Call them thieves, opportunists, bullies or just hungry meat eaters. However you label them, the presence of wolves on the same landscape not only forces their mountain lion apex predator rivals to leave meals behind but to entirely change their diets. 

New research draws on nine years of GPS data from collared wolves and mountain lions combined with field investigations of nearly 4,000 potential wolf or mountain lion kills in Yellowstone National Park. 

“When one carnivore steals a kill from another carnivore, this is a behavior that is called kleptoparasitism. So, it’s theft and it only benefits one species,” said Wes Binder, lead author of the study and Ph.D. student at Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “But what’s interesting about wolf and cougar interactions is that cougars are very proficient at hunting themselves. So, they don’t need to play this game of scavenging from other large carnivore kills because they can create those kill sites themselves...but wolves are very proficient at kleptoparasitism.” 

Binder said since elk numbers in Yellowstone declined over the last three decades, mountain lions shifted their focus from elk to deer.  

“Because deer are smaller, cougars eat them faster because it gives wolves less time to find a cougar sitting on its kill so kleptoparasitism is tied to the diet of cougars. If there’s no escape terrain nearby, then cougars run the risk of mortality from wolves in those places,” said Binder. 

The study builds on decades of research showing that wolves dominate interactions because they live in packs, while cougars are solitary. 

Click here to read the Oregon State news release and see a video as well as other imagery. 

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Wes Binder/Justin Duffy/Oregon State University) 

From moose, black bears and elk to small mammals, waterfowl and songbirds, Michigan is home to a plethora of all shapes and sizes of animals. It is also home to more than 10 million residents, the majority of which recognize hunting and the role it plays in conservation. 

A new survey conducted by Responsive Management shows 75 percent of residents agree that hunting is an important wildlife management tool, and 64 percent agree that hunters and anglers are concerned about protecting wildlife.  

That approval is even higher thanks to an outreach effort called the Michigan Wildlife Council, which was created in 2013. It introduced a $1 surcharge on all Michigan hunting and fishing licenses to fund a comprehensive media-based public information program promoting the role of hunters and anglers in conservation and educating the public about the benefits of hunting and fishing. 

Among residents who saw or heard messages from the Michigan Wildlife Council in the previous six months, approval of legal, regulated hunting rose to 82 percent, compared to 70 percent among those who had not seen the messages. Similarly, approval of fishing reached 91 percent among those familiar with Council messaging, compared to 79 percent among those not aware of the messages.  

These results highlight the impact of proactive communications that help people better understand how hunting and fishing support Michigan’s natural resources, economy and outdoor traditions. At a time when many states are facing challenges maintaining public support for hunting and fishing, Michigan’s experience demonstrates the power of strategic outreach based on a solid foundation of data. 

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources) 

It is an ongoing dilemma in northeast Oregon. Wolves developed a sweet tooth for cattle east of Baker City near the Idaho border. 

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife authorized federal agents with the U.S. Wildlife Services to kill three wolves from a pack that continues to prey on livestock. That comes after state or federal agents lethally removed four wolves over the first two months of 2026. 

After removing the breeding male, ODFW monitored the movement of three other wolves, one of which wears a tracking collar, including the breeding female and two of her pups. The animals spent their days in the forest nearby but returned to the valley during the night. 

“They’ve been very, very consistent,” Brian Ratliff, ODFW biologist, told the Baker City Herald. “We’re trying to break that pattern.” 

In 2023, the pack attacked livestock at least 10 times in the same region. Authorities killed six of the wolves including the breeding female, breaking up the pack. However, the breeding male found a new breeding female and livestock depredations began again. 

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Below is a news release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. In October 2025, the Sierra County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency due to increasing public safety concerns linked to the growing wolf population. Six months later, wildlife officials lethally removed four wolves for chronic livestock depredation. 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has started a process to evaluate California’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program (WLCP).  

On Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, CDFW held an initial meeting with a group of stakeholder representatives previously involved in the development of the wolf-livestock program. 

