Registration for the 2026 Symposium is now sold out! Can’t make it? Learn about our Video Highlights Package.
Schedule
The complete symposium schedule is now available! Download the full schedule here or by clicking the image below. Confirmed keynote and plenary presentations are also listed below.
Note: The Wolves and Wilderness Bus Tour leaves on Thursday at 6 a.m. The Symposium officially kicks off with the Welcome Reception and buffet dinner at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 22. The symposium closes on Sunday, October 25, at 1:30 p.m.
Panels
This panel will provide attendees with an understanding of varying degrees of stewardship, cultural and spiritual perspectives of Native/First Nations people toward gray wolves. Stewardship values differ between Native tribes, and this panel exposes that reality for attendees so that they have a more balanced appreciation of the complexities of wolf recovery as it relates to Natives. As a lead-in to the panel, an expert will speak to various issues regarding sovereignty, working relationships between the United States government agencies, individual states and the Tribes, and the need for both awareness and respect for Native values. Tribal representation is drawn from three geographical regions where wolf recovery has proceeded in the past fifty years. These include: Anishinaabe (Upper Great Lakes); Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (the Northern Rockies/Pacific Coast); and White Mountain Apache (Mexican wolf range). Each will present their Tribe’s status as a sovereign nation and their relationship to landscapes, whether a reservation, a ceded territory with certain granted rights, or both or neither. Each will also address whether the Tribe has stewardship agreements with the United States or state agencies and whether the Tribe engages in big game hunting enterprises and/or rearing livestock.
Panel participants: Sarah Rinkevich, Gage Hollingsworth, Richard Whitney and Kelly Applegate. Moderated by Peter David, IWC Board member
- Sarah E. Rinkevich received her Ph.D. in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment in 2012. Her research focused on a reintroduced population of Mexican gray wolves on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. She worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Endangered Species Conservation from 1993 to 2025. Dr. Rinkevich continues to work extensively with Tribes on conserving wildlife species on Tribal lands with an emphasis on Indigenous Knowledge.
- Gage Hollingsworth is the Wolf Biologist and Sensitive Species Coordinator for the White Mountain Apache Tribe. She serves as the biological lead for the Tribe’s involvement in the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program and oversees the conservation of several federally listed and Tribally sensitive species on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Gage has previously worked with multiple state and federal agencies on endangered species conservation and wildlife management programs.
- Richard Whitney is the Wildlife Division Senior Manager for the Colville Tribes with 28 years of experience in fish and wildlife management. Specializing in habitat restoration and species management, he is passionate about protecting and restoring native ecosystems. Richard has worked alongside a team that has successfully augmented/reintroduced numerous species to the homelands of the Colville Tribes including: Canada lynx, California bighorn sheep, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, pronghorn and bison, while proactively managing thriving populations of ungulates, forest carnivores, amphibians, and waterfowl.
- Kelly Applegate is the Commissioner of Natural Resources of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Kelly is a Tribal member, has worked for the Mille Lacs Band for 23 years and was appointed Commissioner of Natural Resources for a second 4-year term. As Commissioner, Kelly oversees a department of 40 staff who have a wide range of duties, including environmental and resource protection, cultural preservation, Tribal enrollment, and programs to enhance Tribal participation in harvesting under treaties. Kelly’s role as Commissioner is to protect the sacred gifts, including clean water and the environment that the Creator has provided to his people. Kelly has also been appointed to three boards in the energy and natural resources realm, including Governor Walz’s Advisory Council on Climate Change, Attorney General Keith Ellison’s Future of Minnesota Water Task Force, and the Critical Materials Recovery Task Force.
The panel of experts will provide information on three rare canids in North America: red wolves, Algonquin (eastern) wolves and Mexican wolves. Panelists will address status updates on population numbers, territory sizes and ecology as they relate to human-dominated landscapes. In addition, they will discuss present-day challenges with genetic diversity, human-wolf conflicts and the mitigation efforts to promote coexistence. Each panel member will review current collaborative efforts with groups such as private landowners, conservation organizations and international and Tribal entities.
Panel participants include: John Oakleaf, Brent Patterson, Joey Hinton and Emily Weller. Moderated by Kim Wheeler, Executive Director of the Red Wolf Coalition
- John Oakleaf grew up in Wyoming and graduated with a BS in Wildlife Management from the University of Wyoming in 1996. He worked with a wide variety of species in the Rocky Mountains before attending graduate school at the University of Idaho from 1999 to 2002. Since 2002, John has been with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) contributing to Mexican wolf recovery efforts in the southwestern United States and Mexico. While working at the USFWS, he completed his doctorate on Mexican wolves in 2022 at Texas Tech University.
