EP91 Matt Besko

About this episode

Matt Besko discusses modern wildlife management and conservation challenges in Alberta.

Matt Besko—Executive Director of the Hunting and Fishing Branch with Alberta Forestry and Parks—joins Sheep Fever co-host Gray Thornton for a conversation on modern wildlife management. Besko oversees hunting and fishing regulations, allocation, trapping, carnivore management, and human-wildlife coexistence across Alberta. With more than 30 years working as a wildlife, fisheries, and habitat biologist, he brings a practical perspective on balancing opportunity with long-term conservation. The discussion covers Alberta's management approach, bighorn sheep stewardship, and the realities of managing wildlife across a range of landscapes and competing interests. They also get into hunting traditions in North America and Europe, and why those roots still matter. It's an honest conversation about the challenges, the tradeoffs, and why this work continues to matter.

People in this episode

Host: Gray Thornton

Guest: Matt Besko

Topics covered

• wildlife management
• hunting regulations
• conservation
• human-wildlife coexistence
• bighorn sheep stewardship
• hunting traditions

Keywords

• wildlife management
• hunting
• conservation
• Alberta
• bighorn sheep
• human-wildlife coexistence
• hunting traditions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Alberta Forestry and Parks

Places: Alberta, North America, Europe

More episodes of Sheep Fever

• EP95 Hunting's Future with Shane Mahoney · June 10, 2026 · 1h 26m
• EP94 ND Bighorns – Brett Wiedmann & Kevin Hurley · May 27, 2026 · 1h 14m
• EP93 Takeaways from North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference w/Corey Mason and Tony Wasley · May 13, 2026 · 55 min
• EP92 Story Telling & Project Grizzly Balance with Mark Hall · April 29, 2026 · 1h 27m
• EP90 500 Years of Beretta – Ricardo Olivieri · April 1, 2026 · 53 min
• EP89 Cornhusker Bighorns - Todd Nordeen · March 18, 2026 · 1h 3m