Coexistence Between Large Carnivores & Human Communities
In
the fall of 2001 Susan Clark, along with five of her graduate students
at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and several
NRCC research associates, initiated a study of large carnivore management
in western Wyoming.
As carnivores return to their original habitats, new conflicts are ignited between individuals that have very strong feelings about these animals and their impact on the surrounding landscape. The goal of this study was to find practical ways to improve management of carnivores through collaborative problem solving. All groups work together to explore differences, identify common interests, and plan for the future. We hoped to foster teamwork, new partnerships, and management solutions that will produce healthy populations of carnivores, reduce carnivore predation, and meet the needs of local communities.
We began
this project by looking at the interactions of wildlife, human communities,
and the policy systems that determine large carnivore management
in western Wyoming. We interviewed forty state and federal
agents, ranchers, hunting outfitters, scientists, and conservationists,
and we developed on-the-ground working groups to
find ways to mitigate conflicts between predators and livestock.
The results of this study were published in the 2005 book Coexisting with Large Carnivores: Lessons from Greater Yellowstone.