In this episode, I interview Diane Boyd, wolf biologist and author. Diane describes learning wolf trapping and collaring during her early years in Minnesota, then moving to Montana in 1979 during early natural wolf recolonization before the 1995–96 Yellowstone/Idaho introductions. She explains why biologists trap wolves, what radio-collars reveal about pack behavior, reproduction, territories, diet, and genetics, and how wolf management has become politicized. Our discussion critiques state population modeling, increasingly liberal wolf-killing rules, and persistent misinformation blaming wolves for game declines despite elk numbers being high and livestock losses from wolves being small. We also discuss public-lands grazing impacts, nonlethal coexistence tools, fears of escalation to poisoning, and the need for better public communication of science, advocating for public lands, and her new book — A Woman Among Wolves.
Diane’s book - A Woman Among Wolves
00:56 Episode Preview
02:51 Meet Diane Boyd
03:24 Hunting Talk
05:00 Wolf Origins
06:01 Trapping And Collars
07:34 Montana Recolonization
08:56 Research Questions
10:06 Models And Trends
11:42 Wolf Hunting Debate
15:27 Elk Deer Myths
17:22 Grazing And Habitat
19:31 Coexistence Tools
23:31 People Politics Data
25:44 Why Wolves Get Blamed
26:49 Control Culture and Old Predator Wars
28:53 Common Myths
30:52 Hunting Pressure and Poison Fears
34:41 Changing Minds With Better Science
36:08 Agency Misinformation and Suppressed Research
40:10 Grizzlies Next?
42:36 Why Wolves Adapt Everywhere
45:04 Hope, Tolerance, and Public Lands
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