About

I’m the executive director of the Wolverine Foundation, and the founder and director of the Mongolian Wolverine Project, the first attempt to document the species in that country. I currently work and live in Montana and Mongolia. The blog chronicles my work with wolverine science in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and in Mongolia, as well as the creative outgrowths of that work.  It also serves as a place where other wolverine-related media are compiled.

Disclaimers and information about sponsorship and ethical issues:

All posts, including original writing, photos, and artwork, are copyrighted.

The writing on these pages reflects my own opinion, and should not be taken to represent any of my affiliates or anyone else in the wolverine research or conservation community.

As with most personal blogged accounts of people’s quirky interests, this blog is unsponsored. If I’ve listed a website anywhere on here, it’s because I find it personally interesting, controversial, beautiful, or, for whatever reason, worth a look. This includes links listed to the righthand side of the page.

As a full disclaimer and for full clarification, I have worked for the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative (NRCC) as a paid employee in the past, but did not receive any compensation for time spent blogging. Likewise, I have also blogged about wolverines for High Country News‘ “The Range” feature, but received no compensation for that, either. I am currently a Research Associate at NRCC but the blog is an independent writing project that I undertook and maintain on my own initiative. I receive a part-time salary from the Wolverine Foundation, but the blogging is still independent of that role at this time. No one has ever had editorial power over the blog’s contents (although several wolverine scientists have been kind enough to share their opinions on posts when asked.) This blog exists purely to indulge the feelings of compulsion that some people harbor towards a really rad animal. If you share those feelings, welcome, and be assured that this is not an agenda-driven space.

If you are very strongly interested in wolverine conservation and would like to support research efforts, I encourage you to visit The Wolverine Foundation’s webpage, where you can find a list of current projects and select one to which you might donate. This is the biggest need right now, and the best thing that you can do for wolverines. If you are interested in supporting any of the specific research efforts documented on this blog, please contact NRCC directly at nrccc (at) nrccooperative.org. I am not getting any money out of any of this; I’m simply interested in promoting wider awareness of wolverines and their research and conservation needs.

So what do I get out of this? If you like the work on this blog, let me know. I’m a writer above all else, and knowing that people appreciate my writing is how I get my day-to-day buzz. I appreciate the many people who have contacted me and told me how much they learned from an entry, or how much they enjoyed a particular post. I also appreciate the people who have taken the time to report wolverine sightings and to send photos and engage in follow-up conversations – citizen science is a powerful tool and your engagement and enthusiasm are inspiring.

I also want to thank the wolverine research community for their extraordinary interest in and intellectual support for this work, for being patient with my many questions and quirks, and for understanding and encouraging the attempt to tell an exciting scientific story in a new and untried form. You readers and researchers are my true sponsors, you sustain this work in the most vital way, and I am privileged to be part of such a wonderful community. My gratitude goes out to all of you.

– Rebecca

42 thoughts on “About

  1. Hello.
    We are starting a wolverine study in Alberta next winter. We just found out we have some funding! But, I am writing to ask about Mongolia.
    I am studying transportation impacts on wildlife for may masters and this summer i have different set of funding to study in China from NSF. I already have a focus for most of that work but would like to talk to you about work going on there and if I could assist or volunteer some during 2010 summer/fall?

    I am a MSU bozeman student and will be back down in the US next week, sounds like you are somewhere in the area. Maybe we could meet if you are doing any work out near Yellowstone/livingstone.

    Ben
    403 431 0504

  2. I attended Doug’s talk on Quadra Island, Canada last week, and it was excellent.
    Please check out my Canadian and New Zealand wildlife website: kiwiwriting.tripod.com
    Greg Ross, BA

  3. Hello,
    I came upon your blog because I noticed Dr. Charlie Love’s name mentioned. I am an ecopsychologist who is looking to connect with him regarding his expertise on the French Polynesian Islands. Would you be willing to give me his email address if it is available. Thank you much,
    Carolee Carlson, SF, CA

    • Hi Carolee,

      I don’t have his address – the organization responsible for the conference might, however. Check the Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s website – greateryellowstone.org – and see if there is a contact address for him or someone who might be able to put you in touch with him. I wasn’t involved with organizing that conference at which he spoke, I was simply blogging about it, but in my experience the people at GYC tend to be very responsive and helpful.

      Good luck!

