Not long ago, packs of gray wolves roamed freely across so-called North America from the grassy prairies of Florida to the snow-capped peaks of Colorado. Alongside a growing agricultural industry and settler expansion West, the U.S. government marshalled a perverse, ruthless campaign to systematically eradicate the gray wolf, a symbol of the “untamed” wild, driving this keystone species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s, the slow process of wolf recovery has begun, but the gray wolf remains endangered by human activity and ensnared in a dark mythic past. On this week’s episode, we speak with Mike Phillips, a conservationist and longtime ally of gray wolves, who gives voice to these great ecological engineers and their elemental place within the balance of life. 

Mike Phillips has served as the Executive Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund and advisor to the Turner Biodiversity Divisions since he co-founded both with Ted Turner in June 1997. Prior to that Mike had worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service since 1981. During his employment with the Department of Interior Mike served as the leader of historic efforts to restore red wolves to the southeastern US and gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park. He also conducted important research on the impacts of oil and gas development on grizzly bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, predation costs for gray wolves in Alaska, black bear movements in northeastern North Carolina, and dingo ecology in Australia. In 2006, Mike was elected to the Montana legislature where he served as the representative for House District 66 in Bozeman until 2012 when he was elected to the Montana Senate.

Beyond the prospect of gray wolf recovery, Ayana and Mike’s conversation touches on the history of cattle ranching and grazing rights, trophic cascades and the vitality of death, the violent lineages of conservation, and ecological restoration as an antidote to species loss. From within the story of the gray wolf emerges a vital question around our coexistence with wild, self-willed nature. We are haunted by their resounding howl and heed their call to relinquish power and honor the cyclical turning of our earthly existence.

♫ Music by Mac Demarco

Take Action & Learn More

To learn more about gray wolf restoration efforts in western Colorado, check out Rocky Mountain Wolf Project. 

Please consider making a donation to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund to support their efforts in bringing a ballot measure in 2020 to restore the gray wolf to the great wildlands of western Colorado. 

Episode References

Ayana’s references: The Song of the Dodo (David Quammen), How Wolves Change Rivers (2014), Mountain & Prairie Podcast: Mike Phillips - Audacious Goals, Relentless Action, 

Mike’s references: A Sand County Almanac & “Thinking Like a Mountain” (Aldo Leopold)