WELCOME TO NORM’S NOTES
Norman A. Bishop has been studying wolves since 1985, when he was a member of the Yellowstone Center for Resources team that restored wolves to the park in 1995. He was a scientific advisor to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project, and now the Colorado Wolf Coalition.
Read more on Norm below ↓
Eager: Ben goldfarb’s 2018 book-A review by norm
In his 2018 book, EAGER, Ben Goldfarb shares surprising secrets about beavers. Upon reading it recently, I was intrigued especially by Chapter 8, Wolftopia.
Why? Because the chapter is all about the history of wolves, elk, and beaver in Yellowstone, where I served for 17 years as a resource manager and interpreter.
Wild New World: The Epic Story of Animals & People in America: A review by John Miles
Fifty years ago, I read Wildlife in America by writer, naturalist, and explorer Peter Matthiessen. Published in 1959, it was my first exposure to the awful story of the near obliteration of wildlife over the past 500 years in North America. In the decades since, I have learned much more about this story in many other books and articles, but I’ve never encountered a work like Wild New World – nothing even close in the scope, depth, and analysis this fine writer and historian Dan Flores brings to this sad tale.
CPW Working Group Delisting Recommendations Miss the Mark
It appears that the concept that wolves must be controlled by humans to prevent their overuse or elimination of their prey has become widespread, despite abundant evidence to the contrary. That begs the question, “What natural factors limit wolf populations?”
Photo Credit: National Park Service
Restoring the Balance
Polls found that many Coloradans were supportive of restoring Colorado’s natural balance. Scientists and wildlife biologists agree on the need to restore Colorado's natural balance.
Photo Credit: National Park Service
MORE ON OUR WOLF EXPERT
From left, Doug Smith, recently retired project leader for Yellowstone Wolf Restoration Project; Rick McIntyre, author, naturalist, researcher and retired National Park Service ranger; and Norm Bishop in January 2020, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the restoration of wolves to Yellowstone National Park.
Norman A. Bishop earned a BS in Botany at the University of Denver, served 4 years as a naval aviator, then studied Forest Recreation and Wildlife Management courses at Colorado State University.
He was a national park ranger for 36 years, at Rocky Mountain NP, Death Valley, Yosemite, Mount Rainier, Southeast Regional Office, and Yellowstone. He was a reviewer and compiler of 1990 and 1992 "Wolves for Yellowstone?" and the 1994 EIS, The Reintroduction of Gray Wolves to Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho. He was the park's interpreter of wolves and their restoration from 1985 until 1997, giving more than 400 talks, and responding by mail to thousands of requests for wolf information. He retired to Bozeman, Montana in 1997. He led about fifty field courses on wolves for theYellowstone Institute from 1999 to 2005.
For his wolf work, he received a USDI meritorious service award in 1997, the National Parks and Conservation Association's 1988 Stephen T. Mather Award, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's 1991 Stewardship Award, the Wolf Education and Research Center's 1997 Alpha Award, and the International Wolf Center’s 2015 “Who Speaks for Wolf?” Award.
For several years, he was the greater Yellowstone region field representative for the International Wolf Center (Ely, MN). He has written a number of articles for International Wolf magazine. He served on the board of the Wolf Recovery Foundation (Pocatello, ID). He is on the advisory boards of Living with Wolves (Ketchum, ID), and of Footloose Montana. He served several terms on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' Region 3 Citizens' Advisory Committee.
Since 2015, Norm has been a member of the Colorado Wolf Science Team, providing background on wolf recovery in Yellowstone for the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project that worked to restore wolves to Colorado. He is a member of Southwest Colorado Wolf Cooperative.