcast.com/ep026. Parks Canada received failing marks for its lack of transparency in its decision making process. Projects like the Glacier Skywalk in Jasper were approved despite overwhelming negative feedback. The panel couldn't find any logic in the way decisions within the organization were being made at the highest levels. Again, I stand with the parks employees working locally, because they are merely the receiver of directives from on high and to a man (or woman), most would agree that developments like this should never have been approved. Has Justin done better than Harper? Somewhat. He allowed all government scientists across the nation to publish their research, whether or not it was supportive of current government goals. He also immediately removed the muzzle that the Harper government had put on park wardens from speaking to the media. As a guide, I can't do my job without the amazing work being done by park wardens and scientists. The wardens of the mountain national parks are responsible for incredible research into the wildlife and ecosystems that are critical to these mountain landscapes. If I'm critical of something that Parks Canada approves, it is often because of the good science their rank and file perform on a daily basis has helped to contradict the justification for those approvals. When discussing another national park development, Van Tighem stated: "Rules? We don't actually have those anymore, so what did you have in mind as a money-making idea for our park? We'll dress it up in heritage language and funky marketing-speak to persuade ourselves it's good for national parks, and then you can have at 'er." I'll leave a link to the Globe and Mail article in the show notes a mountainnaturepodcast.com/ep044. (https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-disneyfication-of-canadas-national-parks/article28359840/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com&service=mobile) Tourism doesn't have to mean sacrificing the very thing that you're trying to showcase. There has to be another way. Thankfully, we don't have to muddle our way through the challenges of excess alone. We can look to other jurisdictions that are also doing some muddling of their own. One of those is Yellowstone. Like the mountain national parks, they are drowning in visitors and seeing their most iconic locations swamped with an ocean of tourists. One of the things that is hampering any discussion into limiting visitors has to do with the simple fact that nobody wants to be the guy (or girl) that says: "No, you can't visit Lake Louise" Most of the focus over the past decade has been to bring more and more and more and more visitors. I think anyone visiting these sites would agree that this hasn't worked. There is an inverse relationship between the number of visitors and the visitor's experience. The busier a site becomes, there will be a threshold where the visitor experience begins to suffer. Someone has to say the word! NO! I will say that things have been much better this year. Because of the Canada 150th, Parks put out an army of people working for an amazing company, ATS Traffic, that have done an impressive job reducing the amount of vehicles in places like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake this summer. In past years, I have had days where it's taken me two and a half hours to drive the 3 or 4 km between the village of Lake Louise and the actual lake. That has not happened this year at all, mainly because of the amazing work being done by ATS Traffic. The traffic control has been supplemented by the shuttle service that the park has sponsored this summer. There are free shuttles everywhere, and they have been working. I've spoken numerous times to the staff organizing the shuttles to Lake Louise from the Overflow Campground to the east of the village along the Trans Canada Highway. They have been doing impressive numbers, in the range of 2,000 plus people on busy days. That's some 1,000 cars or so that are NOT trying to drive to Lake Louise. Moraine Lake has been even more dramatic. In past years, there would be cars parked for kilometres along the all too narrow road. It made the road almost impossible for buses or wide vehicles to navigate. This year, the road has essentially been closed to cars by 9 am. The road and associated parking area can only accommodate so many cars. When the lots are full, the road is closed. Has that had any impacts on the shoreline of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake? It's been impressive. Closing the roads and parking areas when they reach a capacity, and preventing miles and miles of roadside parking means that there are fewer people at the actual sites. This means that the people that did arrive early enough presumably are having a much better experience. What about those that didn't? Those are the visitors that will leave the park with a negative experience. I've met them. I've walked past traffic jams and had people ask why they can't get to Lake Louise. The fact that it was simply too busy did not compute when they had traveled all the way from Toronto to see it. The traffic management is a key first step to creating a balance between expectation and experience. As a guide, I've been pushing my groups ever earlier in the morning to try to manage the experience they will have when they arrive. Unfortunately, hotels, will only make breakfasts available at certain times, so you can't always be 'early enough'. One thing that is an unknown at this point is whether ATS traffic will be hired to do the same job next year. So many things were tied to the funding for Canada 150, that the funds that are paying for their critical work may only be a one-time deal. If that is the case, then we go back to endless traffic jams again next year. If you applaud the work done by these mountain heroes this year, then be sure to let your elected officials know that we need this to be the new norm. There is no going back. In addition to traffic management, we also saw extensive parking restrictions implemented in 2017. Long sections of road approaching places like Johnston Canyon and