Rack Junkies

The most dangerous anti-hunting organization in America is one hunters don’t suspect. Project Coyote. Author Dan Flores, who many hunters know from Joe Rogan, is one of its ambassadors. But look at what the organization actually supports. Project Coyote backed an Iowa bill to make it illegal to hunt or trap wolves, black bears and mountain lions. It campaigns against trapping and openly says wildlife agencies give too much influence to hunters and trappers.

And this is not just an organization posting opinions online. Project Coyote hires professional lobbyists. Its own report says its Illinois lobbyist helped secure 20 legislative sponsors for one of its bills. It also credits itself with helping close Michigan’s regular coyote-hunting season from April 16 through July 14. In New Mexico, it celebrated helping pass a law banning traps and snares across roughly 22 million acres of public land. Project Coyote and its partners also sued Wisconsin and obtained an injunction that stopped the fall 2021 wolf hunt by forcing the quota to zero.
But the scariest part is their long-term plan. Project Coyote openly says it is working to reform wildlife commissions by adding representatives of “non-consumptive interest groups” and lobbying for policies rooted in “compassionate conservation.” It also created a $36,955 Wild Carnivore Legal Defense Fund that its own publication says supports lawsuits to stop wolf hunts. This is how hunting rights disappear, species by species, lawsuit by lawsuit and commissioner by commissioner. Anyone in our game agencies supporting project coyote needs to be called out and looked at very closely.
— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Rack Junkies Podcast