He began his career in wildlife biology and conservation in 1981, when he performed predator-prey research for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Utah. Later, he spent 4 years conducting research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Predator Ecology Project, starting in October 1992. During his career, he has also conducted studies and performed wildlife research for the Wildlife Research Institute, the University of Idaho, Utah State University and as a private contractor. . The Service's efforts to reestablish red wolf wild populations have met with significant success. There are now 70-80 wolves living in northeastern North Carolina.
Red wolves prey on a variety of species, from rodents to white-tailed deer.
Overall, public acceptance of the red wolf reestablishment program has been high. Since late 1995, three separate surveys have been conducted to assess the public's attitude towards the red wolf and to determine if returning the predators to the wild provides any tangible economic benefits. A conservative estimate based upon the results of the Cornell study indicates that, as a tourist attraction, red wolf activities could attract an additional 25,204 households per year to the eastern North Carolina reintroduction area and an additional 87,351 households per year to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park reintroduction area. In another study, East Carolina University surveyed 68 individuals from 11 eastern North Carolina counties that are most likely to be affected by the presence of the red wolf. This survey showed strong support for the red wolf recovery program at the local level, with 80 percent of the respondents indicating that they believe the program is important and 58 percent indicating that they believe that the reintroduction program has been successful.