This meeting marked the first step in a broader public process that will gather input and perspectives from key stakeholder groups involved in livestock production, wolf conservation, research and government agencies, as well as from the public in the coming year. This process will include a rancher survey to garner input, as well as a series of rancher workshops and public meetings to gather a broad base of input on any adjustments to potential future funding, if appropriated by the Legislature and Administration. 

This first meeting focused on how best to provide a public process to evaluate potential adjustments to future applications and funding opportunities. This effort relates to potential future WLCP funding, if appropriated by the California legislature and Administration. 

CDFW recognizes that the WLCP affects a wide range of interests and will work in the coming months to ensure a broad swath of ranchers, communities, and interested parties are able to provide their input. As always, CDFW welcomes input on current and potential future programs at any time at wolfcompensation@wildlife.ca.gov. 

Participants in this initial meeting included representatives from the California Farm Bureau, California Cattlemen’s Association, Western Landowners Alliance, California Wool Growers Association, Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), University of California Cooperative Extension, University of California, Berkeley, Defenders of Wildlife, the California Wolf Foundation, the California Center for Biological Diversity, Working Circle, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

CDFW will continue working with these groups, as well as ranchers, and communities as the evaluation process moves forward. 

Since its inception as a pilot program in 2021, CDFW’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program has paid out more than $3.5 million to livestock producers whose operations have been impacted by the return of gray wolves to California. 

For more information about the evaluation process, timeline and opportunities to participate, please visit CDFW’s Wolf Livestock Compensation Grants webpage. 

(Photo credit: California Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Colorado is under siege. A well-known anti-hunting and animal rights organization has its crosshairs firmly set on the Centennial State with a goal to forcefully change the state’s proven wildlife management system and alter the lives and lifestyles of its citizens. 

The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) is an out-of-state litigant environmental organization based in Tucson, Arizona. Of the 208 employees listed on its website, at least 89 personnel or 43 percent of the entire staff are listed as attorneys, fellows, paralegals or with other legal designations. CBD prides itself as a lawsuit factory. It uses the courtroom to boost membership and bolster its budgetary bottom line through the payment of attorney fees (taxpayer dollars). Over the first 76  days of 2026 alone, CBD announced the filing of 42 lawsuits, petitions or complaints after filing more than 150 legal actions in 2025. 

Micromanaging wolf management 

Unfortunately, Coloradans are getting to know the CBD playbook all too well. Among its latest moves, announced on March 9, 2026, is a petition that would order Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to ensure any potential conflicts are prevented or mitigated and that the lethal removal of wolves is a “last resort.” It also requires “written, evidenced-based determinations” take place before any wolves are killed and that “predation evidence would be independent” from any claims for compensation.  

Ballot box biology – Colorado’s forced wolf introduction 

It’s no secret that Colorado has a wolf problem, and CBD plays a significant role in it! Ever since a 2020 ballot initiative, strongly supported by CBD which passed by less than two percent at the polls, the forced introduction of wolves has been messy at best or at worst, a failure according to many Coloradans. Some of the wolves introduced into Colorado were transplanted from a pack already known to kill livestock in Oregon. Those behaviors persisted at their new Colorado home.  

Since December 2023, CPW confirmed that wolves killed 57 cattle, 24 sheep, five working dogs and one llama across 10 counties as the wolf population spreads. Those numbers do not account for unconfirmed or unreported livestock depredations.  

Budget-breaking wolf-livestock payouts  

In 2025, the CPW Commission approved more than $700,000 in wolf depredation claims, more than doubling the amount budgeted by the state, according to the Coloradoan, after doling out $608,000 in 2024. As of early 2026, 14 of 25 wolves introduced into Colorado from British Columbia and Oregon died, including one that CPW intentionally removed in 2025 for  chronic livestock depredation. Given the current status, both everyday Coloradans and even politicians have called for the introduction process to stop. 

