Shepherds of the Wild Podcast

Ep 28 - Peter Cairns - Scotland: The Big Picture

Filmmaker Tom Opre talk to Scotland: The Big Picture executive director Peter Cairns about rewilding concepts, sporting estates, the rewilding economy, and how various stakeholders can find common ground. 

Ep 27 - Nigel Fraser - Trees for Life

Filmmaker Tom Opre and Photographer Tony Bynum speak with the chairman of the board for Tress for Life Nigel Fraser about rewilding, carbon sequestration, deer and red grouse management, and what will happen to the rural communities if the sporting estate model is regulated out of existence in the Scottish Highlands. 

Ep 26 - Scott MacKenzie - Gamekeeper

Listen to filmmaker Tom Opre and photographer Tony Bynum discuss land use issues and deer management with headkeeper at Fearann Eilean larmain Estate on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. 

Ep 25 - David Balharry - CEO John Muir Trust (part 1)

Filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with John Muir Trust CEO David Balharry to discuss Scotland's land use issues. 

Ep 24 - Andy Wightman, Author, Scottish MSP 2016-2021

We speak with Scottish land reformer and retired politican Andy Wightman in Scotland. 

Ep 23 - Jeff Crane, Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation

Ep. 22 - India Human Wildlife Conflict with Mathen “Rajeev" Mathews

Tom Opre sits down with Rajeev Mathews, a government contractor who has been monitoring and documenting the almost unknown facts about human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in India where approximately 10,000 people per year are attacked and killed by wildlife. He is a senior consultant with Zen Technologies Limited based in Hyderabad on developing various uses for armed and paramilitary forces.  Serves as a knowledge partner with the Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS) Gov’t of India,...

Ep. 21 - Trophy Hunting Import Bans with John Shields & Nikolaj Bichel

Tom Opre speaks with John Shields, a supporter of community development in rural Zambia and a UK citizen, and scientific researcher and author Nikolaj Bichel from Denmark regarding the efforts of anti-use organizations and politicians to ban the import of hunting trophies in countries all over the world. 

Ep. 20 - Mike Angelides - Tanzania Deforestation

Host Tom Opre speaks with Mike Angelides, president of the African PH & Guides Association about deforestation in Tanzania.  Mike has a lengthy history with the A.P.H.A. For the past 3 years, he was the Vice President. Mike previously held a board member position. Before that was the APHA Executive Officer, his other committee experience includes leadership positions as Secretary-General of the Tanzania Professional Hunters Association (TPHA) and Secretary General of Tanzania Hunting outfi...

Ep. 19 - What is Conservation? Professor Adam Hart - University of Gloucestershire

Founder Tom Opre speaks with Professor Adam Hart on the issue of what exactly is conservation?  Adam Hart is an ecologist, conservation scientist, and entomologist, and is the University of Gloucestershire Professor of Science Communication. As well as research and teaching, he is a regular broadcaster for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, presenting documentaries on topics from trophy hunting to tree diseases. He has also presented the weekly science program Science in Action for t...

Ep. 18 - Emmanuel Koro - South African Environmental Journalist

At CITES CoP 19 in Panama, Shepherds of Wildlife Society founder Tom Opre had the opportunity to speak with Environmental Journalist Emmanuel Koro regarding his concerns related to neocolonialism, human rights, and racism in CITES and how CITES decisions negatively affect indigenous rural communities throughout southern Africa.   

Ep. 17 - Bupe Banda - Community Leaders Network (Southern Africa)

During the CITES CoP19 in Panama, host Tom Opre had the opportunity to interview Bupe Banda, a vibrant voice for community-based wildlife and habitat conservation in southern Africa. 

Ep. 16 - Ivonne Higuero - CITES Secretary General

Shepherds of Wildlife founder Tom Opre sat down with CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero at CoP 19 in Panama City, Panama. She is an environmental economist with a career spanning 26 years in international organizations in the area of sustainable development. CITES is the treaty on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 184 countries are party to the convention which regulates the trade of wildlife which directly impacts indigenous rural commu...

Ep. 15 Tom E. Opre - Writer

This podcast is with award-winning outdoor and conservation writer Tom E. Opre. Tom wrote conservation, environmental, and outdoor articles over 24 years while working for the Detroit Free Press. He's the host father, and his work helped propel his son down the track he follows today through the Shepherds of Wildlife Society. 

Ep. 15 Tom E. Opre - Pulitzer Award-Winning Environmental Writer

This podcast is with award-winning outdoor and conservation writer Tom E. Opre. Tom wrote conservation, environmental, and outdoor articles over 24 years while working for the Detroit Free Press. He's the host father, and his work helped propel his son down the track he follows today through the Shepherds of Wildlife Society. 

Ep 14 Nate Turner - Alaskan Subsistence Trapper & Guide

Tom Opre has an eye opening and important conversation about sustainable utilization with Alaskan subsistence trapper and guide Nate Turner. They cover Nate’s early years growing up in New York and then moving to his father’s trapline in the Alaskan bush. Nate also discusses what it’s like to live off the land and raise his family in remote Alaska. 

EP 13 Tom Speeze

Tom Speeze is the National Director for Field Conservation for the National Wild Turkey Federation.  In this podcast, we discuss a wide arrange of land and wildlife management techniques and issues surrounding the Mirriam's Wild Turkey.

EP 13 Tom Speeze - National Wild Turkey Federation

Tom Speeze is the National Director for Field Conservation for the National Wild Turkey Federation.  In this podcast, we discuss a wide arrange of land and wildlife management techniques and issues surrounding the Mirriam's Wild Turkey.

