Campfire Conversations 70: State Hired Trappers Layed Off, Immediately Rehired & Center For Biological Diversity Sues Texas Wildlife Commission Over Mountain Lions

What this episode covers

Retired Wildlife Biologist and former government employee Mike Bodenchuk has been there and done that when it comes to managing wildlife. A former state hired beaver trapper who worked his way up the food chain to ultimately serve as the head of Texas 150 state hired trappers within the Texas Wildlife Commission, Mike gives us his thoughts on what the recent federal layoffs could mean for the hunting and conservation communities, specifically when it comes to dealing with human/wildlife conflict with apex predators. Mike might be retired but has hardly slowed down when it comes to working for science based wildlife management. He also worked extensively on mountain lion research as a graduate student and has as good an idea as anyone as to whether or not Texas’ mountain lion population is increasing, decreasing or holding steady. His explains why he believes what he does and how viable habitat is exponentially more of a limiting factor on sustainable lion numbers than hunters and trappers are. Mike also breaks down the recent lawsuit the Center for Biological Diversity filed against the Texas Wildlife Commission using black bears as a guise to try to protect mountain lions. We wrap the show up by briefly hitting on wolves in the Great Lake States.

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