PODCAST · science
Working Wild U
by Western Landowners Alliance and Montana State University Extension
Working Wild U is a new podcast that takes you out into the field, forest and range with the people and wildlife of the American West to tell you the big stories at the heart of the struggle to sustain resilient and connected landscapes and communities.We bring you immersive stories at the crossroads of culture and science focused on the challenges and successes of sharing and managing farms and ranches with wildlife.If you are passionate about open spaces, wild places and healthy communities that sustain people and wildlife, listen in.
Episodes
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'We live here too.' Grizzlies, human safety and ranching along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front
Montana's Rocky Mountain Front is a hotbed for conflicts between grizzly bears and people. As bear populations recover, what does that mean for the people who live and work alongside them? In our latest episode of Working Wild University, we meet Blackfeet rancher and tribal elder Joe Kipp and...
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Staying Safe in Grizzly Country with Casey Anderson
What should you do if you come face-to-face with a grizzly bear? In this video episode of Working Wild U, we head into grizzly country with wildlife filmmaker and bear expert Casey Anderson to explore how bears behave, why encounters happen, and what people can do to stay safe. From reading bear...
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Can a Town Really Be Bear-Proof?
After a visit to an elementary school in Wyoming that practices "bear drills," we head to Gardiner, Montana, where living alongside grizzlies is part of daily life. There, Evan Stout with Bear Awareness Gardiner shows us what it takes for a community to become bear-aware—and find surprising...
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Where are the Grizzly Bears Headed?
Grizzly management update: What's really going on with the USFWS new proposed grizzly rule As grizzlies expand across the Northern Rockies, we're revisiting a story from last season that helps connect the dots. We head to southwest Montana, where ranchers Jami Murdoch and Erik Kalsta are…
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Why Did the Grizzly Bear Cross the Road?
Working lands help give expanding grizzly populations room to roam - but highways can turn those connected landscapes into isolated islands. In this episode, we follow the movement of grizzlies across the Northern Rockies and explore how roads can become barriers to bears and other wildlife. From…
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Ranching with Grizzlies in Wyoming's Upper Green
What if keeping cattle on public lands is also helping keep critical wildlife habitat intact? In Wyoming's Upper Green, ranchers move cattle along the historic Green River Drift through one of the epicenters of livestock-grizzly conflict in the Northern Rockies. Public grazing helps sustain…
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Beyond Yellowstone: Grizzlies, the Craighead Brothers, and the Rise of Modern Wildlife Ecology
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the defining concepts in wildlife conservation. But where did it come from? In the 1950s, Frank and John Craighead pioneered modern grizzly bear research, using radio telemetry to follow bears far beyond the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park.…
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Grizzly Bears are Back - Now What?
Grizzly bears are making a remarkable comeback across the American West. After decades of recovery, they're expanding into places they haven't occupied for generations - working ranches, rural communities, and the landscapes where people make their living. So what happens when one of North...
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Season 3 Trailer: Grizzly Bears in the Modern West
Grizzly bears are making a comeback - and their return is one of North America's greatest conservation success stories. But as bears expand into places they haven't occupied in generations, new questions emerge. Where do bears belong in the modern West? What does it actually take to share a...
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California Wolves, 87 Dead Cattle, and the NYT Op-Ed Everyone's Sharing
California's recent decision to remove four members of a wolf pack near Lake Tahoe sparked national attention - but the story behind it is much bigger. In this episode, Wildlife Management professor at UC Berkeley, Dr. Arthur Middleton, joins us to dig into his recent New York Times op-ed and...
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Bonus | Grizzly Bears and the Endangered Species Act: What's Changing?
UPDATE: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended the public comment period on proposed changes to the grizzly bear's Endangered Species Act listing. The new deadline is May 16. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing changes to the grizzly bear's listing under the Endangered…
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Wolves in the West | Whose blood, sweat and tears are in your hamburger?
96% of wolves in the Northern Rockies live in the working wild: public and private lands where people and wildlife share the landscape. But who pays the cost of supporting biodiversity? In this episode from our first season on wolves in the West, we explore the economics of our food system and…
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Bonus | The wild pig invasion no one is talking about
Wild pigs. Feral swine. Wild hogs. Whatever you call them, invasive wild pigs are rapidly spreading across the US and Canada - destroying crops and spreading disease along the way. Experts are calling them one of the greatest threats to biodiversity in the country. What can we do about it? To…
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Imperiled | 07 | What can pollinators teach us about the future of conservation?