“No” is not an option 

CBD wants what it wants, no matter the process and no matter the impact on anything or anyone else. In 2022, having no success through other efforts, a group of anti-hunting organizations supported a bill from four lawmakers to ban the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and Canada lynx. (Note: hunting lynx across the Lower 48 was against the law then and remains that way today.) Due to a tidal wave of immediate opposition in the form of thousands of emails from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation members and other outdoorsmen and women, three bill sponsors then  bowed out. At its committee hearing, members rejected it on a 4-1 vote with the lone sponsor being the only vote in favor. 

In late 2023, a new political action committee headed up by a future CBD staffer, filed for a citizen initiative that again called for a ban on hunting mountain lions, bobcats and Canada lynx. Proponents gathered enough qualified signatures to place it on the November 2024 ballot. On Election Day, more than 1.6 million Coloradans decisively rejected it, including majorities in 59 of Colorado’s 64 counties.  

On that same ballot, but only for voters in Denver, was another measure supported by the same extremist crowd. Ordinance 308 sought to ban the sale of new fur products within city limits. Fifty-eight percent of Denver voters rejected it. 

Wild Fur Ban 

In March 2026, the same activist-turned-CBD-staffer behind the failed 2024 mountain lion hunting ban ignored the will of the people and pushed a petition before the CPW Commission. The entire roster of commission members have been appointed by Governor Polis, who is known for his personal and familial animal rights activism. The petition called for a ban on the sale, barter or trade of wild fur. Despite an overflow crowd of hunters, ranchers, outdoorsmen and women, and five dozen people who  spoke during the five-hour hearing to urge commission members to support CPW’s biologists, wildlife professionals and its new director who recommended the measure be rejected, the commission ignored its own wildlife agency and leadership by citing social science and personal  experience, approving the petition with a 6-4 vote during an overly confusing motion process. 

As bewilderment and unanswered questions lingered at the commission meeting, several legislators a mere 13 miles away at the Capitol, introduced a bill – supported by CBD and a group of other environmental organizations – to ban the trapping of beavers on public lands. And did so with a confusing approach by framing it as wildfire mitigation and forest management legislation. (Fortunately, the Colorado House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee killed the bill on a 10-3 vote). 

Just another day at the office for the Center of Biological Diversity. 

Hunt 2 Conserve is firmly committed to fighting extreme organizations and efforts like these that seek to limit hunting and greatly curtail conservation.

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more  information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

A $2 billion budget deficit dominated Washington’s legislative session, and while many headlines focused on income taxes on Washingtonians, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) took a $10 million budget hit. This comes on top of a $3 million cut in 2025 despite a 38 percent increase in hunting and fishing license fees. The new cuts include $1.9 million from the wildlife program, $1 million from biodiversity, $1 million from administration, $1.5 million from business services and $580,000 from land maintenance. And at least 11 warden positions will remain vacant.  

Of note, the session was also met with the ongoing fallout from the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission's rejection of WDFW's own scientific recommendation to downlist gray wolves, as well as several threats to lawful firearms.  

• HB 1311 - Implementing WDFW's gray wolf recommendation. We strongly supported WDFW’s proposed downlisting of wolves from state endangered to state sensitive during the most recent wolf status review. The Washington Wildlife Commission rejected that recommendation, so this bill was introduced to implement the change legislatively. The bill failed. 

• SB 5960 and HB 2221 - Restoring and sustaining healthy ungulate populations. These bills would direct WDFW to initiate wolf and other predator management where ungulate populations were below objective. Wolves are recovered in Washington and across much of the U.S. and should be managed in balance with other wildlife. While we agreed with the intent of these bills, we urged thoughtful caution — managing wildlife by statute is not optimal and should be a last resort when the commission process breaks down. This legislation failed. 

• HB 1442 - Wolf-livestock conflict and local collaboration. This bill would provide WDFW with greater flexibility to work with local governments on gray wolf management. This bill failed. 

• SB 5203 - Wildlife crossings and habitat connectivity. Establishing a state fund for wildlife crossings and corridors will help Washington leverage federal dollars and elevate connectivity as a management priority — a direct benefit for elk, mule deer and other wide-ranging species. This bill failed in the House. 

