The Wolf Connection

Nita Strauss is a Los Angeles born guitarist who has toured around the globe, playing with musical artists like Demi Lovato and Alice Cooper, while releasing two solo albums Controlled Chaos (2018) and The Call of the Void (2023). She was also the first female to have a signature guitar through Ibanez guitars, the Ibanez JIVA. We spoke with Nita about her creative process, both in her instrumental work and collaboration with vocalists, asked about the inspiration for the song The Wolf You Feed feat. Alissa White-Gluz and how the meaning of the song has resonated since its release. Nita Strauss Website @hurricanenita@thewolfconnectionpod

Hannah Rheaume has been a professional photographer for 5 years. She has traveled the globe, sharing her stories through the lens of her camera, while aiming to explore the complexities of humans and their impact on the natural world. Hannah spoke about her interactions with the pack at Wolf Connection, the photo workshop she hosted in Yellowstone, and her encounter with a yearling wolf inside the park. Check out @thewolfconnectionpod on Instagram to see the wolf photos we discussed in this episode!Hannah Rheaume Website @hannahrheaume

Dan Flores is A. B. Hammond Professor Emeritus of the History of the American West at the University of Montana-Missoula. He has authored ten books, including his New York Times Bestseller Coyote America, along with American Serengeti and Wild New World. We had a powerful conversation about how coyotes have shaped both Indigenous and early American storytelling, the rise and impact of extirpation campaigns against them and other North American species, the cultural shift toward conservation, and what all of this means for our present-day relationship with wildlife.**Donate to help take the podcast On The Road! Click the link** https://wolfconnection.org/donations/Dan Flores Bio (Project Coyote)Dan Flores Books (Amazon)@projectcoyoteorg@thewolfconnectionpod

Nadia Steinzor is a collaborative environmental professional for over 25 years, whose knowledge ranges through environmental issues, policies, and regulations to help produce reports, outreach materials, comments, and testimony. Nadia works with the Rewilding Institute to ensure that wolves and other carnivores thrive and roam in the Northeast and beyond.We discussed what goes into drafting environmental policy, some of the differences between state and federal issues, and the challenges wild canids are facing in the Northeastern United States. **Donate to help take the podcast On The Road! Click the link** https://wolfconnection.org/donations/Nadia Steinzor WebsiteRewilding InstituteNortheast Wolf Recovery Alliance@thewolfconnectionpod

Carter Niemeyer retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2006 as the Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the state of Idaho. He was an integral part of the Federal Wolf Reintroduction in both Yellowstone and Idaho. Carter has authored three books, Wolfer, Wolf Land, and The Other Ten Wolves, which can be purchased through multiple book retailers. Carter spoke about his latest literary entry The Other Ten Wolves, the story behind the Sawtooth Pack, and his role in their translocation into Yellowstone. **Donate to help take the podcast On The Road! Click the link** https://wolfconnection.org/donations/Carter Niemeyer Website (Buy a signed copy here)@thewolfconnectionpod

Matt James is the Chief Animal Officer for Colossal Biosciences. Colossal Biosciences is dedicated to genetic engineering and de-extinction projects to advance conservation efforts for current species, like red wolves, ecosystems and biodiversity throughout the globe with cutting-edge biotechnology. Matt went into detail about the mission of Colossal, long term goals with the dire wolf and red wolf projects, and promoting conservation efforts within ecosystems and biodiversity around the world. Colossal Biosciences Dire Wolf ResearchColossal ConservationColossal Foundation@itiscolossal@thewolfconnectionpod

Jonny Hanson is an Environmental Social Scientist, award-winning social entrepreneur, snow leopard conservationist and former community farmer. He is particularly interested in understanding coexistence between livestock farming and large carnivore conservation. He recently published his first book Living with Lynx, Sharing Landscapes with Big Cats, Wolves and Bears. Jonny spoke about the history of predators in Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, reasons for their extirpation and some of the social and ecological hurdles with possible reintroduction of predators.**Donate to help take the podcast On The Road! Click the link** https://wolfconnection.org/donations/Jonny Hanson Website (Book Orders Here) Jonny Hanson Tedx Talk@jonnyhhanson@thewolfconnectionpod

Tom McPherson has been guiding for 21 years and running Seaforth Expeditions for 6 years. His work with sea wolves has been featured on Netflix with Island of the Sea Wolves, and guiding BBC shoots for the Americas series on NBC. Tom and his family were able to spend some time at Wolf Connection, meet the pack, and sit down for a brief podcast. We spoke about his experiences at the sanctuary, the importance of storytelling when sharing about sea wolves, and some of the similarities he noticed between the pack at Wolf Connection and the wild sea wolves. **Donate to help take the podcast On The Road! Click the link** https://wolfconnection.org/donations/Seaforth Expeditions @seaforthexpeditions@thewolfconnectionpod

Mich Biesbroek has been tracking wildlife since he was a young boy. He is one of the group leaders and guides for the White Wilderness weeks of Slovak Wildlife Society, where they monitor large carnivores in Slovakia with the help of volunteer citizens scientists. He is also a core member of Werkgroep Wolf Nederland. Mich spoke about his experiences tracking animals, his guiding practices when he's with Slovak Wildlife Society, the state of wolves in the Netherlands and his involvement with Werkgroep Wolf Nederland. Slovak Wildlife SocietyWerkgroep Wolf Nederland@tallmanhiking@thewolfconnectionpod

Luigi Boitani has been studying, researching and propelling the conservation of wolves in Italy for over 50 years. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Rome, Italy, and Chair of the IUCN Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe. Luigi went into great detail explaining his initial experiences researching wolves, how wolves, other predators and ungulates have had to adapt to a changing landscape in Italy, describing initiatives for coexistence in the region, and his overall assessment of wolf behaviors in present day Italy. Luigi Boitani Research GateIUCN Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe@thewolfconnectionpod