People & Wolves Talk Show Topic: Wisconsin wolf hunt with special guest Adrian Wydeven

Air date: Wednesday April 14, 2021, 06:00 PM CST

Host Alexander Vaeth will have a conversation with Adrian Wydeven about the recent February 2021 wolf hunt. The discussion will be live-streamed on People & Wolves Talk Show’s Facebook Page. Click on the following post to go to the livestream. There will be a question & answer session during the livestream. Join the conversation!

And here’s the livestream downloaded on YouTube

Guest Adrian Wydeven

Adrian Wydeven led the Wisconsin DNR Wolf Recovery Program from 1990 through 2013. Photograph courtesy of Adrian Wydeven.

Adrian grew up in northeast Wisconsin, and has a BS in biology and wildlife management from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1976), and an MS in wildlife ecology from Iowa State University (1979). His master’s research was on the ecology and food habitat of elk in the Wind Cave National Park, SD. He worked as a wildlife manager in Missouri and Wisconsin from 1980-1990. Adrian headed up the state gray wolf recovery and conservation program for Wisconsin from 1990 through 2013, while also working with other rare mammals and wildlife. He retired from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in 2015 after nearly 33 years. Adrian continues to be actively involved in wolf surveys and conservation through the Timber Wolf Alliance and Wisconsin Green Fire.

The recent wolf hunt demonstrated what can happen when politics and courts dictate wolf management, instead of being informed by science and an inclusive process of wildlife governance.

Adrian Wydeven, comment regarding the recent Wisconsin wolf hunt.
Adrian grew up in northeast Wisconsin, and has a BS in biology and wildlife management from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1976), and an MS in wildlife ecology from Iowa State University (1979). Photograph courtesy of Adrian Wydeven.

Air date: Wednesday April 14, 2021, 06:00 PM CST on People & Wolves Talk Show’s Facebook Page.

Host Alexander Vaeth

Alexander Vaeth, photograph courtesy of Alexander Vaeth.

Alex is a volunteer wolf tracker with the Wisconsin DNR, and a Spanish teacher by training. He completed his graduate studies in Spanish at Middlebury’s language schools in Vermont, USA, Madrid, Spain, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and volunteers as a medical interpreter in the city’s community clinic. Alex spends nearly all his free time in the woods tracking and monitoring wildlife with remote cameras and is also keenly interested in wolf advocacy and research.

Alex’s statement regarding the recent wolf hunt

I have always been fascinated by wolves, but had never lived near a wild population until my wife and I decided to move to Wisconsin to work in the UW system teaching Spanish. We moved from North Carolina and ultimately chose UW-Eau Claire for many reasons. The Wisconsin DNR has a longstanding volunteer tracker program that allowed me to move to Wisconsin and get involved in wolf monitoring almost immediately. I have been learning about the packs I track in the Central Forest as well as the history of wolf recovery and wolf hunting in Wisconsin. The most recent hunt was deeply saddening for me, as some of the wolves I have been tracking for two years were likely killed (I have seen no sign of them since the end of February). There is no convincing biological argument I have seen for hunting wolves, let alone slaughtering them in the manner just witnessed here in Wisconsin. It is also frustrating to see the First Nations tribes in Wisconsin so brazenly ignored, as they are tried and true stewards of the natural world and need to have a role in wildlife “management” and decision-making in the region.

Air date: Wednesday April 14, 2021, 06:00 PM CST. Host Alexander Vaeth will have a conversation with Adrian Wydeven about the recent February 2021 wolf hunt. The discussion will be live-streamed on People & Wolves Talk Show’s Facebook Page.

Mission: People & Wolves Talk Show works with dedicated professionals to document the conscious relationships between People & Wolves. People & Wolves Talk show shares stories of people working to coexist with wild wolves. Wild grey wolves are now struggling for survival worldwide. People & Wolves Talk Show works with filmmakers, scientists, academics, journalists, writers, fine artists, Wildlife photographers and musicians, that share a common interest to produce, to share educational stories of People & Wolves.

The show’s producer is Rachel Tilseth. Tilseth is a freelance writer, fine artist & educator, and environmentalist. Tilseth has been a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Volunteer Winter Wolf Tracker since the year 2000. Tilseth worked with the Wisconsin Wolf Recovery Program as a volunteer since 1998, and as a result learned about the lives of wild gray wolves. Tilseth worked to draw attention to the plight of Gray wolves during the three years Wisconsin held wolf hunts. Rachel is founder and owner of Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin. As an environmentalist Tilseth has organized events, film screenings and a film festival. Tilseth received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education in 1992 from UW-Stout, graduating with cum laude honors.

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