Meet the Filmmakers

Rachel Tilseth Producer/Director/Writer

Rachel is an art educator, freelance writer, producer/director, environmentalist, and was a DNR volunteer Winter wolf tracker.

She has a Bachelor of Science in Art Education in 1992 from UW-Stout, graduating with cum laude honors. Rachel’s first teaching job was on Pine Ridge Reservation in Kyle, South Dakota, where she learned about indigenous people. Rachel believes an art education helps students to become better consumers. Rachel is a fine artist who emphasizes watercolor and oil painting. Rachel brings her knowledge of design principles to her work as a documentary film director.

Since high school, Rachel has been an environmentalist and participated in the first Earth Day in 1971. In the 1990s, she participated in the sulfate mines protests alongside activists John Trudell and Walter Bresette at the Protect The Earth Festival near Hayward, Wisconsin.

Rachel became involved in Wisconsin’s Wolf Recovery Program. She became a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Volunteer Winter Wolf/Carnivore Tracker in the year 2000 and, as a result, learned about the lives of wild gray wolves.

In 2011, wolves were delisted, and she worked to draw attention to the plight of Gray wolves during the three years Wisconsin held wolf hunts. Rachel garnered the attention of the press to bring public awareness to Wisconsin’s wolf hunt, especially the regulations that allowed dogs to be used to track and trail wolves. Rachel made it known that Wisconsin quite literally throws dogs to wolves.

In 2011, She started a grassroots Facebook Page and a blog named after the county where she tracked wolves in Wolves of Douglas County, Wisconsin (WODCW). WODCW became known nationally and internationally. Rachel had editorials published in several Wisconsin newspapers. Silent Sports Magazine is the latest to publicize her articles.

In 1999, Rachel compiled a story proposal about the volunteer Winter Wolf Tracking Program and submitted it to the National Geographic Television Channel. Although the proposal wasn’t accepted, she received a telephone call from them to explain why. At the time, the National Geographic Channel was busy starting a global network and tied up all its resources to get it off the ground. Rachel continued working to draw attention to Wisconsin’s Gray wolf and wrote to Dr. Jane Goodall in Tanzania, Africa, about the recovery program. To her surprise and delight, she received three handwritten postcards from Dr. Jane Goodall.

Rachel put together three film screenings and a film festival to bring education and awareness about Wisconsin’s wolf hunt. Rachel continues to be a participant in monitoring wolf populations in Wisconsin.

Rachel has produced a series of live-streamed broadcasts called People & Wolves Talk Show in both the USA & Italy. And several community radio talk shows. In 2019, WODCW became a film company. Rachel’s latest endeavor is a film that started in 2022, People & Wolves: a Wisconsin Story of Coexistence, and is now finished.

Manish Bhatt, Co-Producer

Manish assists the producer with back-office functions related to the film. Manish has assisted with location shoots and participated in media interviews. Manish interviewed Patrick Durkin. Manish has been in media interviews related to the film.  Manish Bhatt is a conservationist, writer, lawyer, and education leader. He holds a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from George Washington University, a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from St. Thomas University School of Law, and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.  

Having grown up in a rural New York Catskill Mountains community, Manish is committed to preserving wild spaces and wildlife. As an officer and Judge Advocate in the United States Coast Guard, Manish deployed in support of cleanup efforts following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. He led section 7 consultations with federal agency partners under the Endangered Species Act.  He also worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency and State Historic Preservation Officers to ensure compliance with marine environmental laws and regulations. Manish has served as a teacher and Head of School and believes in experiential and outdoor education. As a school leader, he worked closely with fundraising partners and grant providers to ensure student success and curricular development. 

Manish is a feature and investigative writer for the Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin Films. To each article, he brings deep curiosity and commitment to objectivity. As a lifelong learner, Manish seeks data and trend analysis as a part of his reporting, in addition to interviewing experts in wolf biology.  Manish has co-hosted, alongside Rachel Tilselth, WORT Radio’s Access Hour to share wolf science and information with the listening audience. 

Michael Waasegiizhig Price Co-Producer 
Michael Waasegiizhig Price is the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Specialist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission in Odanah, WI. He is Anishinaabe and an enrolled member of Wikwemikong First Nations, Canada. His role as TEK Specialist involves integrating Anishinaabe language, cultural perspectives, and ceremony into research methods and resource management to make science more culturally relevant. Michael received his Master of Science in Forestry from the University of Montana and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. He also received his Certificate of Ojibwe Language Instruction from Bemidji State University.