Rewilding Earth Podcast

“Whoever you are, wherever your interest lies, whatever you’ve fallen in love with, get out of bed every morning and do something. Act, step into the fray—fight for a human society in balance with the natural world.” —Kristine McDivitt Tompkins
Kris Tompkins is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, an American conservationist, and former CEO of Patagonia, Inc. For three decades, she has committed to protecting and restoring wild beauty and biodiversity by creating national parks, restoring wildlife, inspiring activism, and fostering economic vitality as a result of conservation. Kristine and her late husband Douglas Tompkins have protected approximately 15 million acres of parklands in Chile and Argentina through Tompkins Conservation and its partners, making them among the most successful national park-oriented philanthropists in history. Kristine served as Patron for Protected Areas for the UN Environmental Programme from 2018-2022. The recipient of numerous honors, she was the first conservationist to be awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
Show Notes
Rewilding the Southern Cone: A Conversation with Kris Tompkins
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Kris Tompkins discusses her visionary efforts in rewilding South America, particularly focusing on the Southern Cone’s ecological reconnection. Kris reflects on various projects, including reintroducing large predators like jaguars and restoring ecosystems across vast territories in Argentina and Chile. (Almost 15 million acres in total. That’s 5 million acres larger than Switzerland!) Kris knows how to think BIG. She shares insights on conservation strategies, the importance of thinking on a continental scale, and the role of local communities and the new generation in these initiatives. With a drive to reconnect ecosystems from Chile to Colombia and beyond, Kris emphasizes the significance of working with natural systems and engaging local populations to ensure success.
Timeline
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:39 Rewilding Achievements and Future Goals
04:17 Challenges and Strategies in Rewilding
09:47 Generational Leadership in Conservation
12:56 Continental Rewilding Vision
20:50 Community Involvement and Success Stories
34:18 Concluding Thoughts and Future Aspirations
“National parks are the gold standard of conservation in these days of severe ecological crisis.” —Douglas Tompkins
Extra Credit
If you’re new to Kris’ work with Tompkins Conservation, you’ll find everything you need below to get caught up on over 30 years of some of the best wildlands conservation work ever done and the fantastic team of people behind it!
By the numbers: Read about the national parks and the species Tompkins Conservation, Rewilding Chile, and Rewilding Argentina are working to protect.
Visit: Rewilding Chile and Rewilding Argentina
Watch: Kris Tompkins Inspiring 2024 Ted Talk

Last Wild Places: Ibera

Rewilding Patagonia | BBC Travel Show

Additional Media of Interest:

Time Magazine op-ed on rewilding

About





Michael Kellett, the co-founder and Executive Director of RESTORE: The North Woods, has over 35 years of experience in the land conservation movement. In 1994, he wrote the first white paper proposing a 3.2 million-acre Maine Woods National Park & Preserve, and has been actively involved in efforts to restore the endangered wildlife such as the eastern wolf, Atlantic salmon, and Canada lynx; to protect federal and state public lands from unsustainable logging and development; and to revive the national parks movement. From 1986 to 1992, he was the Northeast Director and Michigan Representative of The Wilderness Society, where he helped to pass national forest wilderness and national recreation area legislation and developed a proposal for a Maine Woods National Reserve. Michael has served on the board of American Lands Alliance, Thoreau Country Conservation Alliance, Thoreau Farm Trust, and Walden Forever Wild. He has visited 258 National Park System units across America. He lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts.






Show Notes













Expanding National Parks: The Vision and Challenges
In this episode, Michael rejoins the podcast to discuss an ambitious project: the establishment of 100 new national parks in the United States. The conversation covers the extensive research and groundwork done over 15 years to identify these areas, the existing public lands that could be transformed, and the benefits of increased protected areas for climate stabilization, biodiversity, and public health.
The discussion highlights both the challenges and the potential for bipartisan support and grassroots mobilization to make this vision a reality. Michael shares insights into the political and economic aspects of such an endeavor, emphasizing the necessity for public engagement and collaboration with local activists and organizations.
00:00 Welcome Back, Michael!
00:19 The Vision for 100 New National Parks
01:26 Challenges and Progress in Conservation
03:20 The Popularity and Political Viability of National Parks
07:28 Economic and Social Benefits of National Parks
14:27 Addressing Concerns About National Park Costs
22:56 Potential New National Parks Across the U.S.
32:17 Mobilizing a National Movement for Conservation
36:37 Conclusion and Call to Action

Extra Credit

* Get notified as soon as newparks.org is live at Restore.org!
























About





Michael Kellett, the co-founder and Executive Director of RESTORE: The North Woods, has over 35 years of experience in the land conservation movement. In 1994, he wrote the first white paper proposing a 3.2 million-acre Maine Woods National Park & Preserve, and has been actively involved in efforts to restore the endangered wildlife such as the eastern wolf, Atlantic salmon, and Canada lynx; to protect federal and state public lands from unsustainable logging and development; and to revive the national parks movement. From 1986 to 1992, he was the Northeast Director and Michigan Representative of The Wilderness Society, where he helped to pass national forest wilderness and national recreation area legislation and developed a proposal for a Maine Woods National Reserve. Michael has served on the board of American Lands Alliance, Thoreau Country Conservation Alliance, Thoreau Farm Trust, and Walden Forever Wild. He has visited 258 National Park System units across America. He lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

About Emily Burns
Emily joined the Sky Island Alliance in 2019 after practicing conservation science and restoration for nearly a decade in the redwood forests of California at Save the Redwoods League.
She leads the team running all programs, including the Border Wildlife Study, the Trinational Internship Program, Sky Island FotoFauna, Spring Seeker, their stewardship projects, and communications.
Her hope for the Sky Islands in the next 30 years is that communities make choices that keep water flowing, native plants thriving, and wildlife safely on the move between the U.S. and Mexico.
Show Notes
Exploring the Sky Islands: Conservation Challenges and Successes Amidst Increased Border Militarization
On this episode of Rewilding Earth, Emily delves into the conservation efforts and challenges facing the Sky Islands, a unique region spanning northern Sonora, southeastern Arizona, and parts of New Mexico. Discussing the impact of increased border militarization and infrastructure on local wildlife, Emily highlights the critical work being done with trail cameras to monitor diverse species like jaguars and porcupines.
The conversation covers the historical and current political decisions affecting environmental policies, the importance of volunteer involvement in conservation activities, and the innovative approaches to ensure connectivity and preservation of local habitats. Emily also emphasizes the need for a diverse and bilingual conservation workforce, stressing the international significance of the Sky Islands and encouraging listeners to engage in local and regional conservation efforts.
Timeline
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:22 The Sky Islands Region
01:36 Impact of Border Policies
03:33 Trail Cameras and Wildlife Monitoring
10:39 Jaguar and Other Wildlife Discoveries
13:11 Conservation Efforts and Volunteer Opportunities
19:48 Data Management and Collaboration
25:16 Future Goals and Reflections
28:32 Conclusion
Extra Credit

* Volunteer! For an experience like no other, check out volunteer opportunities in one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse regions in the world.
* Learn more about Sky Island Alliance work here.

Download transcript (PDF)
About Emily Burns
Emily joined the Sky Island Alliance in 2019 after practicing conservation science and restoration for nearly a decade in the redwood forests of California at Save the Redwoods League.
She leads the team running all programs, including the Border Wildlife Study, the Trinational Internship Program, Sky Island FotoFauna, Spring Seeker, their stewardship projects, and communications.
Her hope for the Sky Islands in the next 30 years is that communities make choices that keep water flowing, native plants thriving, and wildlife safely on the move between the U.S. and Mexico.
Show Notes
Exploring the Sky Islands: Conservation Challenges and Successes Amidst Increased Border Militarization
On this episode of Rewilding Earth, Emily delves into the conservation efforts and challenges facing the Sky Islands, a unique region spanning northern Sonora, southeastern Arizona, and parts of New Mexico. Discussing the impact of increased border militarization and infrastructure on local wildlife, Emily highlights the critical work being done with trail cameras to monitor diverse species like jaguars and porcupines.
The conversation covers the historical and current political decisions affecting environmental policies, the importance of volunteer involvement in conservation activities,

About
As the United States Policy Director for Wildlands Network, Erin Sito researches, develops and promotes laws and policies geared towards supporting habitat connectivity and biodiversity at the local, state, and federal level. Erin’s work also focuses on state agency reform and funding, and outreach to promote Wildlands Network’s policy initiatives nationwide.
Episode 129 Rewilding Earth Podcast: Advancing Wildlife Connectivity with Erin Sito of Wildlands Network
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Erin Sito, the U.S. Public Policy Director for Wildlands Network, discusses her role and efforts in rewilding North America. She shares progress in state and federal policies supporting connected habitats, noting advancements in wildlife crossings and the significant support these initiatives have received across different presidential administrations.
Erin highlights the creation of the federal grant program for wildlife crossing infrastructure and discusses the increase in public involvement through innovative technologies like the ROADS app. She addresses challenges, such as funding needs and the cultural shift within transportation agencies to consider wildlife in planning. Erin emphasizes the importance of state-level actions, praising states like New York, which recently passed wildlife crossing legislation, and outlines her vision for creating more interconnected, climate-resilient landscapes.
00:00 Introduction
00:13 Erin’s Role and Background
01:31 Progress in Connectivity and Crossings Policy
02:24 Legislative Efforts and Success Stories
04:21 Federal Funding and State Legislation
07:31 Challenges and Future Goals
17:41 Public Involvement and Innovative Technologies
28:36 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Extra Credit
The federal bill we discussed during the interview has now been introduced. Check it out here.

Check out the Wildlands Network’s State of the States Report – which lists all the state habitat connectivity legislation passed over the past 25 years. The report also highlights some of the catalyzing events discussed in this episode, like the passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the creation of unprecedented federal funding for crossings and conservation.

* All the federal transportation funding programs now available for crossings

Here are some resources that folks can turn to help track roadkill. We recommend checking in with your local state DOT, to see if they have an app they prefer community members use.

About
Eric Trefney grew up in Michigan in the metro-Detroit area, where he often camped and canoed with his family and friends. After finishing graduate school in 2015, Eric joined the Peace Corps, where he was assigned to Senegal, Africa, in the Sahel desert region. Eric practiced and trained in agroforestry techniques with local Senegalese partners and women’s financial literacy. In 2018, after his two years of Peace Corps service, Eric moved to the Washington D.C. area and was gifted a camera by his dad. After learning about the critically endangered red wolves in North Carolina, Eric’s passion project became photographing, educating, and advocating for the red wolf’s survival. Eric and his partner Dani currently reside in Maryland and are often out enjoying the state’s beautiful parks and rivers.
You can make a huge difference for Red Wolves!
Be sure tocheck Eric’s call to action in his article here on Rewilding.org.
Show Notes
Rewilding the Red Wolf: From Curiosity to Conservation with Eric Trefney
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth Podcast, Eric shares his journey from a curious Google search on “endangered species near me” to becoming an advocate focused on the critically endangered Red Wolf. Based in the DC Maryland area, Eric discusses his frequent trips to the Red Wolf recovery area in North Carolina’s Albemarle Peninsula, his experiences capturing the elusive Red Wolves on camera, and the importance of ethical wildlife photography. The conversation also touches on the need for public awareness, conservation efforts, and ways you can support Red Wolf recovery. Eric emphasizes the power of conversation and connection in driving conservation efforts.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:05 Discovering the Red Wolf
01:48 Journey into Wildlife Photography
02:27 Challenges of Photographing Red Wolves
03:38 Becoming a Red Wolf Advocate
05:01 How to Support Red Wolf Conservation
11:34 Ethical Wildlife Photography
15:06 Experiences in Red Wolf Territory
19:55 Personal Reflections and Motivation
24:34 Where to Find Eric’s Work
25:16 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Extra Credit

* Follow Eric and see more pictures on his Instagram account.
* Take action on behalf of red wolves!

Pictures from a recent trip Eric took to North Carolinea’s Red Wolf territory:
About
Eric Trefney grew up in Michigan in the metro-Detroit area, where he often camped and canoed with his family and friends. After finishing graduate school in 2015, Eric joined the Peace Corps, where he was assigned to Senegal, Africa, in the Sahel desert region. Eric practiced and trained in agroforestry techniques with local Senegalese partners and women’s financial literacy. In 2018, after his two years of Peace Corps service, Eric moved to the Washington D.C. area and was gifted a camera by his dad. After learning about the critically endangered red wolves in North Carolina, Eric’s passion project became photographing, educating, and advocating for the red wolf’s survival. Eric and his partner Dani currently reside in Maryland and are often out enjoying the state’s beautiful parks and rivers.
You can make a huge difference for Red Wolves!
Be sure tocheck Eric’s call to action in his article here on Rewilding.org.
Show Notes
Rewilding the Red Wolf: From Curiosity to Conservation with Eric Trefney

Ruskin Hartley champions equitable access to dark skies and quality lighting for all through DarkSky’s award-winning programs. He works closely with volunteer leaders and donors to secure increased support for our priorities around the world. Ruskin believes that experiencing a dark sky, and appreciating quality lighting, are essential to DarkSky’s mission.
Before this position, Ruskin directed and managed conservation programs that protect land, water, and ocean resources. He served as executive director of Save the Redwoods League, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the redwood forest. He also served as the president and CEO of Heal the Bay in Los Angeles and as vice president of resource development at Fair Trade USA, an award-winning social enterprise seeking to alleviate poverty worldwide.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Ruskin holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree from The University of East Anglia. Ruskin loves to head out on the trail with his wife and kids or cook under the stars.
LinkedIn | X (Twitter) | Instagram
Show Notes
Impact of Light Pollution on Night Skies and Biodiversity
This episode explores the growing issue of light pollution and its profound impact on the environment, biodiversity, and human experiences of the night sky. Starting from the advent of electric light approximately 150 years ago, the discussion delves into the astronomical increase in light pollution and its adverse effects on various species, including migrating birds and insects.
The conversation highlights simple, actionable, no-regret solutions such as implementing better lighting policies and local and national advocacy efforts to mitigate light pollution. The role of community involvement and scientific studies in understanding and addressing the problem underscores the urgency of preserving natural dark skies.
00:00 The Evolution of Dark Skies
00:47 The Impact of Light Pollution
02:37 Mitigating Light Pollution
06:15 Legislation and Advocacy
12:11 Community and Individual Actions
16:37 Conservation and Nighttime Protection
23:59 Get Involved and Make a Difference
Extra Credit

* Check out DarkSky.org and take simple steps to reduce light pollution where you live!
* Is there a Dark Sky chapter near you? Find your local chapter.

