by Todd Wilkinson
Why are wolves such a big deal?
No, seriously, considering all of the existential seismic forces shaping life in the rural American West, why does the presence of Canis lupus arouse such often exaggerated passions, particularly when lobos actually come in contact with such few producers and so few cattle and sheep?
Right now, many mom and pop ranchers, living on the edge of economic viability, are far more threatened by the effects of Trump tariffs, high fuel prices owed to conflict in the Persian Gulf, ranch kids not wanting to continue the family business, rising costs of production, drought, disease in livestock, and more predation by coyotes and feral dogs than lobos.
This is not, in any way, an attempt to diminish the worries that food and fiber producers face; only that the West needs to have more honest discussions to help keep rural people on the land.
In the Company of Wolves: An American Journey is a new acclaimed film directed by Susan Kucera and narrated by celebrated actor and Paradise Valley, Montana resident Jeff Bridges. Â
Kucera’s film goes searching for answers about the vexing issues of wolf conservation. She interviewed a wide array of people who dwell in the landscape of human-wolf co-existence, including many from the Greater Yellowstone region. Her engagement of diverse voices was done with empathy, caring and dignity. Not long ago, I had a conversation with her and she said even she was surprised by the social complexities, certainly exacerbated by the current atmosphere of clashing ideologies.
On Saturday night, August 29, the film will be making its Bozeman debut at the historic Ellen Theatre. Afterwards, those who attend will be treated to a provocative discussion.
Watch a clip of the film below:
On stage, questions about the real and mythological wolf will be fielded by the noted conservation biologist and indigenous thought leader Cristina Eisenberg, range ecologist Matt Barnes who is on the front lines of wolf reintroduction in Colorado, and renowned science writer David Quammen and his wife, author Betsy Gaines Quammen.
I will be serving as humble discussion moderator, being both a writer-in-residence of the Jackson Hole-based Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative (NRCC)—primary sponsor of the evening— and, of course, as co-founder of Yellowstonian. Barnes is an NRCC research associate.
Wolves are certainly on the minds of agrarians and wildlife advocates. Especially timely is the the recent decision by political appointes on the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to set a new quota of allowing 300 wolves to be killed in the next hunting and trapping season when there is huge uncertainty about the actual size of the wolf population. Moreover, that figure doesn’t include the number of lobos killed by officials with the federal agency, Wildlife Services, that operates under the umbrella of the US Department of Agriculture.
Also keeping people at the edge of their chairs and weighing heavy is the precarious plight of Yellowstone’s historic Mollie’s Pack that has wandered eastward outside of the national park and state officials in Wyoming have claimed they are helpless in preventing pack members from being shot during the approaching hunting season.
That, of course, is untrue as humans call all the shots in determining whether wolves live or die.
Having been writing about wolves for four decades and hailing from the Upper Midwestern state—Minnesota— which has the largest wolf population in the Lower 48, I often wonder why we in the West can’t better come to answers on questions such as these:
Why, for example, is the West unable to have sensible, civil conversations about wolves based on actual facts, knowing that in Minnesota where there are roughly 2,500 to 3,000 wolves and more than 10,000 farms in the same area, the level of discourse is far less incendiary?
Why are wolves often singled out as scapegoats by politicians when most ranchers and farmers in the West actually have demonstrated a willingness and ability to co-exist?
Why are people allowed to get by with claiming big game animal populations are being devastated by wolves when it’s far from inaccurate?
Why have Coloradans struggled to learn the poignant lessons of living with wolves that we’ve benefitted from having in the Northern Rockies—and with far less in terms of being compensated for any losses caused by wolves?
Why do my friends in the media often ignore such facts in their reporting?
Each year, more wolves are killed in the states of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho than the total number of livestock losses. Far more money is spent on lethal control of wolves than the economic value of the domestic livestock animals taken by them. Domestic livestock in far greater magnitude dies from a long list of other causes than wolves.
In the Company of Wolves: An American Journey dives into the matter of how do we make a place for wolves on the landscape and better move forward together in ways that allow us to address the true existential threats facing ranchers and farmers who are important neighbors and stewards of the West we love. Of course, with the sound of Bridges’ voice guiding us through, the film is a delight and so, too, will the discussion be.
You can purchase tickets online here through the Ellen Theatre Box Office. If you have visitors or young people in your life, bring them along. The film will provide fodder for great dinner conversations afterward. Note: the event will not be livestreamed. In the Company of Wolves is available on cable streaming via AppleTV, Amazon Prime, GooglePlay, Fandango at Home, Vimeo and Hooplar