Moraine Lake are now tow away zones with parking barriers. Managing traffic and parking are two of the critical pillars towards capacity management, but how do we manage the visitor experience? What we need to do for the long-term is to sit down, and create a comprehensive visitor experience plan. What do we, as tourism professionals, park managers, and stakeholders want people to say about our destinations when they leave? How do we create that experience? The only way that can happen is if we place a finite limit on the number of people that can visit certain locations. It's not too late to decide the kind of destination that we want to be when we grow up. I like to think that we're in the adolescence of our role as keepers of the ecological jewels of the mountain landscape. We started slowly some 130 years ago. We marketed our butts off to try to carve our little piece of the world tourism market. We coerced, cajoled and click baited until the dreams of many hoteliers, restaurants, gift shops and tour companies were given the taste of success. Like a drug addict, that first taste is always free. Twenty years ago, I believed it was time to stop building hotels. The number of hotel rooms provide a natural limit to the number of visitors to a destination. We are still building hotels like a drunken sailor. Destination Marketing organizations like Banff Lake Louise Tourism and Travel Alberta are still singing the siren song of more, more, more. However we're now at a tipping point. Can we learn anything from this summer that can help us to start to navigate towards a better, more sustainable future? I think we can. I know we can! This year we managed traffic. Now we need to envision a future where the experience is managed in such a way that the traffic is pre-managed for us. There is only one way - quotas. Fabulous destinations around the world have had to deal with these questions decades ago. We need to look at their examples. Did people stop going when they created quotas? Or did they plan their trips in such a way to make sure they had the experiences they saw in their Lonely Planet guide? In Banff National Park, we have four places that jump to the top of the list, in order of priority 1. Moraine Lake 2. Johnston Canyon 3. Lake Louise 4. Sulphur Mountain Gondola Three of the four are a challenge because they are at the end of one-way-in and one-way-out roads that back up very quickly. Johnston Canyon is simply a victim of its incredible popularity. The list contains four of the most popular destinations in Banff. We can add Emerald Lake In Yoho to this list, along with Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper Are limits bad? Hockey games have them. There are only so many seats at the stadium. We are surrounded by limits, but when it comes to a natural feature, the prevailing wisdom is to squeeze as many people and cars as possible. More, more, more! Well Lake Louise, is not a dairy cow. We can't keep squeezing the unique landscape. The environment around Lake Louise also contains the highest concentration of breeding female grizzlies in the central Rockies. There is something in that landscape that is just a good place to raise a family if you're a grizzly bear. OK. Here's my pitch. How do we create finite limits? For many sites, we create parking lots designed to collect visitors that are NOT at the destination. We make sure that shuttle buses can take them to the site with minimal inconvenience. Do you want to visit Lake Louise? Click this link to book your shuttle bus. The shuttle system this year has been awesome in showing that this works. Here's how I would supercharge it. Take away all public parking at Lake Louise, or Sulphur Mountain, or Moraine Lake. Those lots are for tour and shuttle buses only, and the tour buses would also be limited. If shutting parking down is too hard a sell, than create a financial disincentive to park at the destination. The option of a free shuttle versus a $20 parking fee will likely help to shift the trend towards free, scheduled shuttles and away from driving directly to the destination. If a parking rate can be found that provides a sufficient disincentive to driving but still helps to fund the resource, I'm all for that. One scenario might be that there are 200 parking spots for Lake Louise and they cost $10 or $40. What will the market bear? Ideally though, most of the visitors should arrive on shuttle or tour buses. One of the final things I would like to see the mountain parks do is to try to implement more active restrictions to people moving beyond the designated visitor corridors and start climbing over barriers to get ever closer to the view. . We can't stop determined visitors from forcing their way beyond barriers to do their worst, but we can create better discouragement barriers. As Canadians, we have perhaps been too polite. In places like Peyto Lake, it would not be too hard to create a pretty convincible barrier to prevent tourists from swarming the cliff below the public viewpoint. The viewpoint is there because it's designed to reduce the impact on this lower cliff. Alternatively, the park could extend the viewpoint to include this lower outcrop. The most important thing is to manage the visitor experience while also managing the visitor. A recent article on Yellowstone National Park in the publication Mountain Journal, really has had me thinking more about this issue. So far in this story, I focused on simple human use management to address the issue of ecological integrity. If the mountain national parks have to look anywhere for an example, the first national park in the world might be a great place to start. This article, penned by long-time Yellowstone advocate Todd Wilkinson really ties into my philosophy of how we might combine a better visitor experience with better ecological integrity within the mountain park landscape. One of Wilkinson's key concepts requires "saying yes to saying no". We have a finite limit on the number of people that can visit Old Faithful on a given day. Get your permit here! His article contains some pretty inflammatory statements, but I agree with them all. One of the most challenging for a community like Banff is: "The irony, of course, is that some of the biggest financial beneficiaries of the dividends of conservation are people who, for their own ideological reasons and motivations of rational self-interest, are today opposed to limits.  