Ruskin Hartley champions equitable access to dark skies and quality lighting for all through DarkSky’s award-winning programs. He works closely with volunteer leaders and donors to secure increased support for our priorities around the world. Ruskin believes that experiencing a dark sky, and appreciating quality lighting, are essential to DarkSky’s mission.
Before this position, Ruskin directed and managed conservation programs that protect land, water, and ocean resources. He served as executive director of Save the Redwoods League, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the redwood forest. He also served as the president and CEO of Heal the Bay in Los Angeles and as vice president of resource development at 

About
Myles Traphagen coordinates Wildlands Network’s borderlands program, focusing on channeling collaborative efforts to maintain and restore habitat for species like jaguar, black bear, and Sonoran pronghorn. He oversees strategic partnerships, communications, and projects to advance large-landscape conservation goals in Mexico and the United States. Learn more about Myles here.
Show Notes
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Jack Humphrey interviews Myles Traphagen, the Borderlands Program Coordinator for Wildlands Network. They discuss the impact of the U.S.-Mexico border wall on wildlife connectivity and corridors, highlighting the challenges posed by the barrier on species such as the jaguar and the Mexican gray wolf. Myles explains the difficulty of working to protect an animal he may never see in the wild, emphasizing the altruistic motivations behind conservation efforts.
The conversation covers the historical context of border wall construction, the political aspects influencing these structures, and the ongoing efforts to create wildlife openings. The episode concludes with Myles sharing the successes obtained through fieldwork, GIS mapping, and legal actions and his optimism fueled by gradual progress in conservation initiatives.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:06 Understanding the Borderlands Program
00:41 Impact of the Border Wall on Wildlife
01:10 The Elusive Jaguar
03:10 Challenges in Conservation Biology
08:06 Political Implications of the Border Wall
11:12 Efforts to Mitigate Border Wall Impact
26:17 Success Stories and Hope for the Future
34:36 Call to Action and Final Thoughts
Extra Credit

* Learn more about borderlands connectivity issues from the Wildlands Network

Download the Transcript for this Episode
About
Myles Traphagen coordinates Wildlands Network’s borderlands program, focusing on channeling collaborative efforts to maintain and restore habitat for species like jaguar, black bear, and Sonoran pronghorn. He oversees strategic partnerships, communications, and projects to advance large-landscape conservation goals in Mexico and the United States. Learn more about Myles here.
Show Notes
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Jack Humphrey interviews Myles Traphagen, the Borderlands Program Coordinator for Wildlands Network. They discuss the impact of the U.S.-Mexico border wall on wildlife connectivity and corridors, highlighting the challenges posed by the barrier on species such as the jaguar and the Mexican gray wolf. Myles explains the difficulty of working to protect an animal he may never see in the wild, emphasizing the altruistic motivations behind conservation efforts.
The conversation covers the historical context of border wall construction, the political aspects influencing these structures, and the ongoing efforts to create wildlife openings. The episode concludes with Myles sharing the successes obtained through fieldwork, GIS mapping, and legal actions and his optimism fueled by gradual progress in conservation initiatives.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:06 Understanding the Borderlands Program
00:41 Impact of the Border Wall on Wildlife
01:10 The Elusive Jaguar
03:10 Challenges in Conservation Biology
08:06 Political Implications of the Border Wall

About
With an academic background in landscape architecture and plant ecology, Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation as an intern in 1996 and today serves as its President and Executive Director. In this role, he headed the $7.5 million campaign to construct and endow the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center and served as the Executive Producer for Green Fire, a documentary film about Leopold’s life & legacy. You can find a link to the documentary in “extra Credit” below.
Buddy serves as a leading voice for the role of ethics in the relationships between humans and nature and has addressed audiences across North America on why and how society must develop an ecological conscience. Today we talk about the 75th anniversary of Sand County Almanac and the 100th Anniversary of the Gila Wilderness along with reflections on what Aldo Leopold’s message means in today’s conservation landscape and the challenges we face.
Show Notes
Celebrating Aldo Leopold’s Legacy: Milestones in Conservation
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Jack Humphrey converses with Buddy Huffaker about the dual significance of 2024, marking the 75th anniversary of ‘A Sand County Almanac’ and the 100th anniversary of the Gila Wilderness Area. We discuss Aldo Leopold’s profound impact on conservation, his visionary yet pragmatic approach, and how his legacy continues to inspire contemporary environmental efforts.
The conversation also touches on the importance of connecting various conservation efforts, from large wilderness areas to urban environments, and the ongoing challenges and opportunities in the field. Buddy emphasizes the need for continued education and engagement with Leopold’s land ethic and highlights the work of the Aldo Leopold Foundation in promoting ecological consciousness and stewardship.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:15 Celebrating Leopold’s Legacy
02:09 Reflections on Leopold’s Vision
03:21 Connecting Conservation Efforts
03:42 Leopold’s Philosophical Impact
04:38 The Gila Wilderness and Beyond
05:26 Leopold’s Pragmatic Approach
06:18 Rewilding and Modern Conservation
12:53 Educational Initiatives and Legacy
16:28 Expanding Conservation Awareness
22:29 Challenges and Opportunities in Conservation
30:52 Conclusion and Call to Action
Extra Credit

* Watch: Green Fire Documentary
* Check out the Aldo Leopold Foundation’s website for all kinds of tools and resources and grab a copy or two of “A Sand County Almanac.”
* Read: Protecting Aldo Leopold’s Great Idea: Help Protect More of the Gila Wilderness

About
With an academic background in landscape architecture and plant ecology, Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation as an intern in 1996 and today serves as its President and Executive Director. In this role, he headed the $7.5 million campaign to construct and endow the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center and served as the Executive Producer for Green Fire, a documentary film about Leopold’s life & legacy. You can find a link to the documentary in “extra Credit” below.
Buddy serves as a leading voice for the role of ethics in the relationships between humans and nature and has addressed audiences across North America on why and how society must develop an ecological conscience. Today we talk about the 75th anniversary of Sand County Almanac and the 100th Anniversary of the G...

About
Rowan Kilduff is a dad, long-time mountain, hawk & wildlife enthusiast, poet, and activist-artist. He has worked on various projects, including with Greenpeace, hands-on forest conservation in the Czech Republic, fixing a roof in Nepal, and photos used by The Irish Seal Sanctuary.

His first writing about rewilding and first poems were published in Rewilding Earth, and his writing & pictures have been printed in Wingspan (from the Raptor Research Foundation), Camas (Montana), Ecozona Spain, and by ZEST Sustainable Literature in Italy; with 2 DIY books available online (see Extra Credit below).

His new book is called Wind to Space: poems & sketches (Sustainable Reading)

Rowan lives in Central Europe, currently up and down between 49 and 52°N.

Topics

* Urban wildlife
* Rewilding with art, reminding people of the wild things all around us
* The role of creative works and poetry in continually “recalibrating” ourselves

Extra Credit

* Check out the images Rowan discusses in this episode on his Flickr page.
* Rowan’s contributions here at rewilding.org.

Additional work:

* Fire Songs, Sky Songs, Mountain Songs
* Sunrise Fire
* Check out Rowan on Soundcloud
* More art here, and here.

About
Rowan Kilduff is a dad, long-time mountain, hawk & wildlife enthusiast, poet, and activist-artist. He has worked on various projects, including with Greenpeace, hands-on forest conservation in the Czech Republic, fixing a roof in Nepal, and photos used by The Irish Seal Sanctuary.

His first writing about rewilding and first poems were published in Rewilding Earth, and his writing & pictures have been printed in Wingspan (from the Raptor Research Foundation), Camas (Montana), Ecozona Spain, and by ZEST Sustainable Literature in Italy; with 2 DIY books available online (see Extra Credit below).

His new book is called Wind to Space: poems & sketches (Sustainable Reading)

Rowan lives in Central Europe, currently up and down between 49 and 52°N.

Topics

* Urban wildlife
* Rewilding with art, reminding people of the wild things all around us
* The role of creative works and poetry in continually “recalibrating” ourselves

Extra Credit

* Check out the images Rowan discusses in this episode on his Flickr page.
* Rowan’s contributions here at rewilding.org.

Additional work:

* Fire Songs, Sky Songs, Mountain Songs
* Sunrise Fire
* Check out Rowan on Soundcloud
* More art here, and

About Today’s Guests
George Wuerthner (President, Sage Steppe Wild) – George is a professional photographer, writer, and ecologist. He has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 400 wilderness areas, more than 200 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi. George is the author of 38 books on environmental issues and natural history including Welfare Ranching, Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Energy: The Delusion of Endless Growth and Overdevelopment, Thrillcraft, and Keeping the Wild. His most recent publication is Protecting the Wild.
Jonathan Ratner (Director, Sage Steppe Wild) – Jonathan has extensive knowledge of federal land management agency methods and practice, with a specialty in public lands livestock grazing. He has been monitoring and commenting on grazing cases in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado for the last 20 years. Prior to that he studied endangered species such as the grizzly bear, lynx, wolverine, and marten for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, the US Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Topics

* Who funds most conservation and environmental groups and how funders can knock organizations off mission.
* The difficulties of having a no-compromise policy when it comes to mission and funding.
* An old, treasured conservation news source gets a new life.

Extra Credit

* Reading: “The Wildlife News“
* Sage Steppe Wild
* Tons of resources on all things Western public lands conservation and advocacy

About Today’s Guests
George Wuerthner (President, Sage Steppe Wild) – George is a professional photographer, writer, and ecologist. He has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 400 wilderness areas, more than 200 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi. George is the author of 38 books on environmental issues and natural history including Welfare Ranching, Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Energy: The Delusion of Endless Growth and Overdevelopment, Thrillcraft, and Keeping the Wild. His most recent publication is Protecting the Wild.
Jonathan Ratner (Director, Sage Steppe Wild) – Jonathan has extensive knowledge of federal land management agency methods and practice, with a specialty in public lands livestock grazing. He has been monitoring and commenting on grazing cases in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado for the last 20 years. Prior to that he studied endangered species such as the grizzly bear, lynx, wolverine, and marten for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, the US Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Topics

* Who funds most conservation and environmental groups and how funders can knock organizations off mission.
* The difficulties of having a no-compromise policy when it comes to mission and funding.
* An old, treasured conservation news source gets a new life.

Extra Credit

* Reading: “The Wildlife News“
* Sage Steppe Wild
* Tons of resources on all things Western public lands conservation and advocacy

Note from Randy: Hi everyone thank you for listening. On the podcast I speak about not reporting possible poachers when they talk about jaguar killings. In addition to the fact that information channels would dry up if we were to report those who talk about killing jaguars, there is also the fact that actual poachers with evidence of the crimes are not prosecuted. In the death of Corazon the jaguar and the bear killed in Cumpas there was physical evidence and no charges were brought against the perpetrators. In the case of the bear in Cumpas there was video of the killing and the boasting. In that case, the people reporting it were even threatened.  I know that a conviction would help protect jaguars. But by the same logic another killing not prosecuted damages peoples belief that jaguars are protected. We are woking hard to change peoples views and relationships with jaguars and biodiversity in general. Thank you.
About Randy Young Villegas
As former manager of the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sahuaripa, Sonora, Randy witnessed the environmental destruction from current agricultural systems that leads to jaguar persecution. Randy has experience in landscape restoration, permaculture, water harvesting, and natural building, and completed a diplomado program on agaves and mesquites to regenerate semi-arid zones through the University of Guanajuato. He has been involved in different aspects of community development and is a member of the Committee for Sustainable Rural Development for the municipality of Sahuaripa and the Sembrando Vida program for the Santo Tomás, Sehuadehuachi, and Pónida ejidos (community owned lands).
Topics

* Working with landowners to reconnect with the land through regenerative agriculture and permaculture, natural building techniques
* Recreating a bond with nature that provides more stable income for landowners while providing safe habitat for Jaguars to roam and live
* Winning hearts and minds leading to a respect and even pride in helping large carnivores
* Examples of working with nature, alternatives to monoculture farming, and creating a win-win for people and nature

Extra Credit
Visit La Tierra del Jaguar for more information and to get involved!
Download the transcript for episode 122 (PDF)
 
Note from Randy: Hi everyone thank you for listening. On the podcast I speak about not reporting possible poachers when they talk about jaguar killings. In addition to the fact that information channels would dry up if we were to report those who talk about killing jaguars, there is also the fact that actual poachers with evidence of the crimes are not prosecuted. In the death of Corazon the jaguar and the bear killed in Cumpas there was physical evidence and no charges were brought against the perpetrators. In the case of the bear in Cumpas there was video of the killing and the boasting. In that case, the people reporting it were even threatened.  I know that a conviction would help protect jaguars. But by the same logic another killing not prosecuted damages peoples belief that jaguars are protected. We are woking hard to change peoples views and relationships with jaguars and biodiversity in general. Thank you.
About Randy Young Villegas
As former manager of the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sahuaripa, Sonora, Randy witnessed the environmental destruction from current agricultural systems that leads to jaguar persecution. Randy has experience in landscape restoration, permaculture, water harvesting, and natural building, and completed a diplomado program on agaves and mesquites to regenerate semi-arid zones through the University of Guanajuato. He has been involved in different aspects of community development and is a member of the Committee for Sustainable Rural Development f...

About
Before joining The Rewilding Institute, Megan “Turtle” Southern was the coordinator of the Northern Jaguar Project, where she helped to establish and grow the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora, Mexico, organized scientific research projects and conservation education among youth, and worked extensively with ranchers to promote coexistence.
It has been 15 years since the jaguar known as Macho B died. That is an entire lifetime for a jaguar. It has been eight years since El Jefe was last seen in Arizona, having since moved south into Sonora, Mexico. The newest U.S. jaguar, confirmed earlier this year, follows in their footsteps – a trail that leads through Arizona and New Mexico to vast areas of wild, rugged habitat and abundant prey.
What this new jaguar shows us: Arizona is still wild, we still have our apex predator here, and the border is still porous enough that wild jaguars can cross it. Jaguars are telling us with their movements that they need access to both sides of the border, and that we need to keep linkages open between core areas.
Large portions of Arizona and New Mexico have been identified as potential jaguar habitat, based on historical observations, vegetation type, prey availability, and proximity to water. With Arizona and New Mexico in the mix, the northern population of jaguars could double in number from the cats found in Sonora, habitat options would be expanded, genetic integrity improved, and overall, there would be a more positive outlook for the future.
We know that 20 years ago, the jaguar population in Sonora was believed to be in decline. The idea of setting up what is now the Northern Jaguar Reserve was seen by some as an impractical dream. Today, this core area is protected, a priority for conservation, and essential to jaguar survival and recovery.
Being in places where jaguars roam, like on the reserve, provides countless opportunities for inspiration for what the next 20 years of conservation efforts will bring for jaguars in their northern range. Jaguars belong in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, historically and still today. This is their home. 
Topics

Field guide to get to know the jaguar
Jaguars in the United States – historically
Jaguars in the United States – modern times
One place northern jaguars live: Northern Jaguar Reserve
Finding understanding, inspiration, and story from jaguars in the U.S. and Mexico
Corridors, connectivity, threats, the border wall
Hints at future plans, how carnivores prompt us to think big… stay tuned for more.
Storytelling is key to advancing conservation; science alone doesn’t lead to action, and imaginative empathy is key, as discussed recently with Paula MacKay and Robert Long in Episode 120.

Extra Credit

* Northern Jaguar Reserve
* Embattled Borderlands, Krista Schlyer / Borderlands Project StoryMap
* The Border Wall in Arizona and New Mexico, Wildlands Network StoryMap
* Where Jaguars Roam, Forktailed Media
* Read the book “Borderland Jaguars“
* Related podcasts: – Laiken Jordahl and Lauren Strohacker’s Rewilding Earth ep...

About
Paula MacKay has studied wild carnivores for the past two decades and is currently a carnivore conservation specialist with Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Also dedicated to communications on behalf of her wild kin, Paula earned an MFA in creative writing from Pacific Lutheran University in 2015.

She was managing editor for Noninvasive Survey Methods for Carnivores (Island Press, 2008), and her work has been published in numerous journals, magazines, books, and anthologies. Paula lives on an island near Seattle with her husband (Robert Long) and more-than-human dogs, in the company of elder trees. Visit her website to read Paula’s writings about rewilding and to subscribe to her blog, Wild Prose.
Dr. Robert Long is a Senior Conservation Scientist at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and director of the zoo’s Living Northwest program.

His primary responsibilities include coordinating carnivore research and conservation projects in the Pacific Northwest. Robert has twenty-plus years of experience studying a variety of species, most recently wolverines, lynx, martens, and urban carnivores such as coyotes, and also bears, fishers, bobcats, foxes, deer, snowshoe hares, and owls. He holds degrees from Humboldt State University, the University of Maine, and the University of Vermont. In 2008, he co-edited the book, Noninvasive Survey Methods for Carnivores. He currently lives with his wife (Paula MacKay) and their dogs on Bainbridge Island.
Topics

* Working with carnivores: carnivore conservation & research in the Pacific Northwest
* Non-invasive methods of studying carnivores like camera traps
* Animal autonomy
* How pervasive are camera traps now that anyone can use them?
* How to ensure communities feel safe with cameras in urban monitoring environments
* Scat in the freezer and books on poop!

