PODCAST – Rocky Mountain Wolf Project with Mike Phillips

The reintroduction of the gray wolf to Colorado is a movement that has been gaining steam across the state in recent months. Today we talk with Mike Phillips of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project about the reintroduction of wolves and the impact they would have in Colorado. We also cover Mike’s many years of work as a wolf biologist and his work as a Montana state senator.

There are many sides (hunting, ranching, recreation, public interaction) to consider when addressing a reintroduction of an apex predator to a natural landscape, but Mike breaks down the numbers in detail as to what potential impacts they would have on game animals and prey. We also talk about the management strategy of wolves and how taxpayer dollars would be involved in the management process. For more information, please visit: www.rockymountainwolfproject.org  

Topics Covered In This Episode Include:

• Intro to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project (RMWP) and their mission behind this movement
• Mikes background in politics and biology for the past 40 years and his involvement with RMWP
• Other wolf recovery projects across the united states and the background behind the laws and scientific approach surrounding extra pated species such as the wolf
• Examining both sides of the reintroduction from a ranching/hunting view as opposed to the biological perspective
• What a viable self-sustaining gray wolf population would look like in Colorado and the impact it would have on elk and deer numbers
• Why Mike thinks that predation would hardly effect hunting opportunities and game populations based on past studies and state wildlife data
• How wolves would play a part in controlling the spread of diseases such as CWD
• Looking at the introduction of wolves from a national perspective as well as a localized perspective at the Colorado level
• Living with wolves and the ideal management strategy for their existence
• The “Mythical” wolf and common misconceptions
• How taxpayer dollars would play a role in the introduction and management of wolves
• Management authority being handed off from a federal level to a state level coinciding with a management strategy
• How being proactive with a wolf introduction would benefit Colorado longterm versus letting a population build naturally
• The timeline and legislation process behind the introduction of wolves
• Colorado’s wolf management plan and why Mike believes it is better than plans of other states
• Resources where people can go to get involved and to seek further information on this issue
• How people can go about voicing opinions throughout the decision process of a potential wolf reintroduction