      • Dear Rebecca, Having just read about your work in Mongolia, I would like to get in touch. Since 2000 I have had an education exchange program with schools and universities there, about which I would like to inform you. You probably know Shel Severinghaus, former Asia Foundation director and ornithologist who spent over 10 years in Mongolia and is a close friend. I am also on the board of the International Takhi Group. What I am interested in doing is spreading the word that I place people in Mongolian institutions to teach English – usually for a full academic year, but also possible for shorter periods. Perhaps you know people eager to spend time there in some useful way.
        Yours, Anita Fahrni-Minear…in Switzerland

    • Nicole-ji?! Namaste! How the hell did you find me HERE? I’ll email you soon, but in the meantime, it’s great to hear from you. And yes, I am in Denver from time to time, and look forward to catching up soon.

  4. Great meeting you and spending a day in the field with you. I can’t wait to see what kind of results we have on the cameras when I return to OR. Mark

    • Thanks! Great to meet you, too, and I hope you get to see some wolverines up there in the Wallowas – not just on camera, but in real life, too.

  5. I’ve just finished reading a little of your blog and about page and I have to admit that you are a really good writer. Keep up the great posts and let us know how the research goes.

    • Thanks 🙂 I will certainly keep you informed. Let me know if you ever find yourselves in Mongolia. In the meantime, good luck with the panda work.

  6. Rebecca, I sent an email to your NRCC address–do you still get those? If not, I would appreciate it if you could get in touch with me at starkmountain (at) earthlink.net. I’m a magazine writer (did a wolverine story with Jason Wilmot for Audubon a few years ago) and have some questions for you. Thanks.

  7. Hi Rebecca,
    This is Carolee, I came on the blog to find Dr. Charlie Love a while ago. Thanks for your help on that. I came to realize that you may be in Montana near a colleague of mine, Megan Drimal. We are working on a project called extinctionwitness.org
    She and her family live near Bozeman and I thought it might be great for you two to connect around conservation and in general.

    • Hi Dallas, I don’t have your email address but I did send you a message via facebook. You can get in touch with me at rebecca (at) nrccooperative (dot) org. Looking forward to hearing about your project.

  8. Hi, I’m a reporter in Frisco, Colorado. I’m just finishing up a story about the status of the proposed wolverine restoration program (on hold) in Colorado. I would like permission to use one of the images from the most recent sighting near Mt. Bierstadt, just about in my backyard. I’m so excited that he’s still cruising around this area and disappointed that the ski industry put the brakes on the restoration effort. I’ve reported previously on wolverines and have followed the lynx restoration in Colorado as closely as anyone.

    http://summitcountyvoice.com/2010/11/14/colorado-division-of-wildlife-eyes-wolverine-restoration/

  9. Hi Rebecca –

    Enjoying the blog. I tracked wolverine in northwest Alberta for ten winters where i believe i was the first to use remote cameras for ID purposes (i introduced the technique as it applied to wolverines, martens and fishers, along with some of my preliminary results to a panel of scientists – Mcgoun, Golden, Krebs, the Scandinavian team et al., at Denver in 2000. I’m gratified to see it has been widely applied since.) I notice you have been in touch with an old friend of mine, Jeff Cain. I lost contact when my old email was hacked – if you could forward my email address to him, that would be great! In the meantime, thanks very much for your efforts –

    Jon Wright, Alberta
    jondwright@live.ca

  10. Hi Rebecca,

    I didn’t know about this writing talent you have! Also, as a cultural anthropologist working in Mongolia, it looks like I can still learn a lot from you and your blog of direct relevance to my research. I came across this site when searching for “khangai wolf.” The top two results were from this blog, followed by posts from your other–older?–blog. I’m trying to learn about “Khangai wolves” vs. “Gobi wolves.” Herders at my research site in southern Bayankhongor told me that big Khangai wolves have been descending into their nutag since 2001. I’ve heard Gobi wolves described as small and grey/blue, though I once heard that they are big and fierce enough to take down full-grown camels. I want to share a couple photos of wolves from my site, but I don’t see how to paste them here, so I’ll temporarily put them up on my page: https://sites.google.com/a/email.arizona.edu/annika/links — “Khangai” wolves, right?

    Best,
    Annika

    • Hi Annika,

      How funny that you stumbled across me again that way! Thanks for the compliments – and nice photos, by the way. I especially like the one of the dog in the snow.

