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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