- Brent Patterson has been a research scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and an adjunct professor at Trent University since 2001. His research focuses on the population dynamics of wolves and coyotes and their interactions with prey. He has published extensively on wolves, coyotes, deer, moose and caribou in Ontario and beyond. Whether it be for work or for pleasure, he enjoys spending as much time as possible roaming the backwoods by canoe or foot.
- Joey Hinton is the Senior Research Scientist at the Wolf Conservation Center’s Integrative Ecology and Coexistence Lab (WCC-IECL). His work focuses on the ecology, management, and conservation of mammalian carnivores, particularly red wolves and coyotes. Using field methods such as mark-recapture, radio tracking, and GIS, his research explores population dynamics, species interactions, and hybridization. In collaboration with the USFWS Red Wolf Recovery Program, he has investigated key factors influencing red wolf ecology and interactions with coyotes.
- Emily Weller has served as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program Coordinator for the past 10 years. She brings 23 years of experience with the Service, spanning endangered species conservation, recovery planning, and program management. In her current role, she works across federal and state agencies, Tribes, conservation organizations, scientists, and communities, to advance Red Wolf recovery while helping lead the program toward a more collaborative and durable approach to recovery.
Colorado’s gray wolf reintroduction began in December 2023. Panelists will provide an update on the progress of this restoration work. They will deliver a historical perspective and summarize the reintroduction efforts, comparing expectations to reality on the ground. Panelists will touch on conflict management procedures, agency mitigation efforts, relationships with First Nation Tribal authorities and educational efforts designed and disseminated to address citizen concerns.
Panel participants include: Gary Skiba, Eric Odell and Courtney Vail. Moderated by Doug Smith, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Yellowstone National Park (retired)
- Gary Skiba is the Wildlife Program Manager for the San Juan Citizens Alliance and Board Member for the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project. Gary grew up in western Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh. He received a B.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of New Hampshire in 1978 and an M.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University in 1981. He served as a biologist with the Colorado Division of Wildlife from 1986 through 2021. Gary currently is the Wildlife Program Manager for the San Juan Citizens Alliance, a regional environmental group based in Durango.
- Eric Odell retired from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) after 26 years in a variety of capacities associated with the establishment and protection of native nongame carnivore species to the state including wolverine, Canada lynx and black-footed ferrets. He was the Wolf Conservation Program Manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. For the last six years of his CPW career, he led the development of the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan and the implementation of the reintroduction of wolves to the state. He retired from the agency in August 2026.
- Courtney Vail is a wildlife biologist and social scientist who has worked within the animal welfare and conservation field for over 30 years, spearheading domestic and international policies and campaigns to protect terrestrial and marine wildlife through positions within the government and nonprofit sectors. She currently serves as Board Chair of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project, where she is helping to restore gray wolves to their rightful home in Colorado by supporting western livelihoods, building community, and fostering social tolerance.
Plenary Speakers
John Vucetich will discuss the intent of the law as it pertains to gray wolves as well as which federal agency or agencies are involved. He will identify the regions in the United States where recovery plans have been developed as well as the goals of those plans and whether or not they have been met. John will talk about court challenges and Congressional intervention in the Northern Rockies. He will cover the challenges of applying the ESA in regions where wolves have been restored. He will discuss if there are other areas of the U.S. where wolves could be restored, what resources are needed and what criteria, both biological and political, are necessary to effect restoration of wolves. Introduction by Rolf Peterson, Research Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University.
Introduction by Rolf Peterson, Research Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University
Presenter:
- John Vucetich is a Distinguished Professor from Michigan Technological University. He has led and co-led research on the wolves of Isle Royale for the past three decades. He is the author of more than 200 papers and two books on various aspects of carnivore conservation. Vucetich has testified before subcommittees of both houses of Congress on wolf conservation and the Endangered Species Act. He is frequently sought by governments and NGOs around the world for insight on wolf conservation.
Cecilia Di Bernardi will give an update on the change in distribution of gray wolves in the European subcontinent over the past 20 years. She will talk about how wolves have proliferated and the speed at which this has occurred. Cecilia will discuss wolf-human conflicts regarding livestock and big game animals as well as the issue of human safety. Additionally, she will describe the European Union’s and individual countries’ legal standing and policies for managing wolves.
Presenter:
- Cecilia Di Bernardi is a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and a member of the Scandinavian Wolf Research Project SKANDULV. Her research on large carnivore ecology and management integrates molecular tools, GPS telemetry, and long-term demographic data to investigate feeding ecology, space use, and fitness of large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes. She recently co-led, together with the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE), a Europe-wide assessment documenting the continuing recovery of wolves across Europe.
