Will Two Of The World’s Greatest Wildlife Conservation Success Stories Be Unwritten?

Chris Servheen and Doug Smith, both eminent scientific experts, say carnivore management in Western states and Congress threaten recovery of wolves and grizzlies

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’re a citizen who values professional stewardship of wildlife that belong to the public, and if one believes science and the public trust doctrine should guide decision-making, then it would be hard to find two people better versed in grizzly bears and wolves than Dr. Christopher Servheen and Dr. Douglas Smith. Between them they have around 85 years of field and high-profile experience advancing the conservation of Greater Yellowstone’s two most iconic species and animals closely identified with what we called the true wild West.

For four decades, Servheen was involved with reviving the fortunes of grizzlies in the Northern Rockies, 35 of those years spent as national grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. For roughly the same amount of time, Smith was involved with wolf management in the Upper Midwest and then became chief wolf scientist in Yellowstone National Park. Today, both are retired from government service and they allowed to speak more candidly about the status of both species and what trend-lines suggest for their future. Grizzly and wolf recovery have been hailed as two of the greatest wildlife comebacks in the history of conservation. In this essay written for Yellowstonian, they share their thoughts below. Note: Yellowstonian will be hosting both of these esteemed big picture thinkers at a pair of events in Bozeman and Missoula in October.  —Todd Wilkinson, Yellowtonian co-founder

by Dr. Christopher Servheen and Dr. Douglas Smith Read More…