Wild About Wolves: Using collaboration and innovation to bridge parks, people, and predators

Abstract

AbstractHuman‐carnivore conflicts present an array of conservation challenges, especially in complex and cross‐cultural settings. Described here is a facilitated, multi‐method, collaborative process in the Nuu‐chah‐nulth First Nations' Traditional Territory, British Columbia, Canada, aimed at building a project to address human‐wolf conflicts following the species' natural re‐colonization of a national park reserve. Participants reported that this project prompted dialogue and engagement that will help bridge the gap between First Nations and non‐Indigenous people in the Territory. Although the project remains ongoing, pragmatic lessons about its process can already be identified: (1) an early, and ongoing collaboration was crucial in setting the project's priorities; (2) adopting a co‐learning approach set a respectful tone for the project; and (3) reframing human‐wolf conflicts using a tolerance‐oriented lens bridged diverse perspectives and worldviews. The preliminary outcomes of these efforts to date are constitutively different from conventional collaborative efforts because the process has already changed relationships in ways that many such previous efforts have not.