      I’m happy to talk any time about wolves in Mongolia. It’s one of my favorite topics, about which I hope to eventually write a paper, maybe even a book. I don’t know that much about the biological differences/distinctions among Mongolia’s regional wolf subpopulations, and I think that it’s tricky to transfer Mongolian stories about wolves into any kind of ‘scientific fact,’ because there is so much cultural accumulation around the species. I will say that the wolves that I’ve seen in Mongolia tended to be smaller than the wolves I see in the Yellowstone region, and that wolf tracks that I found in the Khangai this summer were pretty darn small – so ‘huge’ Khangai wolves may be relative.

      I’ll send you an email and we can catch up. Great to hear from you.

  11. Hey Rebecca

    My name is Nicole and I’m a wolverine enthusiast. I moved to Montana to study these wonderful creatures and completed an in depth senior project on them for my degree. I have volunteered throughout Montana on a variety of projects and have been following your adventures and blog for a good while now.

    I am writing today because I was wondering if you would ever like to meet for coffee? I live in Gardiner but find myself in Bozeman often. I would really love to pick your brain about your studies in Mongolia and how you came into the field.

    Please let me know. It is always a pleasure reading your blog!

    Nicole

    • Hi Nicole,

      Sure, I’m always up for meeting fellow wolverine enthusiasts. I’ll send you an email. Looking forward to connecting, and thanks for reading.

  12. Hi Rebecca, I’m a freelance journalist basted in Western Colorado and wanted to talk to you about your work. Would you shoot me an email at emilyguerin {at} gmail dot com? Thanks!
    – Emily Guerin

  13. Hi Rebecca,

    I’m a Bozeman-based journalist and follower of your blog. It sounds like you might be in Mongolia, or leaving soon. I’m wondering if we might meet up when you have the time? I’m at sjanekeller (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you! (P.S. Looking forward to seeing your film in the backcountry festival this week!)
    -Sarah

  14. Hi Rebecca,
    I have been following your blog. Was wondering if you would consider speaking to our Rotary Club and one of the Schools regarding your work. Please contact me at rosalee.rupp (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

  15. Hi Rebecca,
    I have been reading your blog as I am interested in wolverine conservation. For my graduate program class, I am creating a website about wolverines and how they are impacted by climate change. One of the sections on my website is “Wolverine blogs”. You are currently the only wolverine blog out there and I was wondering if I could post a link to your blog on my webpage. Keep up the amazing work!

    • Of course, feel free to post a link. Thanks for reading and thinking of my work for your site. Let me know when the site is up and running and I will post about it and link to it. (Although I’ll be totally out of touch between May and July so if it doesn’t appear immediately, don’t think I’m ignoring you.) I’m thrilled that more people are interested in this amazing species.

      • Thank you so much for letting me post you as a link. Your work is amazing and I enjoy reading your articles and updates about wolverines. My site is up and running. I created a website through Google and I created this website through my graduate program. Here is the link:
        https://sites.google.com/site/guloguloconservation/
        Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions on how to improve my site.

  16. Hi Rebecca,

    I’m writing a book about wildlife in Oregon and would like to include the latest details about wolverines and the ESA non-listing. Could you email me if you’re able/willing to help? I’d send you the specific questions (just a few).

    Thank you! And great work on the blog; I wish there were something similar for every animal out there.

  17. Hi Rebecca- So nice to meet you today! I look forward to reading your blog. Is there a way for us to email? I’d love to connect again. Cheers, Rose

  18. Hello Rebecca – I just (6/4) got to Bozeman and am wondering if you are around to meet up and talk wolverines and Mongolia. We communicated a bit a few years ago. I worked at Hovsgol NP for 2 years with Peace Corps.
    I’m also looking for Jeff Copeland if you have his contact info, I just have his old e-mail.
    Brian Long
    505-423-9235(text only)

  19. Hi Rebecca, I actually came to your page via Ravelry. I’m not sure if you are active there anymore, but I want reach out and ask you about yarn availability in Mongolia. I know, totally off topic here 🙂 but if you have any advice, could you email me at monika @ bookbridge. org? Thanks!

  20. Rebecca:

    I have just re-aquainted with your blog, after 2 years and it is excellent on all fronts! Great format, content, and writing. Hope this helps your “buzz” today. Well earned and profoundly deserved!

    Tad Sweet

    • Alaska’s a bit of a different deal than the Lower 48 – much better chance of encountering one if you know where to look. But if you have a website or other place where you display your photos, let me know the address. For sighting reports in AK, the folks to get in touch with are the AK Fish and Game department.

  21. I managed to get a fairly good picture of what we believe to be a Wolverine~I live in Northwest IA close to Storm Lake ~I would love to share the picture with you if you are interested.

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