Extra Credit

* NORTHWEST CARNIVORE SCIENCE & CONSERVATION PROGRAM
* Paula MacKay’s website
* Learn more about non-invasive survey methods for carnivore research

Books Mentioned:


Ben Goldfarb, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of our Planet. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2023.

Episode 120 Transcript (PDF)
About
Paula MacKay has studied wild carnivores for the past two decades and is currently a carnivore conservation specialist with Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Also dedicated to communications on behalf of her wild kin, Paula earned an MFA in creative writing from Pacific Lutheran University in 2015.

She was managing editor for Noninvasive Survey Methods for Carnivores (Island Press, 2008), and her work has been published in numerous journals, magazines, books, and anthologies. Paula lives on an island near Seattle with her husband (Ro...

About
Lauren Strohacker is an eco-political artist whose work emphasizes the non-human in an increasingly human-centric world. She received a BFA (2006) from The Ohio State University and an MFA (2011) from Arizona State University.

Strohacker’s co-creative and site-responsive practice routinely collaborates with both local and national wildlife conservation organizations to conceptualize animals who have been displaced by the colonial built environment, controlled by the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and erased by the anthropocentrism of capitalism. Conceptually, Strohacker’s focus on wildlife and public space reflects larger contexts of ecology, politics, and radical interspecies municipality.
Topics

* Art in unexpected places
* Reinvigorating human connection to nature, the wild things
* The border wall Jaguar project and other work
* The power of art to move people, pattern interruptions
* Art as a campfire



Extra Credit

* Check out Lauren’s amazing art here!
* Episode 119: Lauren Strohacker Transcript 2023

About
Lauren Strohacker is an eco-political artist whose work emphasizes the non-human in an increasingly human-centric world. She received a BFA (2006) from The Ohio State University and an MFA (2011) from Arizona State University.

Strohacker’s co-creative and site-responsive practice routinely collaborates with both local and national wildlife conservation organizations to conceptualize animals who have been displaced by the colonial built environment, controlled by the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and erased by the anthropocentrism of capitalism. Conceptually, Strohacker’s focus on wildlife and public space reflects larger contexts of ecology, politics, and radical interspecies municipality.
Topics

* Art in unexpected places
* Reinvigorating human connection to nature, the wild things
* The border wall Jaguar project and other work
* The power of art to move people, pattern interruptions
* Art as a campfire



Extra Credit

* Check out Lauren’s amazing art here!
* Episode 119: Lauren Strohacker Transcript 2023

About
Christina Selby is a conservation photographer, filmmaker, and science writer, who uses multimedia storytelling as a powerful tool to share the beauty of the planet and motivate others to act on behalf of nature. She uses use aerial, macro, landscape, underwater, remote camera, photojournalism, and any other technique required to tell engaging stories that speak to our shared need for beauty and connection to nature. Her storytelling focuses on remembering who we are, what we can be, and our place in the world as caretakers.
She’s the author of Best Wildflower Hikes of New Mexico (FalconGuides, March 2020), New Mexico Family Outdoor Adventures (UNM Press, September 2021), and producer and co-director of the feature documentary Saving Beauty: Learning to Live with the Rare Ones Among Us. In 2022, Christina became an Emerging League Member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Christina’s full bio can be found here.
Topics

* The challenges of photographing and telling a visual story of springs
* The wild, far-out places Christina has travelled to capture the story of endangered springs
* The importance of translating the science through art to help laypeople understand the issues and encourage their involvement in the solutions

Extra Credit

* Visit Christina’s site to check out her photography and work
* Springs of the Southwest Project
* Visit the Spring Stewardship Institute
* Check out Biohabitats “Leaf Litter” Newsletter to meet more people like Christina

 
About
Christina Selby is a conservation photographer, filmmaker, and science writer, who uses multimedia storytelling as a powerful tool to share the beauty of the planet and motivate others to act on behalf of nature. She uses use aerial, macro, landscape, underwater, remote camera, photojournalism, and any other technique required to tell engaging stories that speak to our shared need for beauty and connection to nature. Her storytelling focuses on remembering who we are, what we can be, and our place in the world as caretakers.
She’s the author of Best Wildflower Hikes of New Mexico (FalconGuides, March 2020), New Mexico Family Outdoor Adventures (UNM Press, September 2021), and producer and co-director of the feature documentary Saving Beauty: Learning to Live with the Rare Ones Among Us. In 2022, Christina became an Emerging League Member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Christina’s full bio can be found here.
Topics

* The challenges of photographing and telling a visual story of springs
* The wild, far-out places Christina has travelled to capture the story of endangered springs
* The importance of translating the science through art to help laypeople understand the issues and encourage their involvement in the solutions

About
A native of New Jersey, Jamie discovered his passion for Wild Nature surrounded by meadows and forests near his home and on a family outing in an old growth forest in the Quebec wilderness. In 1986 he bought a log cabin in northern New Hampshire where he still lives.
In 1985 Jamie became involved with Earth First!, and his “Preserve Appalachian Wilderness Proposal” appeared in the May 1987 issue of the Earth First! Journal. The following year, working as a reporter for the local weekly, he stumbled upon news that former Diamond International timberlands were for sale. Jamie quit his job and formed first “Preserve Appalachian Wilderness” (PAW) and later “Northern Appalachian Restoration Project” (NARP) to fight the destruction of wild areas and spectacular old-growth in northern New England.
Jamie continues to advocate for big wilderness and continental-scale wildlands networks. He is an author who has written “You Had a Job for Life,” and “Children of the Northern Forest: Wild New England’s History from Glaciers to Global Warming.”
Jamie is also Rewilding Leadership Council member.
Topics

* What happens when a degraded forest plot is sold vs what should happen
* How towns are coping with the loss of the single extractive industry that formerly propped them up
* Learning to live within hard limits of nature

Extra Credit
Books

* Children of the Northern Forest
* You Had a Job for Life

Resources

* Subscribe to From the Ground Up
* Wildlands in New England Report
* Jamie’s articles on Rewilding.org
* RESTORE The North Woods
* Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities

About
A native of New Jersey, Jamie discovered his passion for Wild Nature surrounded by meadows and forests near his home and on a family outing in an old growth forest in the Quebec wilderness.

About

Duncan is the Founder and Managing Director of Journeys With Purpose.  Journeys With Purpose is a member of 1% for the Planet, 

About Peter Alagona
Peter is a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He’s an environmental historian, historian of science, conservation scientist, and nature-culture geographer. His work explores what happens when humans share space and resources (their habitats) with other species: how we interact with non-human creatures, how we make sense of these interactions, why we fight so much about them, what we can learn from them, and how we might use these lessons to foster a more just, peaceful, humane, and sustainable society. Most of his research has focused on human interactions with wildlife in North America. A second area of interest involves developing creative, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and mixed methods for studying ecological change over multiple time periods and scales.
Today, I talk with Peter about Grizzlies, their future reintroduction in the state of California, and some of the most fascinating grizzly facts and history I’ve ever had the pleasure of discussing. Stay tuned because, even if you fancy yourself a brown bear aficionado, there’s a good chance there’s something in this chat you didn’t know about Grizzlies!
Topics

* Reintroduction of Grizzlies in the state of California
* European vs. American attitudes around coexisting with brown bears
* Tons of Grizzly/brown bear history and facts!

Extra Credit

* Peter’s website
* California Grizzly Research Network

About Peter Alagona
Peter is a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He’s an environmental historian, historian of science, conservation scientist, and nature-culture geographer. His work explores what happens when humans share space and resources (their habitats) with other species: how we interact with non-human creatures, how we make sense of these interactions, why we fight so much about them, what we can learn from them, and how we might use these lessons to foster a more just, peaceful, humane, and sustainable society. Most of his research has focused on human interactions with wildlife in North America. A second area of interest involves developing creative, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and mixed methods for studying ecological change over multiple time periods and scales.
Today, I talk with Peter about Grizzlies, their future reintroduction in the state of California, and some of the most fascinating grizzly facts and history I’ve ever had the pleasure of discussing. Stay tuned because, even if you fancy yourself a brown bear aficionado, there’s a good chance there’s something in this chat you didn’t know about Grizzlies!
Topics

* Reintroduction of Grizzlies in the state of California
* European vs. American attitudes around coexisting with brown bears
* Tons of Grizzly/brown bear history and facts!

Extra Credit

* Peter’s website
* California Grizzly Research Network

About
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jon Rezendes had a lifelong obsession with wilderness and big cats interrupted by the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. Jon was a high school freshman and watched the first responder jets fly overhead from the now-defunct Otis Air Force Base en route to New York City and felt the unshakeable urge to serve. He took that deep obligation with him to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 2009 as an infantry officer.
Less than a year after graduation, Jon led a platoon from the 101st Airborne Division in combat in Kandahar, Afghanistan before being reassigned to instruct at the Florida Phase of US Army Ranger School. In 2015, the “needs of the Army” ultimately stationed Jon at Ft. Bliss, just outside El Paso, TX, and changed his life forever.
The wilderness of the desert Southwest called him with a different sense of duty: to live among and protect those wild mountains of the borderland. The works of Dave Foreman, Ed Abbey, and Cormac McCarthy influenced him heavily during this time. Jon left service in 2017 and, after a brief return to New England, he and his family permanently settled in the shadow of El Paso’s Franklin Mountains.
By day, Jon works for a decarbonization-focused software company that addresses the climate crisis with trusted data. On nights and weekends, he has begun to ‘use his words’ and his hands to advocate for wilderness and volunteer for local non-profits. While he is just beginning to actualize his journey as a conservationist, Jon is a prolific writer, aspiring Trans-Pecos Chapter Texas Master Naturalist (with a long way and lots of learning to go!), and supportive husband to his wife, a certified associate wildlife biologist and PhD student, who studies those same big cats that first held his infatuation even as a boy thousands of miles away.
Jon’s awards and decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Airborne Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Pathfinder Badge, a Bronze Star Medal, and the coveted Ranger tab.
Topics

A deeper dive into Jon’s article “A Conservation Star Deep in the Heart” about the rewilding victory in the Franklin Mountains of the Trans-Pecos
Examples of how El Paso looks at conservation, water, and habitat protection, a radically different approach than most southwest cities
The groups and individuals that are getting the job done for mountain lions and habitat protection in and around El Paso

Extra Credit

* Frontera Land Alliance
* The Nature Conservancy “North American Cities” program

About
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jon Rezendes had a lifelong obsession with wilderness and big cats interrupted by the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. Jon was a high school freshman and watched the first responder jets fly overhead from the now-defunct Otis Air Force Base en route to New York City and felt the unshakeable urge to serve. He took that deep obligation with him to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 2009 as an infantry officer.
Less than a year after graduation, Jon led a platoon from the 101st Airborne Division in combat in Kandahar, Afghanistan before being reassigned to instruct at the Florida Phase of US Army Ranger School. In 2015, the “needs of the Army” ultimately stationed Jon at Ft. Bliss, just outside El Paso, TX, and changed his life forever.
The wilderness of the desert Southwest called him with a different sense of duty: to live among and protect those wild mountains of the borderland. The works of Dave Foreman,

About
Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and caring for the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature. Participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities.
Following her passion for wild nature, Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from Ball State University. She then spent the next several years traveling and has spent time working as a field guide in South Africa, a human-manatee interactions researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Florida, a National Park Service cowgirl in Montana, and a conservation educator in Ohio. And now she is part of the Rewilding Institute and Project Coyote team working on our new rewilding and carnivore coexistence program in the Mississippi River Watershed.

Topics

* What is the Heartland Rewilding program?
* What does it take to inspire and organize people around rewilding in the Mississippi River Watershed?
* How to maintain balance as a busy, high-energy conservation leader.
* The unusual path Kelly traveled to arrive at Heartland Rewilding and advice for people who want to do this kind of work.
* How you can get involved in the exciting and fun work in the Heartland of the United States.

Extra Credit
Visit Heartland Rewilding and learn more, donate, and sign up for the next event!
About
Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and caring for the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature. Participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities.
Following her passion for wild nature, Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from Ball State University. She then spent the next several years traveling and has spent time working as a field guide in South Africa, a human-manatee interactions researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Florida, a National Park Service cowgirl in Montana, and a conservation educator in Ohio. And now she is part of the Rewilding Institute and Project Coyote team working on our new rewilding and carnivore coexistence program in the Mississippi River Watershed.

Topics

* What is the Heartland Rewilding program?
* What does it take to inspire and organize people around rewilding in the Mississippi River Watershed?
* How to maintain balance as a busy, high-energy conservation leader.
* The unusual path Kelly traveled to arrive at Heartland Rewilding and advice for people who want to do this kind of work.
* How you can get involved in the exciting and fun work in the Heartland of the United States.

Extra Credit
Visit Heartland Rewilding and learn more, donate, and sign up for the next event!

About Suzanne

Suzanne Fouty has been exploring the issues of water and the return of wolves in the West for over 30 years, the contributions made by beaver to ecosystems for over 25 years, and the synergy between beavers and wolves in restoring stream systems for over 10 years.
Her work on wolves began in 1990 at Yosemite Institute where she gave weekly presentations to students on the pending return of wolves to the West and some of the social questions in play related to livestock grazing and ranching on public lands and wolves.
She worked for the Forest Service in eastern Oregon as a hydrologist and soils specialist for almost 16 years before retiring in 2018. Since retiring she has been deeply involved in five recent efforts to close federally-managed public lands in Oregon to beaver trapping and hunting as a proactive response to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Suzanne was included in the PBS Nature episode “Leave it to Beavers” and featured in the film “The Beaver Believers.” Her writing and presentations have been primarily for the general public to share how beavers and wolves contribute to preparing communities for climate change via stream and wetland restoration, and the social and political obstacles getting in the way of those contributions.
About Adam

Adam Bronstein is the director for Oregon and Nevada with Western Watersheds Project, a non-profit conservation organization working to protect and restore public lands and wildlife throughout the West. He is the host of Wilderness Podcast and also serves as board president of the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance in Bozeman, Montana, working to protect the remaining wilderness-quality lands of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest.
Topics

* History of Beaver trapping and hunting on public lands
* The requested executive order to close federally managed lands to beaver hunting and trapping
* Drought and flood management with Beavers on the landscape
* Beavers and their role as a keystone species

Extra Credit

* Read the letter here
* SIGN THE PETITION!
* Beaver Benefits and Closure FAQ (PDF)
* The world’s biggest banks have pumped trillions into fossil fuel projects in the past 5 years– Bank article mentioned by Suzanne in this episode
* Show transcript

About Suzanne

Suzanne Fouty has been exploring the issues of water and the return of wolves in the West for over 30 years, the contributions made by beaver to ecosystems for over 25 years, and the synergy between beavers and wolves in restoring stream systems for over 10 years.
Her work on wolves began in 1990 at Yosemite Institute where she gave weekly presentations to students on the pending return of wolves to the West and some of the social questions in play related to livestock grazing and ranching on public lands and wolves.
She worked for the Forest Service in eastern Oregon as a hydrologist and soils specialist for almost 16 years before retiring in 2018. Since retiring she has been deeply involved in five recent efforts to close federally-managed public lands in Oregon to beaver trapping and hunting as a proact...

