Edward E. Bangs

Edward E. Bangs is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Gray Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the northwestern U.S. and is stationed in Helena, Montana, USA. Ed received a B.S. degree in game management from Utah State University in 1974. He conducted graduate research on the impact of habitat manipulation to increase moose browse on red-backed voles and shrew populations on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. He received his Master of Science degree in wildlife management from University of Nevada, Reno in 1979. From 1975 until 1988 he was a wildlife biologist on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Ed worked on a wide variety of wildlife programs including wolf, lynx, brown and black bear, wolverine, marten, coyote, moose, Dall Sheep, mountain goats, small mammals, passerine birds, trumpeter swans, and bald eagles research and management, reintroduction of caribou, and land-use planning on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He published a wide variety of articles on issues ranging from the history of wildlife on the Kenai Peninsula, leech parasitism of Trumpeter Swans, food habits of Red-backed Voles, impacts of oil and gas development on and mortality of moose, Refuge land-use planning, economic effects of tourism, and over-exploitation of lynx.

Edward Bangs has been involved with the recovery and management of wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming since 1988. He led a 2-year Congressionally-mandated planning effort that examined the potential effects of wolf reintroduction in central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. He led the interagency program to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. He is currently the Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the northwestern United States and administers a complex federal, state, tribal, and private organization program that monitors the expanding wolf population, conducts a diverse array of non-lethal and lethal wolf control, initiates and funds a wide variety of research projects, and conducts an extensive information and education program. He has published a wide variety of popular and scientific articles dealing with various aspects of wolf ecology and management. As part of his official duties he has had the opportunity to examine wolf/human relationships in other parts of the world, including Mongolia, Sweden, Japan, and consults on wolf recovery programs in the United States. Ed has given hundreds of public and scientific presentations on various wildlife management issues and has received awards for public speaking. He has received numerous other awards for his work including; Meritorious Service Award from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Unusually Outstanding Employee Award, Distinguished Service Award from the Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society, and Distinguished Alumni Award from Utah State University. His current professional interests focus on human values in wildlife management, conflict resolution, and restoration of ecological processes.