Every April the Wolf Recovery Foundation co-sponsors the North American Wolf Conference at Chico Hot Springs, MT. This years agenda looks very exciting. Time to register is now short.

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17th Annual North American Wolf Conference
Chico Hot Springs, Pray Montana. Final agenda.

Tuesday April 19th


8:00 - 8:15 Welcome: Introductions and announcements
Suzanne Stone, Defenders of Wildlife; and Kim Holt, Wolf Recovery Foundation

8:15 - 8:45 Yellowstone National Park wolf project status update
Doug Smith, Project Leader, Mammoth Hot Springs, WY

8:45 - 9:10 Wolf Recovery in Wyoming, outside of Yellowstone National Park, 1999-2004
Mike Jimenez, Project Leader, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Lander, WY

9:10 – 9:35 Gray wolf recovery in Idaho; 2004 Update
Jim Holyan, Curtis M. Mack, Carter Niemeyer, Jason Husseman, Michael Lucid, Rick Williamson, and Todd Grimm

9:35 – 10:00 State Management of Wolves in Idaho
Steve Nadeau

10:00 - 10:30 Wolf/elk interactions on state managed feed grounds and adjacent national forests in Wyoming
Mike Jimenez

10:30 - 11:00 Wolf Planning Oregon Style . . .The Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan
Mark Henjum and Amaroq Weiss

11:00 - 11:30 Film: The Return of the Wolf to Oregon

11:30 - 12:00 Restoration of the gray wolf in the northwestern United States
Edward E. Bangs, Joseph A. Fontaine, Michael D. Jimenez, Carter C. Niemeyer, Douglas W. Smith, Curt M. Mack, Val Asher, Carolyn Sime, Steve Nadeau

12:00 - 1:00 ~ Buffet Style Lunch ~

1:00 - 1:30 Ten years after: will the "real" wolf please stand?
Thomas R. Petersen

1:30 - 2:00 An Online System for Reporting Wolf Sightings
Michael K. Lucid, Steve Nadeau, Jason Husseman, Brent Thomas

2:00 - 2:30 Red wolf project update

2:30 - 3:00 A study of the Isle Royale gray wolves using non-invasive genetic methods
John P. Pollinger, Leah Vucetich, John A. Vucetich, Rolf O. Peterson, and Robert K. Wayne

3:00 - 3:30 ~ Break ~

3:30 - 4:00 Mexican gray wolves: challenges for the captive breeding program 2005
Pat Valentino and Daniel Moriarty

4:00 - 4:30 The life and times of wolf B-2
Jim Holyan and Curt Mack

4:30 - 5:15 Two decades of wolf restoration: challenges, changes and achievements
Carter Niemeyer

6:30 – 8:00 Wolf Reintroduction Reception Commemorating the 10th Anniversary
To be held in the main conference room

Wednesday April 20th


8:00 - 8:30 Relating foraging theory to wolf predation on livestock in the western U.S. and Canada: application and insight from theory to a conservation management problem
Timm Kaminski

8:30 - 9:00 From lemons to lemonade: the state of gray wolf conservation and management in Montana
Carolyn A. Sime

9:00 - 9:30 Are Idaho elk crying wolf?
J. Christopher Haney and Keith Lawrence

9:30 - 10:00 Assessing landscape factors that influence wolf predation on elk: lessons from Yellowstone’s Northern Range
Nathan Varley

10:00 - 10:25 ~ Break ~

10:25 - 11:05 Defining recovery goals for wolves in the western U.S. using dynamic models
Carlos Carroll and Mike Phillips

11:05 - 11:30 Economics of Wolf Recovery in Yellowstone: Ten Year Retrospective
John Duffield

11:30 - 12:00 Wolf-livestock cohabitation: conflict resolution in France
Pierre Zuppiroli and Lise Donnez

12:00 - 1:00 ~ Buffet Style Lunch ~

1:00 - 1:30 Wyoming’s wolf policy and delisting wolves in the northern Rockies
David Gaillard

1:30 - 2:00 Population and social structure of the Greater Yellowstone National Park Recovery Area for Gray wolf (Canis lupus) populations
Bridgett M. vonHoldt, John P. Pollinger, and Robert K. Wayne

2:00 - 2:30 ~ Break ~

2:30 – 3:00 Who speaks for wolves? The relationship between information and attitudes toward wolves
Jeremy T. Bruskotter

3:00 – 3:30 US Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement issues and discussion
Craig Tabor

3:30 – 4:30 Nonlethal techniques (outside, weather permitting)
Rick Williamson

4:30 – 5:00 Film: “To Kill a Wolf” by Tyler Duke

6:30 National Wildlife Federation hosted reception

7:30 Alpha Award Banquet Dinner
Alpha Award presented by Wolf Recovery Foundation

Keynote speaker: The role of ecology, history and humans in causing genetic patterns by Dr. Robert K. Wayne

Thursday April 21st


8:00 - 8:20 Management of wolf/livestock conflict in the northwestern United States
Ed Bangs

8:20 - 8:40 A decade of spending on wolf recovery: are compensation costs for livestock depredations fiscally well-behaved?
J. Christopher Haney

8:40 - 9:00 Range Rider project in the Madison Valley
Lane Adamson

9:00 – 9:30 Nature of the beast: conflict management and wolf conservation
Suzanne Asha Stone and Linda Thurston

9:30 - 9:45 ~ Break ~

9:45 – 11:45 Wolves and ranching panel discussion: compensation, conflict management and incentives programs
Hosted by Dr. Frank Casey, Director, Conservation Economics Program, Defenders of Wildlife
Lane Adamson, Madison Valley Ranchlands Group
Martin Davis, Paradise Valley rancher (invited)
Jan Holder, Erwin’s Country Beef, Arizona
Mike Stevens, Lava Lake Land and Livestock, Idaho
Suzanne Stone, Northwest Field Representative, Defenders of Wildlife, Boise, ID
Dave White, Natural Resource Conservation Service
Jennifer Miller Goethals, Wilburforce Foundation

11:45 – 12:00 Closing forum: What have we gained from this conference?
12:00 - 1:00

~ Buffet Style Lunch ~

Thank you and see you all next year. The next North American wolf conference will be held April 4 – 6, 2006 at Chico Hot Springs, Pray, Montana. Please note that abstract submissions are due by November 15, 2005. Please contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@defenders.org for more information.

Earth Day, Friday April 22nd
Yellowstone Wolf Field Trip with Doug Smith

For those registered, the Yellowstone field trip vans will depart Chico Hot Springs main lobby at 5 am and will return before noon. Sack breakfast and sack lunches are provided. Please dress for the weather (layers are best), wear good walking shoes, and bring your own binoculars, sun screen (hopefully needed), and water. If you have any questions, please contact Nathan Varley or Linda Thurston at 406-223-0713 or email Nathan@wolftracker.com.
 

There are a few slots still open, but you need to register by April 1 to avoid a late fee.

You can register securely on-line.

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