It’s probably fair to say that most possess no malicious intent, but the needs of wildlife, the underpinnings of what enables biological diversity to thrive, do not register with them." Wilkinson also states: "There is no example on Earth where conservation of nature, over time, has not generated huge ecological, economic, social, cultural, and spiritual benefits." Did you say economic benefits? Yellowstone and its surrounding landscapes are a billion dollar a year industry. Like our mountain parks, Yellowstone has one word that it has yet to utter: NO. According to Wilkinson: "We live in times, which some commentators describe as America’s new regression back to adolescence, where it is not fashionable to ever say no.  It is an age when some claim that natural landscapes have no limits for the amount and intensity of human activity that can occur on them without serious ecological harm being done. We live in a time of climate change and population growth in which users of landscapes (for profit, recreation or lifestyle) conclude that unless they can actually see impacts being caused by their own actions or by the larger acumulating wave of human presence, such impacts, therefore, do not exist. He sees three big challenges that parks like Yellowstone, and by extension, Banff face: • The deepening impacts of climate change and what they predict, especially where water in the arid west is concerned. • The deepening inexorable impacts of human growth (both an unprecedented rise in people migrating to live in the Greater Yellowstone from other nature deprived areas, and accompanied by a somewhat related surge in unprecedented numbers of visitors and recreationists to public lands. • The inability or reluctance of land management agencies to see the writing on the wall. Yellowstone, unlike Banff, still hosts every major mammal and bird species that was there before the arrival of the Europeans. Banff gets points for the 2017 reintroduction of wild bison back to the park, but loses points because it was not able to keep its northern mountain caribou herd. Now Jasper's remaining caribou are also at serious risk of vanishing. Wilkonsin states: "The 22.5-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is actually pretty small. Functionally, it will be made ever smaller, squeezed by climate change altering its ecological carrying capacity because of less winter snowpack, hotter and drier conditions, and further fragmented by a doubling or tripling of the human population likely to occur in just two human generations." I know that for me, this could just as easily be said about the Bow River Valley. Combine growth without proper cumulative impact assessments, with vast increases in visitation, and we can see real challenges in our future. According to Wilkinson: "If we don’t get the “growth” component of Greater Yellowstone addressed, experts have told me, it won’t matter how fond we are of thinking about ecological processes playing out at the landscape level, like terrestrial migrations of ungulates, protecting wide-ranging species like grizzly bears, wolverines and elk that need escape cover free of intensive human intrusion." These are problems that are apparent throughout the entire Mountain National Park and surrounding areas. Canmore is in the middle of the battle to protect continentally significant wildlife corridors. If we don't get this right, nothing else matters. We, as a community, need to continue to fight to make sure that big development does not get to compromise critical connecting routes that are a key component of the much larger Rocky Mountain ecosystem. Even now, the town of Canmore is not only negotiating wildlife corridors, but developing within metres of them. The new bike trail being designed adjacent to Quarry Lake is a folly that the town cannot afford. Already, bears like 148 are being removed from the landscape for spending time on corridors dedicated to their movement. Having more and more and more development encroaching on these corridors will lead to a continued eroding of the ecological viability of the town of Canmore corridors - and maybe that's exactly what development focused mayors like John Borrowman want. Once the corridor is gone, he can promote the valley to his heart's content. Canmore has an election coming up. Make a better decision this time Canmore! You may not have many more chances. One advantage that Canada has over Yellowstone at the moment is that we are no longer afraid of science. We can look to great research being done within our parks that shows that the current trends are simply unsustainable. Wilkinson quotes Thomas Roffe, the former National Chief of wildlife health for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: “Science doesn’t define what the proper thing to do is. Science helps to define what the conditions will be if you choose one vision or another. Science will help you understand what the advantages or disadvantages are to your perspective. But it doesn’t tell you what’s right or what’s wrong.” We have the science. We can all see the changes. What are we going to do? Will we make the right choice? And with that, it's time to wrap this episode up. If you'd like to hit me up personally, you can email me at info@wardcameron.com or send me a message on Twitter @wardcameron. Ward Cameron Enterprises is your source for step-on and hiking guides as well as wildlife biology safaris, snowshoe animal tracking and corporate speaking programs. We've been sharing the stories behind the scenery for more than 30 years and we can help to make sure your visit to the Rockies is one that you'll be talking about for years. You can visit our website at www.WardCameron.com for more details. And with that said, the rain has thankfully come and now stopped so it's time to go hiking. I'll talk to you next week.