About
Carter, author of Justice as a Fair Start in Life, began his career as an Honors Program appointee to the U.S. Department of Justice. He later served as a legal adviser to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the national security law division. He wrote his thesis reformulating the right to have children under Jeremy Waldron, his extensive academic work on family planning has been published by Yale, Duke, and Northwestern Universities, as well as in peer-reviewed pieces, and he has served on the Steering Committee of the Population Ethics and Policy Research Project and was a Visiting Scholar at the Uehiro Center, both at the University of Oxford. He has taught at several law schools in the U.S., served as a peer reviewer for the journal Bioethics, and most recently managed an animal protection strategic impact litigation program, with annual resources in excess of five million dollars.
“The storyteller of an environmentalism that has to do with liberating humans, an environmentalism based on freedom, I honestly believe that voice will come from the global south. It will not come from Eurocentric cultures, quite frankly, that have had hegemony over the process to date and have failed.” -Carter Dillard
Topics

* Anthropocentric vs. ecocentric approach toward conservation and rights of nature
* Moving toward a “town hall” version of governance vs. current system of “shopping mall” growth at any cost
* Moving humanity closer to a view of nature for its own sake

Download the transcript from today’s episode (PDF)
Extra Credit

* The basis for this episode: ­­­The Secret War on Natural Rights—and Children | Opinion
* Recent Newsweek article by Carter: Today’s Trolley Problem: Only One Track Leads to the Future | Opinion
* Mentioned in this episode: Peter Fiekowsky “Climate Restoration: The Only Future That Will Sustain the Human Race“

About
Carter, author of Justice as a Fair Start in Life, began his career as an Honors Program appointee to the U.S. Department of Justice. He later served as a legal adviser to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the national security law division. He wrote his thesis reformulating the right to have children under Jeremy Waldron, his extensive academic work on family planning has been published by Yale, Duke, and Northwestern Universities, as well as in peer-reviewed pieces, and he has served on the Steering Committee of the Population Ethics and Policy Research Project and was a Visiting Scholar at the Uehiro Center, both at the University of Oxford. He has taught at several law schools in the U.S., served as a peer reviewer for the journal Bioethics, and most recently managed an animal protection strategic impact litigation program, with annual resources in excess of five million dollars.
“The storyteller of an environmentalism that has to do with liberating humans, an environmentalism based on freedom, I honestly believe that voice will come from the global south. It will not come from Eurocentric cultures, quite frankly, that have had hegemony over the process to date and have failed.” -Carter Dillard
Topics

* Anthropocentric vs. ecocentric approach toward conservation and rights of nature
* Moving toward a “town hall” version of governance vs. current system of “shopping mall” growt...

About
Rick Steiner is a conservation biologist in Anchorage, Alaska, and founder of Oasis Earth. He has been involved in the global conservation movement for over 40 years. From 1980-2010 he was a marine conservation professor with the University of Alaska, stationed in the Arctic, Prince William Sound, and Anchorage, specializing in marine conservation, and worked on environmental effects of offshore oil, climate change, fisheries, marine mammals, shipping safety, habitat conservation, and conservation policy. After the university and the U.S. government pressured him to restrain from raising concerns about the risks and impacts of offshore oil development in Alaska, he resigned his tenured professorship in protest.
Rick has authored over one hundred publications; written commentaries for many national and international media outlets including USA Today, LA Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Hill, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun, and Huffington Post; and worked around the world with governments, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and many Indigenous People’s and non-governmental organizations in diverse regions including Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Pakistan, China, the Middle East, the South Pacific, Australia, the Arctic, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and El Salvador.
He has received several conservation awards, and The Guardian called him “one of the world’s leading marine conservation scientists,” and “one of the most respected and outspoken academics on the oil industry’s environmental record.” He serves on the Board of Directors of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and the Board of Advisors of The Ocean Foundation. He has delivered Oasis Earth: Planet in Peril as a public presentation for over 30 years, in many venues around the world, and authored the book Oasis Earth: Planet in Peril, released in 2020.
Topics

* Mismanagement of non-game species on public lands
* Global and national biodiversity crisis
* How you can change the future of wildlife management on public lands in the U.S.

Extra Credit (Take Action!)
Here are specific asks re: Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), that we need to insert into the bill when it comes back up. (And these should also apply to annual Pittman-Robertson (PR) federal funding to state wildlife agencies)

* Clearly specify that, for state wildlife management agencies to receive RAWA or PR funds, they must satisfy federal sustainable ecosystem management principles, sustaining all components of a naturally balanced ecosystem, and these principles must be clearly elucidated in the act;
* Clearly specify that each state plan must address climate change impacts on wildlife, both present and foreseen, and how the state will adjust its wildlife management accordingly;
* Prohibit use of any of these federal funds from being used, either directly or indirectly, state predator control programs;
* Require a public comment period for all annual plans submitted by state’s for use of these federal funds;
* Require an independent scientific assessment of all state plans, programs, and experiences periodically by the National Academies of Sciences;
* Explicitly require the Secretary to review each state plan with regard to public and science comments, and require the Secretary to find state’s ineligible to receive these RAWA (or PR) funds if they are out of compliance with the federal ecosystem management standards.


* For actions you can take, download Rick’s book “Oasis Earth” for free! The entire 3rd section of the book is dedicated to solutions.
* Be sure to follow Rick’s important work and stay updated at

About
Bill Ryerson is Founder and President of Population Media Center (PMC), an organization that strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies. He also serves as Chair of The Population Institute in Washington, DC, which works in partnership with Population Media Center.
PMC creates long-running serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience resulting in positive behavior change. The emphasis of the organization’s work is to educate people about the benefits of small families, encourage the use of effective family planning methods, elevate women’s status, prevent exploitation of children, promote avoidance of HIV infection, and promote environmentally sustainable behaviors.
Mr. Ryerson has a half-century history of working in the field of reproductive health, including three decades of experience adapting the Sabido methodology of social change communications to various cultural settings worldwide.
Ryerson received a B.A. in Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from Amherst College and an M.Phil. in Biology from Yale University (with specialization in Ecology and Evolution). He served as Director of the Population Institute’s Youth and Student Division, Development Director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Executive Vice President of Population Communications International before founding Population Media Center in 1998.
Topics

* Highlights from Bill’s November 2022 Newsweek article “Global Population Hits 8 Billion” (reprinted here)
* Why dealing with consumption alone won’t solve current environmental crises
* The real world effect of “edutainment” on family planning and other issues around the world
* Examples and results of adapting the Sabido methodology of social change communications to various cultural settings worldwide
* The results: you won’t believe how well it has worked! (But you have to listen to find out!)

Extra Credit
Find out more about Bills work at Population Media Center and The Population Institute
—
Intro music by Olexy
About
Bill Ryerson is Founder and President of Population Media Center (PMC), an organization that strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies. He also serves as Chair of The Population Institute in Washington, DC, which works in partnership with Population Media Center.
PMC creates long-running serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience resulting in positive behavior change. The emphasis of the organization’s work is to educate people about the benefits of small families, encourage the use of effective family planning methods, elevate women’s status, prevent exploitation of children, promote avoidance of HIV infection, and promote environmentally sustainable behaviors.
Mr. Ryerson has a half-century history of working in the field of reproductive health, including three decades of experience adapting the Sabido methodology of social change communications to various cultural settings worldwide.
Ryerson received a B.A.

About Kate
Kate McFarland holds a BS in Mathematics, MS in Statistics and PhD in Philosophy (with a focus on pragmatics and philosophy of language) from Ohio State University, which she completed just for fun before leaving academia to spend a few years as a freelance writer. She now works as the Center Associate for the Ohio State University Center for Ethics and Human Values.
When European borders reopened in the summer of 2021, Kate left her flat in Columbus to live nomadically in pursuit of a long-standing dream of car-free, active-transportation-based rural living (which in today’s overdeveloped world means she spends most of her time self-exiled on small islands). Her experiences in Europe would become very influential in the development of her thinking about conservation ethics and rewilding discourse.
Topics

* North American and European versions of rewilding
* The problem with human-centered rhetoric in modern conservation

Extra Credit

* On Rewilding (Whatever That Is): Thoughts of a Faux-Expat
* American Rewilders Should Worry about Europe (Take Two)
* Read more on Kate’s OSU blog

About Kate
Kate McFarland holds a BS in Mathematics, MS in Statistics and PhD in Philosophy (with a focus on pragmatics and philosophy of language) from Ohio State University, which she completed just for fun before leaving academia to spend a few years as a freelance writer. She now works as the Center Associate for the Ohio State University Center for Ethics and Human Values.
When European borders reopened in the summer of 2021, Kate left her flat in Columbus to live nomadically in pursuit of a long-standing dream of car-free, active-transportation-based rural living (which in today’s overdeveloped world means she spends most of her time self-exiled on small islands). Her experiences in Europe would become very influential in the development of her thinking about conservation ethics and rewilding discourse.
Topics

* North American and European versions of rewilding
* The problem with human-centered rhetoric in modern conservation

Extra Credit

* On Rewilding (Whatever That Is): Thoughts of a Faux-Expat
* American Rewilders Should Worry about Europe (Take Two)
* Read more on Kate’s OSU blog

About Ben
Ben Goldfarb (@ben_a_goldfarb) is an award-winning environmental writer whose journalism has appeared in Mother Jones, Science, The Guardian, Orion Magazine, High Country News, Outside, Audubon Magazine, Pacific Standard, Hakai Magazine, VICE News, Yale Environment 360, and many other publications. His fiction has appeared in the Bellevue Literary Review, Motherboard, and The Hopper. He has spoken about environmental storytelling at venues including Stanford and Yale Universities, the American Fisheries Society, and the North American Congress for Conservation Biology.
Topics

* Curing the landscape amnesia of what it was like when healthy beaver populations ruled the West
* Water retention, fire breaks, refugia for countless species… beavers are on a whole different scale of single species importance
* How beavers even help their direct predator with housing
* Wither “Road Ripping?”
* The intersection of roads and beavers
* Mini economic stimulus projects: road obliteration

Extra Credit
Read: “Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter“
About Ben
Ben Goldfarb (@ben_a_goldfarb) is an award-winning environmental writer whose journalism has appeared in Mother Jones, Science, The Guardian, Orion Magazine, High Country News, Outside, Audubon Magazine, Pacific Standard, Hakai Magazine, VICE News, Yale Environment 360, and many other publications. His fiction has appeared in the Bellevue Literary Review, Motherboard, and The Hopper. He has spoken about environmental storytelling at venues including Stanford and Yale Universities, the American Fisheries Society, and the North American Congress for Conservation Biology.
Topics

* Curing the landscape amnesia of what it was like when healthy beaver populations ruled the West
* Water retention, fire breaks, refugia for countless species… beavers are on a whole different scale of single species importance
* How beavers even help their direct predator with housing
* Wither “Road Ripping?”
* The intersection of roads and beavers
* Mini economic stimulus projects: road obliteration

Extra Credit
Read: “Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter“

About
Dr. Liz Hillard is a Senior Wildlife Biologist for Wildlands Network and helped lead and manage the study design, implementation, analysis, and report writing for road ecology research focused on the important Pigeon River Gorge/Interstate 40 corridor near Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. In addition, she works to build partnerships and engage the public in wildlife habitat connectivity and conservation efforts throughout the Southern and Central Appalachian region. Liz currently serves on the Board and as the Secretary for the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society. 
Liz lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her dog Peachy-Keen. She is an avid lover of the arts, especially music and enjoys backcountry camping and trail walking in the Appalachian Mountains. 

Topics

* Wildlife crossing issues and wildlife mortality along the busy Pigeon River Gorge I-40 corridor
* Interesting studies and findings of a long-time wildlife technician
* Aquatic connectivity is often overlooked, important piece of the puzzle
* How you can get involved and help in the Pigeon River Gorge or in your own neck of the woods



Extra Credit

* Here is a link to the press release for the Pigeon River Gorge Research Report. It includes links to the full report, executive summary, photos, maps, and other resources.
* Learn more about Wildlands Network

*  How to get involved.

About
Dr. Liz Hillard is a Senior Wildlife Biologist for Wildlands Network and helped lead and manage the study design, implementation, analysis, and report writing for road ecology research focused on the important Pigeon River Gorge/Interstate 40 corridor near Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. In addition, she works to build partnerships and engage the public in wildlife habitat connectivity and conservation efforts throughout the Southern and Central Appalachian region. Liz currently serves on the Board and as the Secretary for the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society. 
Liz lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her dog Peachy-Keen. She is an avid lover of the arts, especially music and enjoys backcountry camping and trail walking in the Appalachian Mountains. 

Topics

* Wildlife crossing issues and wildlife mortality along the busy Pigeon River Gorge I-40 corridor
* Interesting studies and findings of a long-time wildlife technician
* Aquatic connectivity is often overlooked, important piece of the puzzle
* How you can get involved and help in the Pigeon River Gorge or in your own neck of the woods



Extra Credit

* Here is a link to the press release for the Pigeon River Gorge Research Report. It includes links to the full report, executive summary, photos, maps,

About
George Wuerthner is an ecologist, former river ranger for the Alaska BLM and backcountry ranger in the Gates of the Arctic NP in Alaska. He has visited more than 400 designated Wilderness Areas and approximately 200 National Park units. A prolific author, he has published 38 books including such titles as California Wilderness Areas, Alaska Mountain Ranges, Nevada Mountain Ranges, Montana’s Magnificent Wilderness, Forever Wild: The Adirondacks, Welfare Ranching-the subsidized destruction of the American West, Yellowstone: A Visitor’s Companion, Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness–Foundation for Conservation. and Wildfire; A Century of Failed Forest Policy.
George is a well-known writer on conservation issues, having published 38 books and innumerable articles, essays, and opinion pieces. He’s given hundreds of presentations around the country on Wilderness, wildfire, livestock grazing, wildlife protection, and other public land issues. George is also a wildlands explorer extraordinaire, having hiked and paddled in more than 400 designated Wildernesses and more than 180 national park units. Be sure to check out George’s work with RESTORE: The North Woods.
Topics

* The impact of bringing back wolves and beavers in a big way to the American west.
* A bold call for a western rewilding network as an ecologically, scientifically defensible answer for 30×30.
* Landscape amnesia and the danger policy decisions based on a poor understand of what the landscape was like before.
* How many species and landscapes can restored populations of wolves and beavers protect and recover?
* How to make this happen and how you can help!

Extra Credit
Read the paper: “Rewilding The American West.” (3 of the authors, George Wuerthner, Eileen Crist, and Reed Noss serve on the Rewilding Leadership Council. Some others are long-time associates and friends of The Rewilding Institute.)
(Some of) George’s Books:

Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction Of The American West
by George Wuerthner and Mollie Matteson

Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy
by George Wuerthner
Energy: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth
by Tom Butler and George Wuerthner
Thrillcraft: The Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation
by George Wuerthner (editor)

Note: This interview was recorded before the Supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade. Nonetheless, Nandita and Carter present a deep look into the driving cultural and political forces behind it.
About
Nandita Bajaj, Executive Director, Population Balance
A Humane Educator and a passionate advocate for planetary health, Nandita’s area of interest is on the intimate links between pronatalism, anthropocentrism and overpopulation and their impacts on human rights, animal protection, and environmental preservation. As faculty with the Institute for Humane Education at Antioch University, Nandita teaches two courses – Human Rights as well as Pronatalism and Overpopulation, a first-of-its-kind open online course that she designed to explore the impacts of the pervasive and oppressive pressures on women to have children and the resulting impacts on them, other humans, animals, as well as the planet. (See full bio)

Carter Dillard, Policy Director and Board of Directors, Fair Start Movement
Carter, author of Justice as a Fair Start in Life, began his career as an Honors Program appointee to the U.S. Department of Justice. He later served as a legal adviser to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the national security law division. He wrote his thesis reformulating the right to have children under Jeremy Waldron.
Topics

* Overpopulation and pronatalism
* The role of humane education in turning the tide on human population issues
* The effects of overpopulation on people, wildlife, and wild places
* Simple, practical, humane solutions to the population crisis

Extra Credit
Go deeper and learn more about the work Carter and Nandita’s organizations are doing, and how you can help!
Articles…

* Abortion Bans Are a Natural Outgrowth of Coercive Pronatalism Nandita Bajaj, Ms. Magazine
* Mother Pelican ~ A Journal of Solidarity and Sustainability Carter Dillard, pelicanweb.org

Learn More…

* Learn about Ecocentrism
* Learn about the Fair Start Model

Podcast…

* The Overpopulation Podcast
* Monthly Podcast Club

Interviews and Webinars…

*

About Greta
Greta has an M.A. in geography from the University of Arizona and a Water Policy Certificate from the same institution. She has a B.A. in environmental studies from Prescott College, and a certificate of clinical herbalism from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine.
Topics

* Thinking about conservation at the watershed level
* Old growth grasses
* Grazing on public lands
* San Pedro river success story

Extra Credit
Visit Western Watersheds Project
Watch:

About Greta
Greta has an M.A. in geography from the University of Arizona and a Water Policy Certificate from the same institution. She has a B.A. in environmental studies from Prescott College, and a certificate of clinical herbalism from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine.
Topics

* Thinking about conservation at the watershed level
* Old growth grasses
* Grazing on public lands
* San Pedro river success story

Extra Credit
Visit Western Watersheds Project
Watch:

About Chance
Chance Cutrano directs Fish in the Fields and Restore Point Reyes, and oversees the development of The Forces of Nature and sponsored programs at Resource Renewal Institute. An award-winning environmentalist, Chance brings a variety of skills from public, private, and nonprofit sustainability experiences.
Prior to RRI, Chance was researching food, water, and energy management policy in Vietnam, Morocco, and Bolivia. Chance holds a Bachelors in political science and philosophy from Saint Xavier University and a Masters of Public Administration in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School.
Topics

* The gross mismanagement of a National Park
* Grazing, oyster farming, dairies and more, all within the National Seashore boundaries
* Water pollution and nutrient cycling issues
* Cows vs. Thule Elk
* What can be done to end grazing and other travesties currently happening at Point Reyes

Extra Credit

* Visit Resource Renewal Institute to learn more.

