Montana's Rocky Mountain Front is a hotbed for conflicts between grizzly bears and people. As bear populations recover, what does that mean for the people who live and work alongside them?
In our latest episode of Working Wild University, we meet Blackfeet rancher and tribal elder Joe Kipp and rancher Trina Jo Bradley, who know firsthand the challenges of raising livestock, raising families, and making a living in grizzly country.
From Blackfeet traditions of living with grizzlies to the economic and personal costs of living with large predators, their stories reveal the challenges of sharing a landscape with recovering grizzly populations - and the difficult questions of where to draw the line.
Show notes
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Topics discussed: Rocky Mountain Front, Blackfeet Nation, Indigenous perspectives on grizzly bears, human safety, livestock depredation, economic and emotional costs of living with grizzlies, drought and wildlife conflict, livestock loss compensation, tribal land ownership and funding challenges, conflict reduction and wildlife management
Featuring: Joe Kipp (Blackfeet rancher, tribal elder and former chair of the Blackfeet Nation Stockgrowers Association), Trina Jo Bradley (rancher, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group and chair of the Montana Conflict Reduction Consortium)
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Cover image: Fresh grizzly tracks on Joe Kipp's ranch. Credit: Zach Altman
Working Wild University is a production of Western Landowners Alliance and Dr. Jared Beaver of Montana State University Extension, and a proud part of Natural Resources University podcast network.
Hosted by Hallie Mahowald and Jared Beaver; Produced by Matt Collins and Zach Altman; Editing by Kathleen Shannon and Zach Altman; Executive producers: Louis Wertz, Jared Beaver, Hallie Mahowald and Erik Kalsta.
