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.

Ep 49 - Mark Sather, Sportsman and Sieben Livestock Employee

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.

Ep 48 - Matt Wickens, Montana Rancher and Outfitter

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.

Ep 46 - Trina Jo Bradley, Mt Cattle Rancher

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.

Ep 45 - Eric Wickens, Co-Owner, Wickens Cattle Company

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.

Ep 42 - Ted Nugent, Musician, Conservationist

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.

Ep 39 - Donna McDonald

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.

Ep 38 - Andrew McKean

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.

Ep 37 - Matt Skoglund

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

Ep 36 - Randy Newberg

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.

Ep 35 - Bill Hilf - American Prairie Chairman

Host and filmmaker Tom Opre discusses dynamic topics with some of the most well-known and recognized experts on wildlife and habitat conservation.￼￼￼￼￼ It’s a no holds barred, reality-based conversation about all the things Wild under man’s ever increasing shadow.

Tom Opre

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