About Chance
Chance Cutrano directs Fish in the Fields and Restore Point Reyes, and oversees the development of The Forces of Nature and sponsored programs at Resource Renewal Institute. An award-winning environmentalist, Chance brings a variety of skills from public, private, and nonprofit sustainability experiences.
Prior to RRI, Chance was researching food, water, and energy management policy in Vietnam, Morocco, and Bolivia. Chance holds a Bachelors in political science and philosophy from Saint Xavier University and a Masters of Public Administration in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School.
Topics

* The gross mismanagement of a National Park
* Grazing, oyster farming, dairies and more, all within the National Seashore boundaries
* Water pollution and nutrient cycling issues
* Cows vs. Thule Elk
* What can be done to end grazing and other travesties currently happening at Point Reyes

Extra Credit

* Visit Resource Renewal Institute to learn more.

About Amy
Amy Lewis is Vice President of Policy & Communications for Wild Foundation and works closely with the organization Nature Needs Half. Amy has spent the last 15 years researching the building blocks of collective action. She has brought this knowledge to bear in her own work as an award-winning nonprofit leader and as a scholar of environmental policy.
Her research explores the relationship between democratic decision-making and policies that benefit the environment. She delights in uncovering the deep forces that determine a society’s political and ecological future. Amy employs her knowledge and skills at the WILD Foundation, aligning her personal goals with WILD’s mission to activate an international ethic of care for wildlife and wild places.
Topics

* What is the “Half Earth” movement about?
* How do we educate and mobilize an entire planet full of humans to care and then do something toward protecting 50%?
* The importance of the BRICS countries
* The art and science of good PR, messaging, and organizing
* Similarities between Kennedy’s moon shot and protecting 50% of the planet’s land and water habitats for biodiversity
* How the solution to the climate crisis and Earth’s 6th mass extinction is to protect and restore half the planet’s wildlands and waterways.

Extra Credit
Reading:

* Ecoregional based approach to protecting half
* Using nature as climate stabilization regions

Interactive map of ecoregions and level of protection
Visit:

* Wild Foundation
* Nature Needs Half

About Amy
Amy Lewis is Vice President of Policy & Communications for Wild Foundation and works closely with the organization Nature Needs Half. Amy has spent the last 15 years researching the building blocks of collective action. She has brought this knowledge to bear in her own work as an award-winning nonprofit leader and as a scholar of environmental policy.
Her research explores the relationship between democratic decision-making and policies that benefit the environment. She delights in uncovering the deep forces that determine a society’s political and ecological future. Amy employs her knowledge and skills at the WILD Foundation, aligning her personal goals with WILD’s mission to activate an international ethic of care for wildlife and wild places.
Topics

* What is the “Half Earth” movement about?
* How do we educate and mobilize an entire planet full of humans to care and then do something toward protecting 50%?
* The importance of the BRICS countries
* The art and science of good PR, messaging, and organizing
* Similarities between Kennedy’s moon shot and protecting 50% of the planet’s land and water habitats for biodiversity
* How the solution to the climate crisis and Earth’s 6th mass extinction is to protect and restore half the planet’s wildlands and waterways.

Extra Credit
Reading:

* Ecoregional based approach to protecting half
* Using nature as climate stabilization regions

About
Kenneth Brower is an American environmental writer. He has written a number of books about the environment, national parks, and natural places. He authored the series The Earth’s Wild Places, which was published by the Friends of the Earth in the 1970s. His most widely read book, on Yosemite, is in over 1,200 WorldCat libraries. Many of his books have been published by the National Geographic Society and several have been translated into Japanese, German, Spanish, and Hebrew.
Ken is the oldest son of the late environmentalist David Brower, founder of several organizations, such as Friends of the Earth and Earth Island Institute, and also served as the first Executive Director of the Sierra Club.
By Smithfl – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Point Reyes is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast. It is located in Marin County approximately 30 miles northwest of San Francisco. Ken Brower grew up an advocate for Point Reyes since his father, as Executive Director of the Sierra Club, was instrumental, in Kennedy signing National Seashore authorizing legislation.
Today, Point Reyes is at risk from a threat no one expects to exist in a National Seashore or any National Park.
Topics

* Grazing in national parks
* The power of the ranching industry over people who should know better
* Tule Elk
* Winning the battle to capture the public’s imagination and support for wilderness (again)
* The Sierra Club cup

Extra Credit

* Read: The Great Giveaway Continues
* Read: “Proposed Point Reyes Seashore Plan is a Giveaway to Ranchers
* Read: “Point Reyes management plan calls for shooting elk, preserving ranches“
* Visit Restore Point Reyes
* Read: Wildness Within: Remembering David Brower

BookTV: Kenneth Brower, “The Wildness Within: Remembering David Brower”

About
Kenneth Brower is an American environmental writer. He has written a number of books about the environment, national parks, and natural places. He authored the series The Earth’s Wild Places, which was published by the Friends of the Earth in the 1970s. His most widely read book, on Yosemite, is in over 1,200 WorldCat libraries. Many of his books have been published by the National Geographic Society and several have been translated into Japanese, German, Spanish, and Hebrew.
Ken is the oldest son of the late environmentalist David Brower, founder of several organizations, such as Friends of the Earth and Earth Island Institute, and also served as the first Executive Director of the Sierra Club.
By Smithfl – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Point Reyes is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Paci...

About
Dr. Jan van Boeckel is a Dutch anthropologist, visual artist, art teacher and filmmaker. One of Jan’s areas of interest and concern are the worldviews and environmental philosophies of indigenous peoples. Together with filmmaking group ReRun Productions, he produced a series of documentaries on this subject, as well as films on philosophers such as Jacques Ellul and Arne Naess, who provide a critical analysis of the Western way of life. Principal among these films is “The Call of the Mountain,” (watch below) focused on Naess’ work on the topic of Deep Ecology.
In 2013 Jan defended his doctoral thesis At the Heart of Art and Earth: An Exploration of Practices in Arts-Based Environmental Education at Aalto University.  From 2015 until 2018, Jan was Professor in Art Pedagogy and Didactics of Art at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn.

Topics

* Exploring the relationship between ecology and philosophy
* A new site dedicated to three pioneering nature-focused philosophers
* Deep ecology
* Ecocentrism
* Ecosophy
* The role of art in environmental education

Extra Credit

* Open Air Philosophy – Open Air Philosophy aims to help deepen understanding of the ecological crisis—its drivers and possible solutions—by sharing the work of three pioneering nature-focused philosophers.
* Wild Painting – Wildpainting aims to open up your senses and let the landscape express itself through you. ​Jan van Boeckel offers courses in inspiring natural environments all over Europe.
* Nature Art Education –  Repository of materials of the research group on arts-based environmental education at Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture
* Facebook page: Arts Based Ecological Education
* Facebook Community: Arts-based environmental education community

Watch “Call of the Mountain”


The Deep Ecology Platform
1. The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in themselves (synonyms: inherent worth, intrinsic value, inherent value). These values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.
2. Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realization of these values and are also values in themselves.
3. Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs.
4. Present human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.
5. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires such a decrease.
6. Policies must therefore be changed. The changes in policies affect basic economic, technological, and ideological structures. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply different from the present.
7. The ideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent worth) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living. There will be a profound awareness of the difference between big and great.
8. Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation directly or indirectly to participate in the attempt to implement the necessary changes.
—Arne Naess and George Sessions (1984)

About Kirk
Kirk Robinson is the founder and executive director of the Western Wildlife Conservancy. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to founding Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk earned a Ph.D. in philosophy and taught courses at universities in Montana and Utah for 15 years. His favorite activities are exploring the wildlands of the American West and trying to learn to play fiddle tunes on acoustic guitar.
Kirk is also a member of the Rewilding Leadership Council.
Topics

* Who really pays the most for conservation programs on state lands? (Hint: not hunters and anglers!)
* Resourcism vs. ecosystem resilience
* Feedlots, Elk, disease, and the answer to healthy herds
* The extreme bias of wildlife boards toward hunting, lack of diversity

Extra Credit

* Read Kirk’s article: “A Philosophical Critique of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation“
* Visit and support: Western Wildlife Conservancy
* Listen to Episode 13: Camilla Fox Project Coyote for more background on state & federal mismanagement of wildlife, in particular pertaining to coyotes.

About Kirk
Kirk Robinson is the founder and executive director of the Western Wildlife Conservancy. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to founding Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk earned a Ph.D. in philosophy and taught courses at universities in Montana and Utah for 15 years. His favorite activities are exploring the wildlands of the American West and trying to learn to play fiddle tunes on acoustic guitar.
Kirk is also a member of the Rewilding Leadership Council.
Topics

* Who really pays the most for conservation programs on state lands? (Hint: not hunters and anglers!)
* Resourcism vs. ecosystem resilience
* Feedlots, Elk, disease, and the answer to healthy herds
* The extreme bias of wildlife boards toward hunting, lack of diversity

Extra Credit

* Read Kirk’s article: “A Philosophical Critique of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation“
* Visit and support: Western Wildlife Conservancy
* Listen to Episode 13: Camilla Fox Project Coyote for more background on state & federal mismanagement of wildlife, in particular pertaining to coyotes.

About Michael
Michael Kellett has been executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, since co-founding the organization in 1992. In 1994, he developed the original proposal for a 3.2-million-acre Maine Woods National Park, which laid the groundwork for the 2016 designation of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument by President Obama.
He has helped in efforts to safeguard the legacy of Henry David Thoreau, including Walden Woods and the Thoreau birthplace, and to restore the Eastern Wolf, Canada Lynx, and Atlantic Salmon to the Northeast.
Michael previously worked for The Wilderness Society, helping to pass Michigan and Maine national forest wilderness bills. He co-authored Massachusetts bill H.897, which would protect all state conservation lands, covering 11% of the state, as parks and reserves off-limits to logging and other industrial development. He has visited more than 250 National Park System areas across the country.
Topics

* How to increase the National Park System by 3x current size
* The appetite Americans have for new National Parks
* A new National Parks omnibus bill
* National Parks role in stitching together America’s part of the Nature Needs Half / Half Earth movement

Extra Credit

* Visit and engage: Restore.org
* Sign the petition: “Statement of Support for Massachusetts House Bill 897“
* Visit: Save Massachusetts Forests
* New National Parks website (Under Construction)

* Follow on Twitter
* Follow on Facebook



Reading:

* Room for More: There is no better time to put forward a bold vision of an expanded park system.
* New National Parks for the Next Century (National Parks Traveler)
* America’s newest National Park: White Sands National Park

Notes from Michael on the figures for proposed new national parks
The National Park System is 85,099,844.97 acres. RESTORE’s spreadsheet of the top 100 areas totals about 182 million acres of land and a modest amount of offshore waters (mainly in Bristol Bay and Massachusetts Bay). Adding this to the existing 85-million-acre system would raise the total to about 277 million acres, which is more than triple the existing system acreage.
Our extended working list so far includes about 500 potential expansion areas covering about 300 million acres. And that does not include many other possibilities, including most major marine areas. So we are confident that we will end up with the potential to increase our park system by a factor of 10.
Currently, only about 210 million acres is preserved in national parks or wilderness areas — less than 9 percent of the U.S. land base. If we really intend to make any serious attempt to reach the goal of saving half the planet for biodiversity, we need to increase such protected areas to 1.2 billion acres of land in the U.S. Even to reach the bare minimum of 17 percent in the

About
Bruce Anderson retired from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in July 2017. During his four years with the DNR he was Assistant Wildlife Manager and wildlife planner where he was involved wildlife surveys, planning, wildlife damage management, habitat assessments, invasive species management and Interdisciplinary support to timber management.
Prior to this, Bruce had a 35 year career with the US Forest Service where he worked in North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho and most recently on the Superior National Forest in Northern MN. During his Forest Service career he worked in program management positions for invasive species, wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers, trails, rangeland management, wildlife, fire effects and recreation. Bruce also worked at length within five wilderness areas on wilderness related topics including fire effects monitoring, livestock and recreational grazing, wildlife damage management, invasive species control, motorized use management, and wild and scenic rivers.
Topics

* Effects of mining, timber extraction, invasive species, and development in North America since 1969
* Making an impact on the local level
* Collective effect of taking action where you live
* How to find $50-$100 billion dollars per year for conservation and restoration work from coast to coast
* How “big data” can help make the right management decisions on the ground

Extra Credit

* Reach out to local groups in your area, pick up a shovel, pull invasive species out of the ground on state and federal land, stay active!
* Know what’s been lost in your area in order to understand why taking one more square inch or board foot really does make a difference.

About
Bruce Anderson retired from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in July 2017. During his four years with the DNR he was Assistant Wildlife Manager and wildlife planner where he was involved wildlife surveys, planning, wildlife damage management, habitat assessments, invasive species management and Interdisciplinary support to timber management.
Prior to this, Bruce had a 35 year career with the US Forest Service where he worked in North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho and most recently on the Superior National Forest in Northern MN. During his Forest Service career he worked in program management positions for invasive species, wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers, trails, rangeland management, wildlife, fire effects and recreation. Bruce also worked at length within five wilderness areas on wilderness related topics including fire effects monitoring, livestock and recreational grazing, wildlife damage management, invasive species control, motorized use management, and wild and scenic rivers.
Topics

* Effects of mining, timber extraction, invasive species, and development in North America since 1969
* Making an impact on the local level
* Collective effect of taking action where you live
* How to find $50-$100 billion dollars per year for conservation and restoration work from coast to coast
* How “big data” can help make the right management decisions on the ground

Extra Credit

* Reach out to local groups in your area, pick up a shovel, pull invasive species out of the ground on state and federal land, stay active!
* Know what’s been lost in your area in order to understand why taking one more square inch or board foot really does make a difference.

About Kenyon Fields
Kenyon Fields is one of the main founders of the Western Landowners Alliance. His background is in conservation biology and landscape scale conservation planning. It is this background that led him to convene the first meetings of what later became the WLA, as he and fellow conservation biologists realized the critical role that landowners can play in keeping the West whole.
Western Landowners Alliance brings together science, policy, human needs, to produce a shared vision of private landowners working collectively to conserve the rich natural values of the West while sustaining their businesses and communities.
Kenyon worked for many years in Alaska for the U.S. Forest Service, an Alaska Native organization, and as executive director of Sitka Conservation Society.
Kenyon helps his wife Mary manage Mountain Island ranch in Utah and Colorado.
We start today talking about Mountain Island Ranch, set in a picture-perfect landscape, with much needed visuals!
Topics

* The role private lands play in providing crucial habitat for threatened and endangered species
* Conservation easements: What are they and how do they work?
* Conservation ranching
* Doing right by the land (and ourselves) regardless of what the future brings.

