Shepherds of the Wild Podcast

In this episode, conservationist and filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with Mark Sather, a longtime Montana sportsman and employee of the Sieben Livestock Company, to unpack one of the most volatile and misunderstood issues in Western conservation: access, entitlement, and responsibility. Raised hunting the Gates of the Mountains and the Bob Marshall, Sather brings a generational sportsman's perspective shaped by years working inside a large, wildlife-rich cattle operation. He speaks candidly about what happens when public wildlife, private land, federal agencies, state managers, and modern hunting technology collide—sometimes literally—with helicopters, drones, and rising tensions in the field. The conversation moves deep into block management, helicopter access to landlocked public ground, changing hunter behavior, and the real-world consequences ranchers face when gates are left open, cattle are displaced, and trust breaks down. Sather also explains how proactive management—cow elk harvests, hazing with drones, and collaboration with Fish & Game—can reduce conflict while still putting meat in freezers. This is not a theoretical discussion. It's a ground-level look at how conservation actually works—or fails—when emotion, politics, and entitlement replace humility, stewardship, and dialogue. If you care about hunting, public land, private land, and the future of wildlife in the American West, this is a conversation you need to hear.

In this episode of Shepherds of the Wild, filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with Montana rancher and outfitter Matt Wickens to talk about the hard truths facing rural America. From razor-thin ranching margins to the rise of the American Prairie Reserve and the loss of working lands, Wickens lays bare the challenges of keeping family operations alive in a changing landscape. The two discuss the economics of local beef, the value of outfitting to small towns like Winifred, and what "rewilding" really means for those who live on the land.

In this raw, unfiltered conversation, filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with Montana cattle rancher Trina Jo Bradley, who runs a multigenerational ranch on the edge of the Rocky Mountain Front, bordering the Blackfeet Reservation. Bradley offers an unvarnished look into the beauty and brutality of ranch life — raising cattle amid drought, brutal winters, fluctuating markets, and the constant threat of predators.

Filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with rancher and co-owner Eric Wickens to talk straight about running cattle in today's West—land stewardship, herd health, tight markets, and the constant push-pull between policy and common sense. Eric lays out what it takes to keep a family operation alive while improving grass, water, and wildlife habitat for the long haul.

The Real Yellowstone, the latest documentary from award-winning filmmaker Tom Opre, is now streaming at www.shepherdsofwildlifestore.com. Rock Star and outspoken conservationist Ted Nugent has just screened the film, and the Motor City Madman has thoughts! In this episode, Tom and Ted discuss The Real Yellowstone, conservation, and the role we play in protecting healthy wildlife populations for future generations.

In this episode, filmmaker Tom Opre talks with Donna McDonald, a rancher and outfitter who holds the distinction of being the first licensed female outfitter in the state of Montana.  They discuss the brutal weather at 6000 feet of elevation, and what it takes to survive and thrive in the modern world of the outfitter and rancher.

As the hunting and conservation editor for Outdoor Life, and a Montana Rancher for over two decades, Andrew McKean knows a thing or two about the problems facing Ranchers, farmers and hunters in America.  In this episode, Filmmaker Tom Opre and Andrew take a deep dive into those topics, as well as water, American Prairie, and the importance of the small community to the American West.

In this episode, Filmmaker Tom Opre has a candid conversation with Matt Skoglund.  Matt, a former environmental Policy lawyer from Chicago, moved his family from the big city to Montana to chase a dream, and started North Bridger Bison.  Tom and Matt discuss regenerative ranching, biodiversity, and the disconnect between urban consumers and their food sources.

In this episode, filmmaker Tom Opre talks with Randy Newberg.  Randy is a C.P.A. with over three decades of experience working with farmers and ranchers.  From financial planning to taxes and succession plans, Randy has seen it all, and as a staunch advocate for public land access for sportsman, he offers some common sense tactics for achieving solutions in a landscape fraught with conflict

In this wide-ranging interview, Tom Opre engages Bill Hilf in a candid and often challenging discussion about American Prairie's mission, strategies, and impacts on the rural communities and ecosystems of the American West.  Hilf articulates the organization's vision to build a massive, continuous nature reserve in Montana, modeled on African-style wildlife preserves. He emphasizes goals around biodiversity, ecosystem restoration, and public land access. Tom presses on contentious issues, including accusations of private land buyouts, impacts on generational ranching families, and concerns over non-local governance and funding. Hilf responds with measured clarity, acknowledging past mistakes while advocating for coexistence and scientific land management. The interview highlights the ideological and cultural fault lines between conservation-driven rewilding efforts and traditional land stewardship rooted in ranching heritage. Hilf speaks to American Prairie's future plans, including predator reintroduction and grassland restoration, while Tom underscores the human consequences of such sweeping ecological change.

Filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with Allan to discuss the restoration of biodiversity around the world, the hard choices facing a planet struggling to feed its population, and the steps necessary to fix it.

Filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with well-known retired gamekeeper Peter Fraser to discuss the issues facing keepers and their families in the Highlands of Scotland. 

Noted author and organic farmer from the Galloway, Scotland sits down with filmmaker Tom Opre to talk about land and wildlife management issues and how rewilding fits into the equation. 

Filmmaker Tom Opre follows up with his initial interview with John Muir Trust CEO David Balharry. Hold on as the conversation gets interesting. 

Tom Opre, filmmaker and director of The Last Keeper, talks to Edinglassie Headkeeper Alex Jenkins about what it is to be a keeper. 

Filmmaker Tom Opre sits down with noted author and ecologist Dr. James Fenton to discuss the ecology and history of the land in Scotland. 

Dee Ward, the owner of the grouse moor Rottal Estate in the Angus Glens speaks with filmmaker Tom Opre about land management solutions he employs which consider both  climate and biodiversity concerns. 

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. 

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. 

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.