Throughout this season, we've explored landowner- and community-led efforts to support imperiled species, from bears and birds to ferrets and fish. In the final episode of this season, we're looking ahead to the future of imperiled pollinators on working lands. Across the country, there is a...
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Imperiled | 06 | Can Pacific salmon and Idaho ranchers share the river?
How do we restore salmon spawning habitat in the Upper Salmon watershed without harming the ranching communities that rely on the river? The answer lies in locally-driven collaboration. In this episode, we explore the decades-long community effort to restore spawning grounds for Columbia Basin...
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Imperiled | 05 | What do carbon and cows have to do with lesser prairie-chickens?
In the heart of America's grasslands, a battle for survival is unfolding. The lesser prairie-chicken, an iconic species of the Great Plains, is on the brink of extinction. But there's a growing network of producers and partners across the plains looking to change that. Today on the show, can...
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Imperiled | Bonus | Can these teens recover the razorback sucker?
When it comes to conservation, can a group of high school students really make a difference? Join Jared and Hallie as they dive into a story involving the Colorado River, an ancient endangered fish, and a group of high school students who are becoming the next generation of stewards. Complete…
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Imperiled | 04 | Chasing ghosts: Can a mysterious bird galvanize a rural renaissance?
Finding an imperiled species on his ranch scared the daylights out of Russell Davis. What he and his neighbors did next may have saved their town. Today on Working Wild U, join us as we return to the high plains of eastern Colorado to learn how a small ranching community transformed a migratory...
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Imperiled | 03 | Can we bring black-footed ferrets back from the brink?
Today on Working Wild U, we're spotlighting, quite literally, one special species that calls the Great Plains home. A small predator that was thought to be extinct.... twice! Meet the black-footed ferret, the most endangered mammal in North America. Thanks to community-driven efforts spanning the...
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Imperiled | 02 | Where are the grizzlies headed?
Grizzly bears are expanding their range. But where are they headed? To find out, we get out on the land with ranchers Erik Kalsta and Jami Murdoch, who are working with partners to monitor wildlife – including grizzlies – on their operation in southwest Montana. Together with Erik, Jami and...
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Imperiled | 01 | Can ranchers save arctic grayling?
When a section of the Big Hole River in southwest Montana ran dry in 1988, all eyes were on the future of one of the last remaining populations of arctic grayling in the lower 48. Out of the struggle, a collaboration emerged that change the future of the Big Hole - a future where human…
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Season 2 Trailer – Imperiled
We're excited to announce the second season of Working Wild U: Imperiled. This season we're exploring community and landowner-led wildlife conservation on working and tribal lands across the West. From grizzly bears to lesser-known species, join us as we discover the challenges and successes of…
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Wolves in the West | Bonus | Update on the Colorado Wolf Management Plan
In today's bonus episode, we get an update on the Colorado wolf management plan from Hallie Mahowald with Western Landowners Alliance. Hallie was appointed as a member of the Stakeholder Advisory Group to ensure landowners and managers in Colorado were represented in providing input to Colorado...
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Wolves in the West | 13 | Colorado wolf reintroduction and the great divide
We've covered a lot this season: wolves, working lands, and some of the ideas and management practices that divide and unite the people of the American West. In our final episode of the season, Alex and Jared head to Colorado, where a ballot initiative, passed in 2020, requires Colorado Parks and...
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Guest Episode | Down to Earth | Jared Beaver on finding common ground
Today's episode is a special guest in our podcast feed, from the Down to Earth: the Planet to Plate Podcast, presented by our friends at the Quivira Coalition and Radio Café. Working Wild U cohost Jared Beaver sat down with Down to Earth host Mary-Charlotte Domandi to discuss why we started…
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Wolves in the West | 12 | Co-producing technology to reduce conflict
Today, Alex and Jared explore how livestock producers and researchers are working together to adapt old world tools into new world technologies to help reduce conflicts. They'll look at how innovative solutions can often be simple, and how new tools can help keep people, livestock, and wildlife...
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Wolves in the West | 11 | Old World Tools to New World Technology
In this episode, Alex and Jared dive into techniques that can help ranchers reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock. They'll explore how a new spin on an old tool increases the effectiveness of fencing, how putting riders back on the range can have a multitude of benefits, and how one…
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Wolves in the West | Bonus | Wolf Management on the Colville Reservation
This is a special bonus episode of Working Wild U. In the northeast corner of Washington on the Colville Reservation, wildlife managers are working to ensure a balance across all wildlife species as wolves re-establish themselves. Today, Alex and Jared hear from Cody Desautel, the executive...