Extra Credit

* Check out Kenyon’s photography of the ranch and its many critters!
* Visit Western Landowners Alliance
* Learn more about some of the members of WLA on the Western Landowners Alliance YouTube channel.

About Kenyon Fields
Kenyon Fields is one of the main founders of the Western Landowners Alliance. His background is in conservation biology and landscape scale conservation planning. It is this background that led him to convene the first meetings of what later became the WLA, as he and fellow conservation biologists realized the critical role that landowners can play in keeping the West whole.
Western Landowners Alliance brings together science, policy, human needs, to produce a shared vision of private landowners working collectively to conserve the rich natural values of the West while sustaining their businesses and communities.
Kenyon worked for many years in Alaska for the U.S. Forest Service, an Alaska Native organization, and as executive director of Sitka Conservation Society.
Kenyon helps his wife Mary manage Mountain Island ranch in Utah and Colorado.
We start today talking about Mountain Island Ranch, set in a picture-perfect landscape, with much needed visuals!
Topics

* The role private lands play in providing crucial habitat for threatened and endangered species
* Conservation easements: What are they and how do they work?
* Conservation ranching
* Doing right by the land (and ourselves) regardless of what the future brings.

Extra Credit

* Check out Kenyon’s photography of the ranch and its many critters!
* Visit Western Landowners Alliance
* Learn more about some of the members of WLA on the Western Landowners Alliance YouTube channel.

About Jason
Jason Mark is the editor of Sierra and the author of Satellites in the High Country: Searching for the Wild in the Age of Man.
Jason recently returned from Patagonia to report on the official transfer of Tompkins Conservation lands to the Chilean government to create a combined 9 million acres of fully protected national parks.
His recent article in Sierra Magazine lays out what it was like to witness the biggest wildlands philanthropy gift in history in sheer acreage.
I started by asking Jason to give a bit of background on his work before we dove into Patagonia, Tompkins Conservation, biodiversity, art, and even space colonization.
Extra Credit

* Visit Sierra Magazine
* Watch: Rewilding Patagonia

About Jason
Jason Mark is the editor of Sierra and the author of Satellites in the High Country: Searching for the Wild in the Age of Man.
Jason recently returned from Patagonia to report on the official transfer of Tompkins Conservation lands to the Chilean government to create a combined 9 million acres of fully protected national parks.
His recent article in Sierra Magazine lays out what it was like to witness the biggest wildlands philanthropy gift in history in sheer acreage.
I started by asking Jason to give a bit of background on his work before we dove into Patagonia, Tompkins Conservation, biodiversity, art, and even space colonization.
Extra Credit

* Visit Sierra Magazine
* Watch: Rewilding Patagonia

About Andrew Thoms
Andrew grew up in rural Upstate New York. After studying Environmental Sciences, he worked for 10 years in Latin America as an environmental specialist in international development projects. Most of his projects focused on the interface between the sustainable use of natural resources and the conservation of tropical biodiversity.
One of his favorite jobs was developing and integrating new techniques for cultivating coffee in an environmentally sustainable way on a Guatemalan Coffee farm that he managed. This explains a lot about his approach to working with the forest service, locals, and tribes in and around the Tongass. Today I spoke with Andrew about the threats and challenges facing Tongass National Forest and how his organization, Sitka Conservation Society, is helping.
Topics

* Just how BIG is the Tongass National Forest?
* It’s not all about trees. This national forest has a lot going on.
* Salmon: big business, big restoration, in need of protection.
* Indigenous people fighting on the front lines, and what they’re up against.
* What you can do to support the Tongass (A lot, actually!)

Extra Credit

* Visit Sitka Conservation Society
* TAKE ACTION! Tongass National Forest Alert

About Andrew Thoms
Andrew grew up in rural Upstate New York. After studying Environmental Sciences, he worked for 10 years in Latin America as an environmental specialist in international development projects. Most of his projects focused on the interface between the sustainable use of natural resources and the conservation of tropical biodiversity.
One of his favorite jobs was developing and integrating new techniques for cultivating coffee in an environmentally sustainable way on a Guatemalan Coffee farm that he managed. This explains a lot about his approach to working with the forest service, locals, and tribes in and around the Tongass. Today I spoke with Andrew about the threats and challenges facing Tongass National Forest and how his organization, Sitka Conservation Society, is helping.
Topics

* Just how BIG is the Tongass National Forest?
* It’s not all about trees. This national forest has a lot going on.
* Salmon: big business, big restoration, in need of protection.
* Indigenous people fighting on the front lines, and what they’re up against.
* What you can do to support the Tongass (A lot, actually!)

Extra Credit

* Visit Sitka Conservation Society
* TAKE ACTION! Tongass National Forest Alert

About
Stuart Pimm is the Founder and President of Saving Nature and the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation at Duke University. His books include “The Balance of Nature,” and the acclaimed “World According to Pimm: a Scientist Audits the Earth.”
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the recipient of the 2006 Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences (from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), and the winner of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2010. And this year, Stuart was awarded the 2019 International Cosmos Prize, which is widely viewed as one of the most prestigious honors presented in the environmental field.
The honor recognizes Pimm’s groundbreaking research on endangered species, as well as his work to promote practical approaches to help slow or reverse species’ declines by protecting and restoring shrinking habitats.
Extra Credit:

* Read Stuart’s article “Days of Fire“
* Visit and support Saving Nature
* Visit Biodiversity Mapping

Watch:
Survival: Biodiversity and Extinction | Stuart Pimm

About Saving Nature
“Dr. Stuart Pimm founded Saving Nature in 2019 as part of his vision of restoring nature for sustainable gains and broader impact. It builds on the exceptional success with SavingSpecies, an organisation he founded in 2007 to create wildlife corridors in important areas for biodiversity.
Saving Nature has developed a unique blueprint for leveraging local conservation action to solve global environmental challenges. It learns from past experiences and has a considerably expanded conservation mission.
The team at Saving Nature focuses on nature in crisis in biodiversity hotspots where poverty and environmental destruction drive species extinctions and hardship for local communities.  We look for vanishing forests, grassland, wetlands, and other habitats with unique biodiversity, acquiring and restoring habitat to secure their future.” Read more…
About
Stuart Pimm is the Founder and President of Saving Nature and the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation at Duke University. His books include “The Balance of Nature,” and the acclaimed “World According to Pimm: a Scientist Audits the Earth.”
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the recipient of the 2006 Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences (from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), and the winner of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2010. And this year, Stuart was awarded the 2019 International Cosmos Prize, which is widely viewed as one of the most prestigious honors presented in the environmental field.
The honor recognizes Pimm’s groundbreaking research on endangered species, as well as his work to promote practical approaches to help slow or reverse species’ declines by protecting and restoring shrinking habitats.
Extra Credit:

* Read Stuart’s article “Days of Fire“
* Visit and support Saving Nature
* Visit Biodiversity Mapping

Watch:
Survival: Biodiversity and Extinction | Stuart Pimm

About Saving Nature
“Dr. Stuart Pimm founded Saving Nature in 2019 as part of his vision of restoring nature for sustainable gains and broader impact. It builds on the exceptional success with SavingSpecies, an organisation he founded in 2007 to create wildlife corridors in important areas for...

About Dan
Dan Imhoff is a researcher, author, and independent publisher who has concentrated for over 20 years on issues related to farming, the environment, and design. He is the author of numerous articles, essays, and books including Farming with the Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity on Farms and Ranches; and Building with Vision: Optimizing and Finding Alternatives to Wood.
Dan is a public speaker who lectures and conducts workshops on a variety of topics, from food and farming to environmental design and conservation. He’s appeared on hundreds of national and regional radio and television programs. He’s testified before Congress and spoken at numerous conferences, corporate and government offices, and college campuses.
Dan is the president and a co-founder of the Wild Farm Alliance, a ten-year-old national organization that works to promote agriculture systems that support and accommodate wild nature.
He lives on a small homestead farm in Northern California, and today, I speak with Dan about what it means to make farming more creaturly through rewilding practices and better farming policy.
Topics

* The terribly wasteful practices of over production and farm subsidies and how we can be more effective and efficient with resources.
* Putting down permanent roots in places that should have never been plowed.
* A great way to replace extremely marginal farmland with a billion trees.
* What it’s like to farm with the wild.
* Millions of miles of creeks, ditches, and rivers waiting to be rewilded.
* Farmers markets: where we can educate consumers and support farmers’ continued education on rewilding.

Extra Credit

* Visit Wild Farm Alliance for more information and tons of great resources!
* Listen to Episode 26: Jo Ann Baumgartner Farming With The Wild

About Dan
Dan Imhoff is a researcher, author, and independent publisher who has concentrated for over 20 years on issues related to farming, the environment, and design. He is the author of numerous articles, essays, and books including Farming with the Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity on Farms and Ranches; and Building with Vision: Optimizing and Finding Alternatives to Wood.
Dan is a public speaker who lectures and conducts workshops on a variety of topics, from food and farming to environmental design and conservation. He’s appeared on hundreds of national and regional radio and television programs. He’s testified before Congress and spoken at numerous conferences, corporate and government offices, and college campuses.
Dan is the president and a co-founder of the Wild Farm Alliance, a ten-year-old national organization that works to promote agriculture systems that support and accommodate wild nature.
He lives on a small homestead farm in Northern California, and today, I speak with Dan about what it means to make farming more creaturly through rewilding practices and better farming policy.
Topics

* The terribly wasteful practices of over production and farm subsidies and how we can be more effective and efficient with resources.
* Putting down permanent roots in places that should have never been plowed.
* A great way to replace extremely marginal farmland with a billion trees.
* What it’s like to farm with the wild.
* Millions of miles of creeks, ditches, and rivers waiting to be rewilded.
* Farmers markets: where we can educate consumers and support farmers’ continued education on rewilding.

Extra Credit

* Visit

Kim Crumbo leads Wildlands Network’s efforts to restore native carnivores to their rightful place on landscapes across the West. He works closely with diverse conservation partners and regional coalitions to engage scientists, communities, and elected leaders in the effort to secure species recovery and public support for wolves, bears, lynx, cougars, and other native carnivores.
Kim served 20 years with the National Park Service in Grand Canyon, first as a river ranger and later as Wilderness Coordinator. He also worked as a river guide for a decade, and as Utah Wilderness Coordinator for the Sierra Club for 2 years. Beginning in 2000, Kim assumed various roles with the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, including a stint as the northern representative for the Arizona Wilderness Coalition. Before working on rivers and in wilderness activism, he spent 4 years with the Navy’s SEAL Team One, completing two combat deployments in Vietnam.
Topics:

* Current status in the ongoing saga of the battle to protect wolves in the United States
* What 70 combat operations in Vietnam taught Kim about organizing in the conservation movement back home
* Massive outcry against wolf delisting attempts by current administration
* Conditional optimism and why it’s ok to have hope for the future (as long as you put your back into the work ahead!)

Extra Credit:

* The Saga of the Mexican Gray Wolf (el Lobo)
* Michigan Attorney General Opposes Delisting of Gray Wolves
* Science vs Policy: Future of the Mexican Wolf with David Parsons
* The Psychology of Wolf Fear and Loathing

Kim Crumbo leads Wildlands Network’s efforts to restore native carnivores to their rightful place on landscapes across the West. He works closely with diverse conservation partners and regional coalitions to engage scientists, communities, and elected leaders in the effort to secure species recovery and public support for wolves, bears, lynx, cougars, and other native carnivores.
Kim served 20 years with the National Park Service in Grand Canyon, first as a river ranger and later as Wilderness Coordinator. He also worked as a river guide for a decade, and as Utah Wilderness Coordinator for the Sierra Club for 2 years. Beginning in 2000, Kim assumed various roles with the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, including a stint as the northern representative for the Arizona Wilderness Coalition. Before working on rivers and in wilderness activism, he spent 4 years with the Navy’s SEAL Team One, completing two combat deployments in Vietnam.
Topics:

* Current status in the ongoing saga of the battle to protect wolves in the United States
* What 70 combat operations in Vietnam taught Kim about organizing in the conservation movement back home
* Massive outcry against wolf delisting attempts by current administration
* Conditional optimism and why it’s ok to have hope for the future (as long as you put your back into the work ahead!)

Extra Credit:

* The Saga of the Mexican Gray Wolf (el Lobo)
*

Christopher Ketcham has written for dozens of publications, including Harper’s, National Geographic, and The New Republic. He has reported from the American West for more than a decade. This book is a product of those years in the last wild places. He currently lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
About “This Land”
“A hard-hitting look at the battle now raging over the fate of the public lands in the American West and a plea for the protection of these last wild places.” Viking
Christopher has been documenting the confluence of commercial exploitation and governmental misconduct in the western United States for over a decade. His revelatory book takes the reader on a journey across these last wild places, to see how capitalism is killing our great commons.
Ketcham begins in Utah, revealing the environmental destruction caused by unregulated public lands livestock grazing, and exposing rampant malfeasance in the federal land management agencies, who have been compromised by the profit-driven livestock and energy interests they are supposed to regulate. He then turns to the broad effects of those corrupt politics on wildlife.
He tracks the Department of Interior’s failure to implement and enforce the Endangered Species Act–including its stark betrayal of protections for the grizzly bear and the sage grouse–and investigates the destructive behavior of U.S. Wildlife Services in their shocking mass slaughter of animals that threaten the livestock industry.
Along the way, Ketcham talks with ecologists, biologists, botanists, former government employees, whistleblowers, grassroots environmentalists and other citizens who are fighting to protect the public domain for future generations.
Topics:

* Western public lands are not protected as they should be.
* The depth and breadth of environmental destruction caused by unregulated livestock grazing on public lands in the west.
* The need for the public to be outraged and engaged much more deeply.
* How simply upholding the rule of law, such as the Endangered Species Act, would go a long way in protecting public lands.

Extra Credit

* Check out John Miles’ review of “This Land”
* Grab “This Land” on Amazon through Amazon Smile. (Make sure to pick The Rewilding Institute as your designated nonprofit!)

Christopher Ketcham has written for dozens of publications, including Harper’s, National Geographic, and The New Republic. He has reported from the American West for more than a decade. This book is a product of those years in the last wild places. He currently lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
About “This Land”
“A hard-hitting look at the battle now raging over the fate of the public lands in the American West and a plea for the protection of these last wild places.” Viking
Christopher has been documenting the confluence of commercial exploitation and governmental misconduct in the western United States for over a decade. His revelatory book takes the reader on a journey across these last wild places, to see how capitalism is killing our great commons.
Ketcham begins in Utah, revealing the environmental destruction caused by unregulated public lands livestock grazing, and exposing rampant malfeasance in the federal land management agencies, who have been compromised by the profit-driven livestock and energy interests...

About David
David Johns teaches courses at the School of Government, Portland State University on US constitutional law and politics, politics and the environment, and politics and film. He has also taught at Oregon State University and the Institute for Policy Studies. He was an International Fellow at Columbia University, served in the Carter Administration in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, and was an advisor to Environment Canada on the Earth Charter.
Johns was a founding co-editor of New Political Science, served on the Wild Earth Board and serves on the boards of several NGOs, including the Wildlands Network and Marine Conservation Institute. David Johns has published and spoken widely on science, politics and conservation and is author of A New Conservation Politics, and his latest Conservation Politics: The Last Anti-Colonial Battle.
Topics

* What would biodiversity focused institutions and societies look like?
* Breaking the machine.
* Dismantling institutions of power dedicated to chewing up the Earth for profit.
* At what point in history did we lose control of narcissists? (Find out how sadly long ago that was.)
* How many calories we spend to put one calorie on the table.
* Taking the right action, on the right plans, versus hand-wringing our way to the end.
* Taking control of the whole enchilada: custom, culture, art, entertainment. A call for a “conservation Star Wars.”

