PODCAST – Wolf Reintroduction To Colorado with Jon Keehner

The Colorado wolf debate carries on! What have I gotten myself into? On today’s episode of the Transition Wild Podcast, we talk with Jon Keehner, Ph.D. and carnivore ecologist on the proposed reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado. This podcast is meant to offer an opposing view and provide additional information from our previous episode with the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project.

We discuss this issue of gray wolf reintroduction not just from the scientific approach but from a number of perspectives including an environmental, political, and a monetary standpoint. With many years of research on carnivore management, Jon provides management data from other states that have had wolf reintroductions and tells us why Colorado should proceed with caution. Jon then leaves us with a recommendation as to how hunters, ranchers, and other conservation groups should band together to create a unified voice to tackle the proposed reintroduction of wolves to the Colorado Rockies.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Jon’s Background and growing up in the Pacific Northwest
• His bachelor’s degree in wildlife resources and his Ph.D. in carnivore ecology studying mountain lions at Washington State University
• His career as an independent ecologist without any ties to state game agencies, activist groups, and political parties
• The history of wolves and carnivore management in the United States
• Why the first reintroduction efforts of gray wolves to Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming did not go as planned and the reasons why
• Two groups leading the charge on reintroduction efforts: The academics and financial advocacy groups such as the humane society
• Why carnivores such as wolves are good for the ecosystem but with the caveat of strong management guidelines
• The reintroduction of the gray wolf to Yellowstone and the outcome of being hunted by an apex predator
• Science-based management and why that is a narrow-minded approach to a very complex issue
• The debate of wolves killing for fun and the myth surrounding that notion
• Shoot, Shovel, and Shut up and how that hurts the management of wolves in regards to self-regulation
• How hunters should navigate the wolf debate through education and communication to the majority 70% of the population who holds our fate
• Dissecting Mike Phillips arguments for the impact and growth of the wolf population and why he thinks his target population of 250 wolves is an extreme underestimation of what it could grow to
• Bull elk versus cow elk and why bulls are a higher target for wolf predation
• The endangered species act and the legal mandate for reintroduction
• Jon’s recommendation of resisting a wolf reintroduction to Colorado and how it could turn into a disaster long-term for hunting and conservation
• How politics and advocacy groups have divided hunters and ranchers and his recommendation as to how we should move forward as a unified group
• The current state of wolf populations in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and how they are barely floating the funding for wolf management
• Why hunting wolves as a management strategy is rather ineffective in the big picture of controlling populations
• Other methods of controlling gray wolf populations such as trapping, poisoning, and air gunning
• The slippery slope of wolf introduction and why there are no effective ways to manage their population once a reintroduction takes place
• Why people should proceed with caution when analyzing scientific studies and keeping a good perception of hunting in the public eye
• Jon’s current work of writing a book titled: “Mountain Lions, Money and Mismanagement” about the war on sustainable harvest and science-based management
• Jon’s other book titled: “Use It All” about ways we as hunters can influence the 70% through providing and using more of the animals we harvest