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Wolves in the West | 10 | Wolf management in the Pacific Northwest
So far this season, we've been spending a lot of time in the Northern Rockies, in the states where grey wolves first returned to the West – by reintroduction or recolonization. But in 2008, dispersing wolves from Idaho denned in both eastern Oregon and Washington, where wolves hadn't been seen...
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Wolves in the West | 09 | Wolves dispersing in the modern West
When wolves disperse, they are increasingly moving through human-dominated landscapes where they often get into trouble. In today's episode, Alex and Jared explore where wolves are, where different people think they should be, and the tricky business of managing and living with wolves in a…
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Wolves in the West | 08 | The Yellowstone Wolf
Many people, when they think about wolves, think of Yellowstone National Park. And for good reason; it has some of the best wolf watching in the world. But tensions rose when changes to Montana's wolf hunt along the Park border were made just before the 2021-22 hunting season. In this episode…
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Wolves in the West | 07 | State Management in the Northern Rockies
In 2021, the Montana and Idaho legislatures each passed a suite of bills liberalizing wolf hunting. These changes ignited national debate around fair chase ethics, norms of state wildlife management decision-making, and potential relisting of wolves in the Northern Rockies under the Endangered...
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Wolves in the West | 06 | Hunting and the North American model of wildlife conservation
It's easy to see wolf management in two buckets: full protection under the Endangered Species Act or unregulated wolf hunting. But successful management of established wildlife populations is most often somewhere in the middle, with hunting used both as a tool and a conservation funding…
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Guest Episode | Reframing Rural | Farm Succession in Northeast Montana
Today we're introducing you to one of our favorite podcasts, Reframing Rural, a show working to "reframe the narrative on rural America." In this episode from their third season, "Groundwork," Reframing Rural producer Megan Torgerson shares the intimate journey of her family's farm succession, as...
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Wolves in the West | 05 | Wolves in town
Do wolves pose a threat to people? What is "normal" wolf behavior? What happens when wolves set up shop in your neighborhood? Join hosts Alex and Jared as they explore a collection of stories about wolves getting a little too close for comfort, and the difficult choices wildlife managers face…
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Wolves in the West | 04 | Return of the wolf: A landscape of fear
In 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after decades of absence. It didn't take long for them to make their way to Julia Childs' ranch, located just north of the park. When wolves were reintroduced in the Northern Rockies, they were entering a complex social and political...
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Wolves in the West | 03 | Whose blood, sweat and tears are in your hamburger?
96% of wolves in the Northern Rockies live in the working wild: public and private lands where people and wildlife share the landscape. But who pays the cost of supporting biodiversity on the landscape? To find out, we explore the economics of our food system and take a look at how one ranch…
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Wolves in the West | 02 | How did we get here?
To understand how we got to where we are today, hosts Alex and Jared go to Albert Sommers' operation and the Green River Drift, a cattle migration in Wyoming that's been taking place for generations. We'll learn about the land management policies that shaped predator eradication, public lands…
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Wolves in the West | 01 | Defining the Problem
In the western United States, wolves represent many things to many people. To some, wolves are a symbol of wildness. To others, wolves represent a very real threat to their livelihoods and well-being. Join us as we explore how people's values impact how they think about wolves. When it comes to...
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Season 1 Trailer - Wolves in the West
Working Wild U is a new podcast that takes you out into the field, forest and range with the people and wildlife of the American West to tell you the big stories at the heart of the struggle to sustain resilient and connected landscapes and communities. Season 1 explores wolves in the West - from...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Working Wild U is a new podcast that takes you out into the field, forest and range with the people and wildlife of the American West to tell you the big stories at the heart of the struggle to sustain resilient and connected landscapes and communities.We bring you immersive stories at the crossroads of culture and science focused on the challenges and successes of sharing and managing farms and ranches with wildlife.If you are passionate about open spaces, wild places and healthy communities that sustain people and wildlife, listen in.
HOSTED BY
Western Landowners Alliance and Montana State University Extension
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Working Wild U have?
Working Wild U currently has 40 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Working Wild U about?
Working Wild U is a new podcast that takes you out into the field, forest and range with the people and wildlife of the American West to tell you the big stories at the heart of the struggle to sustain resilient and connected landscapes and communities.We bring you immersive stories at the...
How often does Working Wild U release new episodes?
Working Wild U has 40 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Working Wild U?
You can listen to Working Wild U on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Working Wild U?
Working Wild U is created and hosted by Western Landowners Alliance and Montana State University Extension.
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