Extra Credit
Read an excerpt from David’s latest book “Conservation Politics” right here on Rewilding.org.
About David
David Johns teaches courses at the School of Government, Portland State University on US constitutional law and politics, politics and the environment, and politics and film. He has also taught at Oregon State University and the Institute for Policy Studies. He was an International Fellow at Columbia University, served in the Carter Administration in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, and was an advisor to Environment Canada on the Earth Charter.
Johns was a founding co-editor of New Political Science, served on the Wild Earth Board and serves on the boards of several NGOs, including the Wildlands Network and Marine Conservation Institute. David Johns has published and spoken widely on science, politics and conservation and is author of A New Conservation Politics, and his latest Conservation Politics: The Last Anti-Colonial Battle.
Topics

* What would biodiversity focused institutions and societies look like?
* Breaking the machine.
* Dismantling institutions of power dedicated to chewing up the Earth for profit.
* At what point in history did we lose control of narcissists? (Find out how sadly long ago that was.)
* How many calories we spend to put one calorie on the table.
* Taking the right action, on the right plans, versus hand-wringing our way to the end.
* Taking control of the whole enchilada: custom, culture, art, entertainment. A call for a “conservation Star Wars.”

Extra Credit
Read an excerpt from David’s latest book “Conservation Politics” right here on Rewilding.org.

About Jo Ann
Jo Ann is the Executive Director of the Wild Farm Alliance. She is the author of many publications on the intersection between biodiversity conservation and agriculture, including beneficial birds, the conservation mandates within the National Organic Program regulations, and the co-management of food safety and conservation.
Before joining WFA in 2001, she addressed crop, livestock and fiber issues, was senior research editor for a book of California’s rare wildlife species, and was an organic farmer for over a decade.
For her Master’s research in Environmental Studies Department at San Jose State University, she studied bird predation of insects in apple orchards. Her undergraduate degree is in Soil and Water Science from UC Davis. Jo Ann is based in Watsonville, CA.
Topics

* What it means to farm with the wild
* Corridors, riparian areas & wetlands restoration
* Managing farms for beneficial bird species and insects
* Managing for pest species the right way
* The size and growth of organic farming

Extra Credit
Get plugged in: Join Wild Farm Alliance’s (WFA) Mailing List
Guides:

* WFA’s Supporting Beneficial Birds and Managing Pest Birds
* WFA’s How to Conserve Biodiversity on the Farm: A Continuum of Practices from Simple to Complex
* WFA’s Biodiversity Conservation: An Organic Farmer’s and Certifier’s Guide
* WFA’s A Farmer’s Guide to Food Safety and Conservation

Great Resources

* Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
* USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

About Jo Ann
Jo Ann is the Executive Director of the Wild Farm Alliance. She is the author of many publications on the intersection between biodiversity conservation and agriculture, including beneficial birds, the conservation mandates within the National Organic Program regulations, and the co-management of food safety and conservation.
Before joining WFA in 2001, she addressed crop, livestock and fiber issues, was senior research editor for a book of California’s rare wildlife species, and was an organic farmer for over a decade.
For her Master’s research in Environmental Studies Department at San Jose State University, she studied bird predation of insects in apple orchards. Her undergraduate degree is in Soil and Water Science from UC Davis. Jo Ann is based in Watsonville, CA.
Topics

* What it means to farm with the wild
* Corridors, riparian areas & wetlands restoration
* Managing farms for beneficial bird species and insects
* Managing for pest species the right way
* The size and growth of organic farming

Extra Credit
Get plugged in: Join Wild Farm Alliance’s (WFA) Mailing List
Guides:

* WFA’s Supporting Beneficial Birds and Managing Pest Birds
* WFA’s How to Conserve Biodiversity on the Farm: A Continuum of Practices f...

About Roland Kays
Roland is a zoologist with a broad interest in ecology and conservation, especially of mammals.  He studies research questions that are scientifically interesting but also have real-world relevance through educational or conservation value. An expert in using new technologies to study free-ranging animals, especially to track their movement with GPS tags and camera traps, Roland has appeared as a regular contributor to wildlife shows on the Science Channel and on National Geographic’s “World’s Weirdest.” He combines high-tech work with traditional methods, collecting data through field work and studies of museum collections.
Website

* RolandKays.com
* @RolandKays on Twitter

Present Positions

* Research Associate Professor, North Carolina State University
* Head of the Biodiversity Lab,  NC Museum of Natural Sciences

Other Affiliations

* Research Associate, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
* Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Education:

* Ph.D. Zoology, University of Tennessee (1999)
* B.S. Biology, Cornell University (1993)

Podcast Topics

* Wolf and coyote hybridization
* Why coyotes are not fulfilling the role of wolves in the Eastern United States
* Getting a better understanding of wildlife movement on the ground with tech tools and Twitter
* The effect (or not) of coyotes on deer populations
* How coyotes thrive under pressure (maybe not why you think!)
* How to track anything – even seeds!
* Roland’s upcoming podcast!

Extra Credit

* Check out live wildlife cam feeds and updates on @CamTrapLive on Twitter

Watch Roland’s Videos Below And On His Site

Here’s a great video describing camera traps including trap video of foxes that Roland has been tracking for several years.
Watch more great videos on Roland’s video page here.
About Roland Kays
Roland is a zoologist with a broad interest in ecology and conservation, especially of mammals.  He studies research questions that are scientifically interesting but also have real-world relevance through educational or conservation value. An expert in using new technologies to study free-ranging animals, especially to track their movement with GPS tags and camera traps, Roland has appeared as a regular contributor to wildlife shows on the Science Channel and on National Geographic’s “World’s Weirdest.” He combines high-tech work with traditional methods, collecting data through field work and studies of museum collections.
Website

* RolandKays.com
* @RolandKays on Twitter

Present Positions

* Research Associate Professor, North Carolina State University
* Head of the Biodiversity Lab,  NC Museum of Natural Sciences

Other Affiliations

* Research Associate, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
* Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Education:

* Ph.D. Zoology, University of Tennessee (1999)
* B.S. Biology, Cornell University (1993)

Podcast Topics

About Terry Spahr
Environmentalist and activist Terry Spahr left the corporate world to research, write and produce 8 Billion Angels, a documentary feature which exposes overpopulation as the upstream cause of all our environmental emergencies. Terry is the Founder and Executive Director of Earth Overshoot, a non-profit designed to promote public and private action to make ecological limits central to all decision-making. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts & Sciences and Fels Center of Government, Terry lectures on issues of sustainability to students, investor groups, and civic organizations. He is a regular opinion writer for a variety of environmental publications.

8 Billion Angels OFFICIAL TRAILER from terry spahr on Vimeo.
Topics:

* Global population growth
* How you would live if everyone lived within their ecological means
* 8 Billion Angels documentary

Extra Credit:

* Visit 8 Billion Angels

About Ed Friedman
Ed has been a resident of Bowdoinham near the shore of Merrymeeting Bay for over 35 years where he operates helicopter, welding, kayaking and farming businesses. His broad based background in the natural sciences includes over 45 years as an outdoor educator, some of that as a mountaineering instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School beginning in the early 1970’s. Ed has a B.S. in Environmental Science from SUNY with course and field work in wildlife ecology, glacial geology, hydrology, remote sensing, plant ecology and snow morphology to name a few. He has conducted glaciological and biological field research from the arctic to the Antarctic for, among others the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Species studied include barren ground caribou, sea otter, snowshoe hare, bald eagle, American eel and common carp. In 2001, Ed won an EPA Environmental Award of Merit and in 2011, was a finalist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine People’s Choice Award. He has extensive expedition and backcountry paddling, skiing and mountaineering experience in the North Cascades, Baffin Island, Iceland, northwest Greenland, Norway, northern Quebec, and East Africa.
On the Friends of Merrymeeting Bay [FOMB] Steering Committee since the winter of 1993, Ed became Chair in 1996. In this work he has written millions of dollars in grants and initiated projects in the areas of conservation and stewardship [more than 1,500 acres and 11 miles of shoreline protected along with significant archaeological sites], research and advocacy [including 20 year water quality monitoring program], education [1,500 students served each year], and membership activities.
Two research projects, Aquatic & Upland Habitat Assessment of Merrymeeting Bay utilizing historical and current aerial photography combined with GIS; and a Caged Bivalve Study on the Kennebec to monitor PCBs and dioxins have been the first projects of their type in the state of Maine and quite successful. A third innovative project studying circulation patterns in Merrymeeting Bay and its tributaries is complete and animated data are available on the FOMB web site. Most recently FOMB conducted a multi-year study of invasive common carp, present in the Bay since the 1880’s and implicated in decreased biological productivity caused by increased turbidity.
Amongst the many FOMB accomplishments over the years, Ed considers listing the Atlantic salmon under the ESA, reopening the St. Croix River to river herring and halting in its tracks a proposed underwater 50 unit propeller-style turbine tidal generation project planned for the Chops to be the most significant.
Topics

* Pooping in Riparian Zones (the right way)
* Bay Day
* Fish Passages and Dam Controversies
* American Eels
* Turkeys are Wicked Smaht
* Migratory Fish Restoration

About Ed Friedman
Ed has been a resident of Bowdoinham near the shore of Merrymeeting Bay for over 35 years where he operates helicopter, welding, kayaking and farming businesses. His broad based background in the natural sciences includes over 45 years as an outdoor educator, some of that as a mountaineering instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School beginning in the early 1970’s. Ed has a B.S. in Environmental Science from SUNY with course and field work in wildlife ecology, glacial geology, hydrology, remote sensing, plant ecology and snow morphology to name a few. He has conducted glaciological and biological field research from the arctic to the Antarctic for, among others the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Species studied include barren ground caribou, sea otter, snowshoe hare, bald eagle, American eel and common carp. In 2001, Ed won an EPA Environmental Award of Merit and in 2011,

George Wuerthner is a professional photographer, writer and ecologist. He has written more than two dozen books on natural history and other environmental topics. He is currently the ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Wuerthner has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 380 wilderness areas, more than 180 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi.
George’s Books: On Amazon
Topics:

* What is public lands grazing?
* The true cost of public lands grazing
* The heavy subsidies and hidden hard and ecological costs of private businesses benefitting from public lands
* Grazing Permit Buyouts
* The big differences between arid western public lands grazing and beef production in the wetter eastern states

Extra Credit: Get an on-the-ground view of the clash between livestock and wildlife in George’s article: Wildlife Versus Livestock in the Upper Green
George Wuerthner is a professional photographer, writer and ecologist. He has written more than two dozen books on natural history and other environmental topics. He is currently the ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Wuerthner has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 380 wilderness areas, more than 180 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi.
George’s Books: On Amazon
Topics:

* What is public lands grazing?
* The true cost of public lands grazing
* The heavy subsidies and hidden hard and ecological costs of private businesses benefitting from public lands
* Grazing Permit Buyouts
* The big differences between arid western public lands grazing and beef production in the wetter eastern states

Extra Credit: Get an on-the-ground view of the clash between livestock and wildlife in George’s article: Wildlife Versus Livestock in the Upper Green

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a win like the one that is expected to be signed by the President soon. The conservation community is buzzing about the Charles Dingell Jr. Conservation Management and Recreation Act, and rightly so.
The legislation permanently continues the federal Land Water Conservation Fund, which helps pay for critical conservation efforts nationwide. Oh, and it adds 1 million acres of new wilderness designation.
Something of this scope hasn’t been passed since President Barack Obama signed into law the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The legislation designated an additional 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness, representing the largest expansion of protected wildlands in over 25 years.
This stuff doesn’t happen often. What does it mean to the conservation community and public at large to see bipartisan support for such a bill during one of the most divisive times in American history? And what will it do to inspire new conservationists to join the ranks in protecting what we have while advocating even more wildlands protection in the future? Find out on this episode of Rewilding Earth!
About John Miles
David Brower, then Executive Director of the Sierra Club, gave a talk at Dartmouth College in 1965 on the threat of dams to Grand Canyon National Park. John, a New Hampshire native who had not yet been to the American West, was flabbergasted. “What Can I do?” he asked. Brower handed him a Sierra Club membership application, and he was hooked, his first big conservation issue being establishment of North Cascades National Park.
After grad school at the University of Oregon, John landed in Bellingham, Washington, a month before the park was created. At Western Washington University he was in on the founding of Huxley College of Environmental Studies, teaching environmental education, history, ethics and literature, ultimately serving as dean of the College.
He taught at Huxley for 44 years, climbing and hiking all over the West, especially in the North Cascades, for research and recreation. Author and editor of several books, including Wilderness in National Parks, John served on the board of the National Parks Conservation Association, the Washington Forest Practices Board, and helped found and build the North Cascades Institute.
Retired and now living near Taos, New Mexico, he continues to work for national parks, wilderness, and rewilding the earth.
Topics:

* John D Dingell Jr. Conservation Management and Recreation Act
* How such a bipartisan success could come out of this Congress
* Similarities between conservationists and Coyotes
* Patterns in conservation history

Extra Credit: Read a breakdown of what’s in the bill here.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a win like the one that is expected to be signed by the President soon. The conservation community is buzzing about the Charles Dingell Jr. Conservation Management and Recreation Act, and rightly so.
The legislation permanently continues the federal Land Water Conservation Fund, which helps pay for critical conservation efforts nationwide. Oh, and it adds 1 million acres of new wilderness designation.
Something of this scope hasn’t been passed since President Barack Obama signed into law the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The legislation designated an additional 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness, representing the largest expansion of protected wildlands in over 25 years.
This stuff doesn’t happen often. What does it mean to the conservation community and public at large to see bipartisan support for such a bill during one of the most divisive times in American history? And what will it do to inspire new conservationists to join the ranks in protecting wh...

Topics:

* The fantastic biodiversity of southern Ohio
* Wildlands Philanthropy: protecting key areas by buying them
* Black bears and high population and industrial centers
* Bugs, fireflies, and miracles
* Native American heritage sites: earth works

Nancy Stranahan serves as the Director of the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, and was one of the non-profit’s founders in 1995. In the span of directing the organization over the last 20-plus years, Nancy has cultivated a vigorous citizen advocacy network in Ohio, what Nancy likes to refer to as a tree-roots network.  
The Arc has saved and preserved over 7000 acres of natural areas in Appalachian Ohio, representing 21 preserve regions and over 100 separate real estate negotiations and fund-raising campaigns. The Arc’s headquarters, the 2500-acre Highlands Nature Sanctuary, is the Arc’s largest and oldest preserve region, and is the hub of the Arc’s primary visitor services, offering over 16 miles of public hiking trails, overnight lodges, and an interpretive Museum.  
A few of the many rare and common signature species protected within the Arc suite of nature preserves are Henslow sparrows, cerulean warblers, golden star lilies, northern long-eared bats and timber rattlesnakes. Under Nancy’s guidance, the Arc has also been instrumental in saving several 2000-year old Native American earthwork complexes, notably Spruce Hill, Glenford Fort, Junction, and Steel Earthwork sites.
In addition, the Arc manages two long-protected earthwork sites – Fort Hill and Serpent Mound – working as a contract manager for the Ohio History Connection. Previously in her career Nancy served as Chief Naturalist for Ohio State Parks with the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources; and operated Benevolence Café and Bakery in downtown Columbus’ city market for 20 years, where she promoted healthy and intentional food choices.
Topics:

* The fantastic biodiversity of southern Ohio
* Wildlands Philanthropy: protecting key areas by buying them
* Black bears and high population and industrial centers
* Bugs, fireflies, and miracles
* Native American heritage sites: earth works

Nancy Stranahan serves as the Director of the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, and was one of the non-profit’s founders in 1995. In the span of directing the organization over the last 20-plus years, Nancy has cultivated a vigorous citizen advocacy network in Ohio, what Nancy likes to refer to as a tree-roots network.  
The Arc has saved and preserved over 7000 acres of natural areas in Appalachian Ohio, representing 21 preserve regions and over 100 separate real estate negotiations and fund-raising campaigns. The Arc’s headquarters, the 2500-acre Highlands Nature Sanctuary, is the Arc’s largest and oldest preserve region, and is the hub of the Arc’s primary visitor services, offering over 16 miles of public hiking trails, overnight lodges, and an interpretive Museum.  
A few of the many rare and common signature species protected within the Arc suite of nature preserves are Henslow sparrows, cerulean warblers, golden star lilies, northern long-eared bats and timber rattlesnakes. Under Nancy’s guidance, the Arc has also been instrumental in saving several 2000-year old Native American earthwork complexes, notably Spruce Hill, Glenford Fort, Junction, and Steel Earthwork sites.
In addition, the Arc manages two long-protected earthwork sites – Fort Hill and Serpent Mound – working as a contract manager for the Ohio History Connection. Previously in her career Nancy served as Chief Naturalist for Ohio State Parks with the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources; and operated Benevolence Café and Bakery in downtown Columbus’ city market for 20 years, where she promoted healthy and intentional food choi...