Dan MacNulty will present what his research has shown about Yellowstone’s trophic cascade. He will provide a brief review of early examinations that led to conclusions of cascading ecological alterations based on wolf-elk predation dynamics. He will deliver a primer on the latest results from his group about the causes (wolves vs other predators, including humans) and consequences (magnitude of vegetation recovery, especially aspen) of the Yellowstone cascade. Introduction by Dick Thiel, IWC Board member.
Presenter:
- Dan MacNulty is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University. He earned his PhD in Ecology and MS in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Minnesota and a BA in Environmental Science from the University of Colorado Boulder. Since beginning his career as a volunteer on the Yellowstone Wolf Project in 1995, he has studied Yellowstone wolves to advance understanding of predator–prey interactions and the ecological consequences of predator recovery.
Banquet
L. David Mech is an Emeritus Senior Research Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota. Dave holds a B.S. degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. and an honorary doctorate degree from Purdue University. He has published 500+ articles and 13 books. Dave has studied wolves in Minnesota, Isle Royale, Alaska, Yellowstone, and Ellesmere Island, Canada. He chaired the IUCN Wolf Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union from 1978 to 2013 and is founder and board member of the International Wolf Center.
Doug Smith has studied wolves and other wildlife for 45 years. He came to Yellowstone National Park in 1994 to work as a project biologist on gray wolf reintroduction, and he served as Project Leader for the Yellowstone Wolf Project from 1997 to 2022. Doug received a B.S. degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Idaho in 1985, a Master’s in biology from Michigan Technological University in 1988, and a PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1997. Prior to Yellowstone, Doug studied under Dr. Rolf Peterson and Dr. L. David Mech. He worked for Rolf Peterson at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan (1979-1994) and for Dave Mech in northeastern Minnesota (1983). He has authored numerous scientific publications, been featured in television specials and interviews and has written and edited several books. Doug has received numerous awards, most recently the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor of the U.S. Department of the Interior presented by the Secretary of the Interior.
Steven H. Fritts was employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 32 years. His Ph.D. is from the University of Minnesota where he was Dave Mech’s first graduate student. Later he was hired by Dave, then served as Dave’s supervisor and has been a long-time friend. Steve did much of the preparatory work for recovery of wolves to Yellowstone National Park and Idaho, developed the overall reintroduction design and led the capture and shipment efforts in Alberta and British Columbia.
Movie
“A Good Wolf” is a feature-length documentary film that follows three groups of Alaskans as they find diverging ways to navigate a volatile controversy surrounding a single tract of land adjacent to Mount McKinley (Denali) National Park—a struggle between state and federal authorities, fur trappers and wildlife advocates, and competing human interests on public lands. Hanging in the balance are some of America’s most iconic animals and wild places.
Introduction and Q&A:
- Bridget Borg is a wildlife biologist for the National Park Service, Denali National Park and Preserve. Bridget grew up exploring the fields of rural Minnesota, establishing her love of the outdoors early on. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Bridget’s career took her to New Mexico, the Florida Keys and eventually to Alaska where she found her true sense of home. Bridget received her PhD from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Biological Sciences. She completed her dissertation on wolves in Denali and went on to lead the wolf and caribou research programs. As lead researcher, she oversees cutting-edge research ranging from population dynamics to genetics and behavior. She emphasizes building collaborations and improving outreach and strives to help people make connections to wildlife and wildlands. Bridget enjoys exploring the land with her two daughters, husband, and team of sled dogs.
- Ramey Newell is a filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist based in British Columbia, Canada. Her award-winning films have screened at numerous film festivals and in galleries, museums and other art spaces throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia. Her photographic work has been exhibited at venues such as The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver, Gallery 44 in Toronto, and the New York Hall of Science. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia.
Keynote Address
Tom Gable will review the age-old controversy surrounding wolves and the perceived and real impacts they have on recreational deer hunting opportunities. He will give a brief historical perspective of the early efforts undertaken to understand wolf predation on deer by International Wolf Center founder, Dr. L. David Mech and others. Tom will then focus on new insights and the longstanding attempt to tease apart how wolf predation and winters affect deer and deer hunting. Finally, this presentation will explore the ways in which messaging of scientific investigations can reach broader audiences, including deer hunters. Introduction by Brian Roell, Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Presenter:
- Tom Gable is the project lead for the Voyageurs Wolf Project, and he has been studying wolves in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem (GVE) of northern Minnesota for over a decade. Tom’s research is focused on understanding the predation behavior, population dynamics, and reproductive ecology of wolves in the GVE. Although Tom studies many aspects of wolf ecology, he is particularly fascinated with wolf-beaver dynamics, and much of his work has focused on untangling the relationship between this apex predator and ecosystem engineer.