• SB 5443 - Charitable fundraising modernization. We joined Ducks Unlimited and a broad coalition of nonprofits in supporting this bill to modernize charitable gambling laws and remove outdated restrictions that limit conservation fundraising. These laws have not kept pace with how organizations operate today, and the restrictions directly hamper RMEF's ability to raise conservation dollars in Washington. This legislation was killed. 

• HB 1685 - Wildlife commission restructuring. This bill would have stripped the wildlife commission of its authority and made the WDFW director a direct political appointee of the governor. This was a response to the commission’s well-documented disfunction in recent years. This bill failed. We encourage Governor Ferguson to restore the commission by appointing qualified, moderate commissioners who understand their mandate to sustainably manage Washington's fish and wildlife. 

• SB 5099 - Additional requirements for licensed firearms dealers. Federal Firearms License holders are among the most regulated and law-abiding businesses in the state. The prior session already imposed significant new burdens that are driving smaller dealers out of business before those rules have even taken full effect. This bill would layer on additional regulations. Gun dealers are not the problem. Criminals are the problem. Weakening the firearms retail sector has real consequences for conservation: Pittman-Robertson excise tax revenues generated by firearms and ammunition sales are foundational to wildlife funding in Washington, and their erosion threatens organizations like RMEF. This bill failed. 

• HB 1386 - New tax on firearms, parts and ammunition. We opposed this bill imposing a new state tax on firearms, firearm parts and ammunition. A state tax stacked on top of the existing federal Pittman-Robertson framework does not direct dollars to wildlife conservation. Instead, it simply burdens lawful purchasers and further strains the commercial ecosystem that conservation funding depends on. This bill did not pass. 

• SB 5098 - Weapons restrictions in public buildings and parks. We opposed this bill restricting the possession of weapons on state and local public properties, including county fairgrounds. This could have prohibited conservation banquets often held at these facilities. This bill failed. 

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Joe Mabel)

New Mexico's legislature wrapped up its 30-day budget session on February 19th. Legislation relevant big game, wildlife management and conservation funding are highlighted. The session produced meaningful wins for sportsmen and women, and one significant victory in defeating threat to lawful firearms commerce. 

• SB 104 — Fish and Game Commissioner removal process. This bill passed and was signed into law to establish a formal process for removing Fish and Game commissioners, including public notice requirements, cause standards, and a pathway for commissioners to contest removal in the state Supreme Court. Strong and consistent commission leadership is essential to sound wildlife management — a principle we support. We have seen in Washington and Colorado what happens when commission appointments go sideways. Solidifying this process brings clarity to a commission that has seen significant turnover in recent years and highlights the importance of governors appointing serious and qualified candidates. 

• HB 2 — Annual budget with key conservation appropriations. The omnibus budget bill that passed included $70 million for public land access, investment and recovery; $15 million for the River Stewardship Program; and $2 million for aquatic species and fish hatcheries. These investments support the landscape-level conservation that benefits elk and other wildlife across New Mexico. 

• SB 17 — Restrictions on firearms dealers and ban on modern sporting rifles. This bill died but would have imposed significant new burdens on Federal Firearms License holders and banned the sale of modern sporting rifles and standard capacity magazines. It stalled in the House and died at session adjournment. As we have noted in other states, undermining lawful firearms commerce has direct consequences for conservation — Pittman-Robertson excise tax revenues generated by firearms and ammunition sales are foundational to wildlife funding. Some versions of this bill have been introduced in each of the last eight sessions, and it is expected to return in future sessions. 

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Jim Bowen)

How did the Utah deer cross the road? The hope is safely.

On March 4, 2026, the Utah Legislature passed a bill that sets aside $2 million for a wildlife crossing and fencing fund. Structures and fencing help funnel elk, deer and other wildlife to overpasses and underpasses that help them find safe passage across busy roadways and highways.

A 2019 study showed there were more than 2,700 vehicle-wildlife crashes annually that cost more than $138 million. More recent research shows 1 in 251 Utah drivers will hit an animal on state roads in 2025-2026.