How people feel about trophy hunting the bear.Link to savetheyellowstonegrizzly.org Donate Donate

How people feel about trophy hunting the bear.Link to savetheyellowstonegrizzly.org Donate Donate

Courtesy of Bradley Orsted In this episode, the scientific arguments surrounding the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear.Books about Grizzly Bears by Todd Wilkinson and Doug Peacock.Music: Slow Bicycle, Mum; Faure's Requiem, first movement. Donate Doug Peacock, Yellowstone National Park, 2016 Dog-bear near Jackson Lake, Wyoming Dog-bear south of Missoula Donate

Courtesy of Bradley Orsted In this episode, the scientific arguments surrounding the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear.Books about Grizzly Bears by Todd Wilkinson and Doug Peacock.Music: Slow Bicycle, Mum; Faure's Requiem, first movement. Donate Doug Peacock, Yellowstone National Park, 2016 Dog-bear near Jackson Lake, Wyoming Dog-bear south of Missoula Donate

The battle over taking the grizzly bear off the list of endangered species

The battle over taking the grizzly bear off the list of endangered species

Grizzly Times speaks with Dr. Jesse Logan. Part 1: Dr. Jesse Logan blew the whistle on the threat to whitebark pine, a key grizzly bear food, from mountains pine beetle and global warming long before anyone else had imagined it. He tells the amazing story of predicting and then documenting the tragic loss of a magnificent whitebark pine forest in Greater Yellowstone, and using his knowledge to help in the fight to restore legal protections to the Yellowstone grizzly bear. Jesse is a forest ecologist, climate expert and outdoorsman extraordinaire, who in his 70's can still kick your ass in the woods.

Last week I took a trip. In the Rocky Mountains, Northwest of Fort Collins, Colorado, just past Bellvue. I wasn’t very equipped. Welcome to Eyes on Conservation. I’m Gregory Haddock. Today you will hear part 1 of a 2-part series on protecting and conserving wolves and their legacy in the Rocky Mountains. W.O.L.F Sanctuary is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and rescuing as many of the large number of wolves and wolf-dogs raised in captivity. These animals were saved from a larger pool of exotic animals in the United States - either given up or euthanized. Michelle Proulx has worked with the W.O.L.F. (Wolves Offered Life and Friendship) Sanctuary most of her adult life. Other than being a hero to animals that would otherwise be headed for much tragic endings, Michelle and the others at the sanctuary consider themselves first and foremost educators. For more information on Michelle and the work she and the rest of the team at W.O.L.F. Sanctuary are doing – you can check out their website and great resources at www.wolfsanctuary.net. You can find out more about the show on the show note’s page at Wildlensinc.org/eoc159. Stay tuned for part II of this story when I speak with Mike Phillips, Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund, former Field Coordinator for the Red Wolf Recovery Program and former Project Leader of Greater Yellowstone’s gray wolf restoration project. Show music is brought to you by The Humidors. If you liked today’s episode, please consider checking out The Majority Villain Podcast – a podcast I host and produce – dedicated to democratizing the planet politically and ecologically. Thanks for listening today to Eyes on Conservation.