Ted and Wolf recovery

Ted and Wolf recovery

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
A fun conversation with retired Fish and Wildlife biologist, Ted Kuch as he reflected back on his colleague Ed Bangs who made a huge splash many years ago as the wolf recovery Coordinator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Wolves are an interesting thing. "One of my earliest assignments as an endangered species biologist,... young, wet behind the ears was to be the Idaho Wolf Recovery Project leader. When we reintroduced wolves, it was interesting. My friend Carter Niemeyer, some folks may know his name, he's written a fairly popular book on his experiences called Wolf. When I first came into the wolf world, he said, Ted, welcome to the wolf ego- system.

I mean, ego system. My experience, 30 years as an endangered species biologist, is the kind of folks that get involved in working on wolves, work on wolves because they love wolves.

That was not me. I loved biology. I love all species. I love elk, deer, wolves, trout. I love butterflies, you name it. I love it. Including wolves and grizzly bears. No more or less so than anything else. And so Ed, I think was similar to that. Suffice to say, I was really not interested in being a member of the wolf egosystem. In fact, after we reintroduced wolves, I got out of it and looked for other assignments because there's a human element that feels like babysitting. You know, we've got folks who are super wrapped up. They think wolves are a deity or a devil. And that's really not my thing. I'm more interested in biology. But Ed was the one who made it happen. Without it, it would not have happened. He had an incredible focus and drive and set of leadership skills that navigated through obtaining international permits and working through the State Department and working with states and the logistics of it all.

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