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 is 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 hope 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 have interviewed forty state and federal agents, ranchers, hunting outfitters, scientists, and conservationists, and we are currently developing on-the-ground working groups to find ways to mitigate conflicts between predators and livestock.

For further information:
Clark, T., & S. Primm. 1996. Making sense of the policy process for carnivore conservation. Conservation Biology 10(4): 1036-1045
Clark, T. 1998. Improving large carnivore conservation: lessons from grizzly bear management in Greater Yellowstone. Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative. Jackson, WY.
Clark, T.W., M.B. Rutherford, & D. Casey. 2005. Coexisting with Large Carnivores: Lessons from Greater Yellowstone. Island Press: Washington D.C.