Register for Zoominar: Will wolves ever again live in Utah?
Western Wildlife Conservancy is pleased to invite you to a free Zoom webinar.
When: December 7, 6:30 – 7:30 PM MST
Topic: Zoominar by Kirk Robinson, PhD; “Will wolves ever again live in Utah? – the legal and political landscape.”
Please register in advance for this webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing all you need to join the webinar on Dec. 7.
Kirk Robinson, PhD, is the founder and executive director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, founded the year after the reintroduction of the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995-6. It was predictable then that these populations would grow and that eventually dispersing wolves would venture into Utah and other states. Indeed, in the fall of 2002 wolf 253, aka Limpy, a male disperser from Yellowstone, was caught in a trap a mere 20 miles from Salt Lake City. At the request of the State of Utah, he was quickly flown back to northwest Wyoming by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There he founded his own pack before being gunned down soon after federal delisting of wolves in 2008.
Meanwhile, the Mexican gray wolf (lobo), a smaller cousin of the northern gray wolf, was reintroduced in 1998 to the Blue Range straddling the boundary between Arizona and New Mexico. Although the population of lobos is struggling, recently a young male named Anubis (m2520) transgressed the politically designated artificial boundary for Mexican wolf recovery by venturing north across I-40 in the direction of Grand Canyon and Utah. He was soon captured and returned south of I-40. As of this writing, he has once again crossed to the north side of I-40 and is on the move.
Also of note, Colorado will reintroduce the gray wolf to the west slope of Colorado by 2023. With wolves to the north, south, and east, it is inevitable that they will become established in Utah if allowed to. But will they be allowed to?
This zoominar is brought to you by Western Wildlife Conservancy, which works to preserve and protect native wildlife species through research, education, and advocacy with a focus on the needs of large carnivores. Learn more at https://westernwildlifeconservancy.org.
Kirk grew up in Bountiful, Utah between the shore of the Great Salt Lake and the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. As a child, he loved roaming the foothills looking for wild animals and visiting Farmington Bay Bird Refuge. Naturally, he fell in love with the land and its wildlife. Since those early years, he has spent a big part of his life exploring the deserts, rivers, and mountains of the West.
In the 1990s, Kirk and some friends from the Utah Wilderness Association began working to reform Utah wildlife governance and management to make it more democratic, ecologically sound, and compassionate. This led to the founding of a non-profit organization, Western Wildlife Conservancy, to address the issues. Of particular concern is the scientifically and ethically misguided way that native carnivores such as mountain lions, black bears, and gray wolves are treated. The vital role that these intelligent and magnificent creatures play in maintaining the health of ecosystems goes unappreciated, as evidenced by a long history of persecution. In addition to being Executive Director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk is on the Leadership Council of The Rewilding Institute and the Advisory Committee of Wildlife For All.
Prior to Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk was a Professor of Philosophy. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cincinnati and has taught at universities in Montana and Utah. In 2004, he graduated from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah with a certificate in Natural Resource Law to better equip him for work on wildlife conservation issues. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, x-c skiing, river trips, playing the acoustic guitar, and time spent with friends and with his dog Bingo.