There are more than 60 wildlife crossings across Utah including dedicated crossings or existing culverts. 

The bill goes to Utah Governor Spencer Cox for his signature.

About Hunt 2 Conserve

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

(Photo credit: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)

At a time when snowpack is below normal across much of the West prompting concerns of wildfire danger and a lack of spring runoff, a new study shows more refined forest management practices can optimize for both wildfire resilience and snowpack. 

Forest managers currently use controlled burning and the selective felling of trees as ways to thin forests. Both methods remove fuel and help return tree stands to historical conditions — but less is known about their impact on snowpack. 

To address the knowledge gap, a team of researchers at the University of Washington (UW) and The Nature Conservancy embarked on a multiyear study of snowpack along Cle Elum Ridge, an area of the eastern Cascade Mountains in the headwaters of the Yakima River Basin. The group experimentally thinned a 150-acre area of the forest to varying degrees. Then, it measured the amount and duration of snowpack during the winter of 2023 and compared it to a previous winter before the forest treatment.  

The results were encouraging. Forest thinning efforts increased snowpack by 30 percent on north-facing slopes and by 16 percent on south-facing slopes. Thinning aided snowpack the most where it created a patchwork of gaps in the forest rather than a more even density; gaps of 4-16 meters in diameter seemed to be the “sweet spot” for snow.  

“At its core, this research shows that reducing wildfire risk and protecting water resources don’t have to be competing goals,” said lead author Cassie Lumbrazo, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alaska who completed this work as a UW doctoral student. “That’s genuinely good news for a place facing both growing wildfire threats and increasing water vulnerability. So much of the climate conversation focuses on loss, which makes findings like this especially meaningful.” 

Study authors found one surprising result. They maintain the way forest managers thin forests does not reliably create gaps in the canopy. Forest managers map out their reductions using the density of trunks in an area, not canopies, as their primary measurement. 

“Imagine a group of 100 people all holding umbrellas in the rain,” said co-author Susan Dickerson-Lange, director of the UW Climate Impacts Group. “They’re standing close enough together that their umbrellas overlap, so none of the rain hits the ground. If you remove 10 of the umbrellas randomly, you’d still have plenty of coverage overall. But, if you remove 10 umbrellas that are right next to one another, you create a gap in the umbrella ‘canopy,’ and you get a 10 percent increase in the amount of rain that hits the ground.” 

The work could also aid collaboration between forest managers and hydrologists at a time when the region needs all the water it can get. 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a strong proponent of active forest management to improve wildlife habitat and forest health, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and better protect public safety.   

Click here to read the entire University of Washington news release and view imagery and a video about the research. 

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington)

Not much has gone well for 25 wolves transplanted into Colorado since citizens narrowly passed a controversial 2020 ballot initiative forcefully wolves into the state. What happened in March 2026 only highlights that. 

On March 11, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) received a mortality signal in northwest Colorado for gray wolf 2310, the maternal member of the King Mountain pack. 

“Colorado Parks and Wildlife is leading the mortality investigation in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” according to a CPW news release. “A final determination of the cause of death will not be made until the investigation is completed, including the necropsy, a foundational component of the overall investigation process. No additional details are available at this time.” 

That marks the 14^th death of the 25 wolves introduced into Colorado from Oregon and British Columbia. One of those died during routine collaring operations in late January. 

On March 12, CPW announced the suspension of operations to find and lethally remove an uncollared wolf responsible for the chronic depredation of cattle in Rio Blanco County.  

“With no snow on the ground in the area and challenging terrain, we are choosing to suspend this effort,” said CPW Director Laura Clellan. “We are grateful to the producers who have been working with us at every step since depredations began in the area in July of 2025 and who have deployed multiple forms of nonlethal conflict mitigation techniques.” 

Since December 2023, CPW confirmed that wolves killed 57 cattle, 24 sheep, five working dogs and one llama across 10 counties as the wolf population spread. Those numbers do not account for unconfirmed or unreported livestock depredations.   

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)