EP 12 Brian Wakeling - Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Tom Opre interviews Brian Wakeling the Game Management Bureau Chief of Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks about the management of the Mirriam's Turkey.   This interview was used in his Tom's film "Mountain Thunder" a film for the National Wild Turkey Federation. 

EP 12 Brian Wakeling

Tom Opre interviews Brian Wakeling the Game Management Bureau Chief of Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks about the management of the Mirriam's Turkey.   This interview was used in his Tom's film "Mountain Thunder" a film for the National Wild Turkey Federation. 

Ep 11 Author Jim Posewitz (Part 2) “Beyond Fair Chase,” Wildlife Biologist

Tom Opre talks with Jim Posewitz, an icon in the ethics of hunting and wildlife conservation world. Jim had a long career as a wildlife biologists with the State of Montana before becoming a noted author. He is one of Montana's most respected conservationists who pioneered protections for fish and wildlife and was a nationally recognized voice on the ethics of hunting. They discuss the common ground between sportsman’s groups and animal lovers; Teddy Rosevelt’s conservation work; reseting et...

Ep 10 Dr. Stuart Marks - Biologist, Ecologist, Economist & Philosopher (Part 2)

Tom Opre meets with noted author and scientist Dr. Stuart Marks. Dr. Marks is a biologist, ecologist, economist, and philosopher. A Fulbright Scholar and son of a missionary dentist, Dr. Marks spent much of his early childhood living in the Congo, Africa. He has spent over 60 years studying the Bisa people of eastern Zambia and their relationship with wildlife. They also discuss Tom’s new film Killing the Shepherd; modern society’s disconnect with nature; China; Covid 19’s impact on Africa; ...

Ep 9 Dr. Marco Festa-Bianchet - Professor, University of Sherbrooke

Tom Opre talks to Dr. Marco Festa-Bianchet, wildlife biologists and Professor at the University of Sherbrooke (Quebec, Canada). They discuss bighorn sheep evolution and management in Alberta, Canada; issues with hunting certain age-class bighorn sheep in Alberta; sustainable hunting; diseases affecting wild sheep; mountain ecosystem management; social media information wars; social media and problems for hunters; and the problem with “hornography.” 

Ep 8 Jim Posewitz - Author “Beyond Fair Chase,” Wildlife Biologist (Part 1)

Tom Opre talks with Jim Posewitz, an icon in the ethics of hunting and wildlife conservation world. Jim had a long career as a wildlife biologists with the State of Montana before becoming a noted author. He is one of Montana's most respected conservationists who pioneered protections for fish and wildlife and was a nationally recognized voice on the ethics of hunting. They discuss the common ground between sportsman’s groups and animal lovers; Teddy Rosevelt’s conservation work; reseting et...

Ep 7 Dr. Stuart Marks - Biologists, Ecologist, Economist & Philosopher (Part 1)

Tom Opre meets with noted author and scientist Dr. Stuart Marks. Dr. Marks is a biologist, ecologist, economist, and philosopher. A Fulbright Scholar and son of a missionary dentist, Dr. Marks spent much of his early childhood living in the Congo, Africa. He has spent over 60 years studying the Bisa people of eastern Zambia and their relationship with wildlife. They also cover wildlife management issues; culture; natural history; humanity’s adaptation of nature; and even Tom’s film Killing t...

EP 6 Dr. Mark Boyce - Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Population Ecologists

Tom Opre talks with Dr. Mark Boyce, Professor of Ecology for the Alberta Conservation Association (Canada) and a Fellow with the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Boyce, with a doctorate from Yale and a post doctorate from Oxford, discusses the population issues for elk and mule deer. They also hit on game ranching; chronic wasting disease (CWD); high-fenced hunting; hunter recruitment; grizzly bear management; and social media issues related to wildlife conservation. 

EP 5 Dr. Valerius Geist - Wildlife Biologist & Noted Author

Tom Opre talks conservation; wildlife deserts; wolves; the fall of communism; ecosystem collapse, grizzly bears; Spanish conquistadors; and the human population collapse with world renowned wildlife biologist Dr. Valerius Geist.  Oh, they also get into big issues facing the Mule Deer, including chronic wasting disease (CWD).  Geist is a Canadian biologist and a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary. He is a specialist on the biology, behavior,...

Ep 4 Dr. Juan Herrero - Spanish Biologist/Ecologist

Dr. Juan Herrero, Spanish biologist/ecologist, and Tom Opre discuss the wildlife and hunting management in Spain. His work is dedicated to applied research on large mammal conservation and management, including Pyrenean chamois, Iberian wild goat and feral goats. He is a professor of Ecology, Protected Areas, Zoology and Environmental Education at the University of Saragossa (Huesca, SPAIN).

Ep 3 Nate Turner - Alaskan Subsistence Trapper & Guide

Tom Opre has an eye opening and important conversation about sustainable utilization with Alaskan subsistence trapper and guide Nate Turner. They cover Nate’s early years growing up in New York and then moving to his father’s trapline in the Alaskan bush. Nate also discusses what it’s like to live off the land and raise his family in remote Alaska. 

Ep 2 Tony Bynum - World-Class Wildlife Photographer

Tom Opre and world renowned photographer, Tony Bynum talk about the issues facing the iconic North American grizzly bear. They cover everything from human-bear conflict in Montana to management concepts and educating people on how to co-exist with grizzly bears.   

Ep 1 Catherine Semcer - Environmental Security & Conservation Finance

Host Tom Opre sits down with Catherine E. Semcer. Semcer is a Research Fellow with the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) where her work focuses on rights and market based solutions to policy challenges in environmental security, conservation finance and sustainability. Catherine is the past COO of Humanitarian Operations Protecting Elephants (H.O.P.E.), a boutique NGO delivering training, advisory, assistance and procurement services to African counter-poaching programs. Prior ...