A biochemist by training, Mark Fisher has worked in the pharmaceutical industry and in pure science. In a change of direction, he qualified as a Permaculture Designer, and did work in landscape design.
Mark launched a manifesto for rewilding Britain in 2003 having been inspired by hiking the National Parks and open spaces of Canada and America. He taught himself about wilderness ecology and rewilding, and explores these through his website Self-Willed Land, an advocacy website since 2003 for wild land and nature.
His focus is the transformation of Britain through rewilding, a new future where landscapes of increasing naturalness will have open access to the public for physical discovery and spiritual enjoyment.
Mark recently became a member of the IUCN Commission for Ecosystem Management as a result of setting up with others a Task Force on Rewilding in response to the drift in its meaning.
Mark was a co-founder in 2005 of the Wildland Network, a voluntary organisation set up to further the concepts and development of wildland in Britain. The Network attracted a large cross-section of interest from professional ecologists, land managers, government agencies, voluntary organisations and individuals, to its program of theme-based meetings around Britain that were combined with local study visits. He was instrumental in the development of a database of rewilding projects in Britain for the Network.
In 2009, Mark was a co-founder of the Wildland Research Institute at the University of Leeds where he advises on ecosystems and policy development.
His work for the Institute includes research on the effect of visual and audio stimuli for perceptions of landscape; a report for the Scottish Government on the national protected area systems of Europe, their legislative basis and implementation, and their ability to protect wild land; a report for the John Muir Trust on options for the protection of wild land in Scotland; the production of a register of wilderness areas and indicator in Europe for the European Commission; a review of the social, economic and environmental benefits of wild land in Scotland for Scottish Natural Heritage; and a book chapter on the ecological values of Europe’s wilderness.
Topics:

* The drift in definition and focus of original definition and practice of rewilding in Europe.
* Overcoming cultural prejudice.
* Ecological amnesia.
* How to find inspiration and purpose for a career or focus on rewilding work.

A biochemist by training, Mark Fisher has worked in the pharmaceutical industry and in pure science. In a change of direction, he qualified as a Permaculture Designer, and did work in landscape design.
Mark launched a manifesto for rewilding Britain in 2003 having been inspired by hiking the National Parks and open spaces of Canada and America. He taught himself about wilderness ecology and rewilding, and explores these through his website Self-Willed Land, an advocacy website since 2003 for wild land and nature.
His focus is the transformation of Britain through rewilding, a new future where landscapes of increasing naturalness will have open access to the public for physical discovery and spiritual enjoyment.
Mark recently became a member of the IUCN Commission for Ecosystem Management as a result of setting up with others a Task Force on Rewilding in response to the drift in its meaning.
Mark was a co-founder in 2005 of the Wildland Network, a voluntary organisation set up to further the concepts and development of wildland in Britain. The Network attracted a large cross-section of interest from professional ecologists, land managers, government agencies, voluntary organisations and individuals, to its program of theme-based meetings around Britain that were combined with local study visits. He was instrumental in the development of a database of rewilding projects in Britain for the Network.

Tyler Socash is the Adirondack Mountain Club‘s Outdoor Skills Coordinator. The day after completing his master’s degree at the University of Rochester, Tyler embarked on a 7,000-mile thru-hiking immersion into wilderness.
He joined the Adirondack Wilderness Advocates as an activist to promote the intangibles of wildness and their benefits to humanity. In 2017, Tyler put his thru-hiking skills to the test as he carried over 1,800 petitions 47 miles in 24 hours across the wildest remaining landscape in New York to advocate for wilderness protection. In an effort to meld humor with conservation efforts, Socash also co-created and co-hosts Foot Stuff Podcast, which spotlights outdoor adventure, antics, and activism around the country.
You can check out all of Tyler’s wilderness adventures through his Twitter and Instagram account, @tylerhikes.
Topics:

* Growing up in the Adirondacks
* Thru hiking and Tyler’s 7,000 mile wilderness immersion on the PCT, AT, and New Zealand’s Te Araroa
* Getting people out into wilderness & building advocacy
* The campaign to save wilderness in the Adirondacks
* Going to Patagonia

Extra Credit:
Listen to Foot Stuff Podcast
Tyler on TEDx
Tyler Socash is the Adirondack Mountain Club‘s Outdoor Skills Coordinator. The day after completing his master’s degree at the University of Rochester, Tyler embarked on a 7,000-mile thru-hiking immersion into wilderness.
He joined the Adirondack Wilderness Advocates as an activist to promote the intangibles of wildness and their benefits to humanity. In 2017, Tyler put his thru-hiking skills to the test as he carried over 1,800 petitions 47 miles in 24 hours across the wildest remaining landscape in New York to advocate for wilderness protection. In an effort to meld humor with conservation efforts, Socash also co-created and co-hosts Foot Stuff Podcast, which spotlights outdoor adventure, antics, and activism around the country.
You can check out all of Tyler’s wilderness adventures through his Twitter and Instagram account, @tylerhikes.
Topics:

* Growing up in the Adirondacks
* Thru hiking and Tyler’s 7,000 mile wilderness immersion on the PCT, AT, and New Zealand’s Te Araroa
* Getting people out into wilderness & building advocacy
* The campaign to save wilderness in the Adirondacks
* Going to Patagonia

Extra Credit:
Listen to Foot Stuff Podcast
Tyler on TEDx

Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D. helped found the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT) in 1998 and has served as its Executive Director since 2011. In her work for SPLT, she is striving to create large shortgrass prairie wildlife refuges that emulate the “American Serengeti” that once occurred in the Great Plains.
Thus far, SPLT has protected over 25,000 acres in southeast Colorado, a biodiversity hotspot. One of SPLT’s preserves, Heartland Ranch, is larger than any one of Colorado’s state parks. Nicole received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2002.
Her dissertation focused on the Endangered Species Act and ways in which ecosystem protection and the precautionary principle have factored in the law’s legislative history. Over her career, Nicole worked to enforce the Endangered Species Act, first for the Biodiversity Legal Foundation and subsequently for a decade at WildEarth Guardians.
She has endeavored to protect more than 800 species over the course of her career but now focuses on SPLT’s private landownership approach to protecting the wildlife and plants native to the southern Great Plains.
Topics:

* The potential for the American Serengeti to bounce back
* Black footed ferrets
* Pronghorn, muledeer, bison
* Land trusts and their importance in protecting lands that are not covered by federal and state protected lands
* How democratic and republican administrations have hindered endangered species and how private land trusts can mitigate the whims of federal government to protect species on the brink
* Bringing back riparian forests and missing species the belong to the Great Plains

Extra Credit: Read Nicole’s article “Bringing Back the American Serengeti“
Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D. helped found the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT) in 1998 and has served as its Executive Director since 2011. In her work for SPLT, she is striving to create large shortgrass prairie wildlife refuges that emulate the “American Serengeti” that once occurred in the Great Plains.
Thus far, SPLT has protected over 25,000 acres in southeast Colorado, a biodiversity hotspot. One of SPLT’s preserves, Heartland Ranch, is larger than any one of Colorado’s state parks. Nicole received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2002.
Her dissertation focused on the Endangered Species Act and ways in which ecosystem protection and the precautionary principle have factored in the law’s legislative history. Over her career, Nicole worked to enforce the Endangered Species Act, first for the Biodiversity Legal Foundation and subsequently for a decade at WildEarth Guardians.
She has endeavored to protect more than 800 species over the course of her career but now focuses on SPLT’s private landownership approach to protecting the wildlife and plants native to the southern Great Plains.
Topics:

* The potential for the American Serengeti to bounce back
* Black footed ferrets
* Pronghorn, muledeer, bison
* Land trusts and their importance in protecting lands that are not covered by federal and state protected lands
* How democratic and republican administrations have hindered endangered species and how private land trusts can mitigate the whims of federal government to protect species on the brink
* Bringing back riparian forests and missing species the belong to the Great Plains

Extra Credit: Read Nicole’s article “Bringing Back the American Serengeti“

It’s not often, especially these days, that we get to hear about a really big Rewilding  victory. Today is one of those days.
The dam removal on the Elwha River in the Olympic Peninsula is not breaking news. But it continues to teach us myriad lessons in the conservation community about devotion to a long-running campaign and the rewards that come with winning a big victory for nature.
Tim McNulty was there for the fight to remove 2 dams on the Elwha, which run through one of the most impressive national parks in the park system. What was less prominent in the coverage of the dam removal (and the resulting Rewilding of the river ecosystem) was the story of the dedicated, large group of people who saw it through over decades of fighting. We have a good chunk of that story here for you today.
Use this. Use the Elwha for inspiration on those dark days when you need it. If you are fighting for something in your area and you feel like you just can’t do it another day, listen to this episode of Rewilding Earth to regain your footing and rejoin the fight.
—
Tim McNulty is a poet, essayist, and nature writer based on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. He is the author of ten poetry books and eleven books of natural history.
Tim’s book “Olympic National Park: A Natural History” is a captivating and detailed accounting of the parks 1400 square miles of rugged mountains, richly forested river valleys, and pristine wilderness coastline.
In 2011 Tim and hundreds of activists, organizers, and scientists rejoiced as the largest dam removal in US history began on the Elwha river, which runs through Olympic National Park to the coast.
It marked the end of a decades-long battle to return the Elwha to natural flow, resulting in the return of salmon, Eagles and countless natural processes and species reliant on a healthy river freed from 2 dams.
Though a great many people worked on this campaign, several of whom never got to see the fruits of their labor, Tim is the perfect spokesperson to talk about this very big Rewilding victory and what it has done locally as well as what it means in the fight to remove destructive and outmoded dams across the US.
Topics:

* History of the campaign to free the Elwha River
* The return of the Elwha and its incredible and ongoing transformation
* Lessons from this big win
* Taking out other dams – the current Snake River fight example

Watch The Dams Fall And The Fish And Nearshore Return
See also: National Park Service news and history of Elwha dam removal and Elwha Restoration information at Olympic Park Associates.
It’s not often, especially these days, that we get to hear about a really big Rewilding  victory. Today is one of those days.
The dam removal on the Elwha River in the Olympic Peninsula is not breaking news. But it continues to teach us myriad lessons in the conservation community about devotion to a long-running campaign and the rewards that come with winning a big victory for nature.
Tim McNulty was there for the fight to remove 2 dams on the Elwha, which run through one of the most impressive national parks in the park system. What was less prominent in the coverage of the dam removal (and the resulting Rewilding of the river ecosystem) was the story of the dedicated, large group of people who saw it through over decades of fighting. We have a good chunk of that story here for you today.
Use this. Use the Elwha for inspiration on those dark days when you need it.

Camilla Fox is the founder and executive director of Project Coyote, a national non-profit organization that promotes compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science, and advocacy.
With over 20 years of experience working on behalf of wildlife and wildlands and a Masters degree in wildlife ecology, policy, and conservation, Camilla’s work has been featured in The New York Times, the BBC, NPR, Orion, National Geographic, and Mother Jones.
Camilla has authored more than 70 publications and is co-author of two books: Coyotes in Our Midst and Cull of the Wild. She also co-produced the companion award-winning documentary Cull of the Wild ~ The Truth Behind Trapping and director and producer of KILLING GAMES ~ Wildlife in the Crosshairs– a documentary film released in 2017 with the aim of ending wildlife killing contests in the U.S.
Topics Include:

* Wildlife killing contests
* A non-protected class of animals including coyote, prairie dog, bobcat, raven, and several others which can be killed on site, in contests, and is unmonitored in almost every state.
* How you can get involved in your state to support the work of Project Coyote in ending wildlife killing contests.

Download a transcript of this episode
Camilla Fox is the founder and executive director of Project Coyote, a national non-profit organization that promotes compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science, and advocacy.
With over 20 years of experience working on behalf of wildlife and wildlands and a Masters degree in wildlife ecology, policy, and conservation, Camilla’s work has been featured in The New York Times, the BBC, NPR, Orion, National Geographic, and Mother Jones.
Camilla has authored more than 70 publications and is co-author of two books: Coyotes in Our Midst and Cull of the Wild. She also co-produced the companion award-winning documentary Cull of the Wild ~ The Truth Behind Trapping and director and producer of KILLING GAMES ~ Wildlife in the Crosshairs– a documentary film released in 2017 with the aim of ending wildlife killing contests in the U.S.
Topics Include:

* Wildlife killing contests
* A non-protected class of animals including coyote, prairie dog, bobcat, raven, and several others which can be killed on site, in contests, and is unmonitored in almost every state.
* How you can get involved in your state to support the work of Project Coyote in ending wildlife killing contests.

Download a transcript of this episode

Paul Jepson is course director of Oxford University‘s Master in Science in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management. He’s also a Senior Research Fellow with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He’s held Senior Research Fellowships with the Environmental Change Institute and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Said Business School. Paul is also on the supervisory board of Rewilding Europe. Through his scientific publications and work at Oxford University, he’s making an invaluable contribution to the development of rewilding as a conservation narrative in Europe and beyond.
Topics:

* Rewilding in Europe
* Rewilding initiatives in Europe and around the world
* Working with an array of stakeholders to broaden discourse and action around  the idea of Rewilding
* How Rewilding experiments and initiatives can become policy

Check out more episodes of the Rewilding Earth Podcast.
Paul Jepson is course director of Oxford University‘s Master in Science in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management. He’s also a Senior Research Fellow with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He’s held Senior Research Fellowships with the Environmental Change Institute and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Said Business School. Paul is also on the supervisory board of Rewilding Europe. Through his scientific publications and work at Oxford University, he’s making an invaluable contribution to the development of rewilding as a conservation narrative in Europe and beyond.
Topics:

* Rewilding in Europe
* Rewilding initiatives in Europe and around the world
* Working with an array of stakeholders to broaden discourse and action around  the idea of Rewilding
* How Rewilding experiments and initiatives can become policy

Check out more episodes of the Rewilding Earth Podcast.

Vance Russell is the head of biodiversity at Ecosulis which provides a variety of services including rewilding, wildlands plans, and approaches to landscape-scale conservation. Vance was California Director of Programs for the National Forest Foundation where he managed forestry projects throughout the state. He was also director of Audubon California’s Landowner Stewardship Program working with farmers and ranchers throughout California. Vance is one of the founding members of the Wild Farm Alliance, which promotes agriculture that helps to protect and restore wild nature, and currently serves on the organization’s board of directors.
Topics:

* Differences and similarities between North American and European Rewilding efforts.
* Bridging the gaps between stakeholders’ disparate views on biodiversity rewilding needs.
* Farming then and now: how technology could help Rewilding projects.
* The future of Rewilding globally and the need for all levels of participation: how you can get involved.

 
Vance Russell is the head of biodiversity at Ecosulis which provides a variety of services including rewilding, wildlands plans, and approaches to landscape-scale conservation. Vance was California Director of Programs for the National Forest Foundation where he managed forestry projects throughout the state. He was also director of Audubon California’s Landowner Stewardship Program working with farmers and ranchers throughout California. Vance is one of the founding members of the Wild Farm Alliance, which promotes agriculture that helps to protect and restore wild nature, and currently serves on the organization’s board of directors.
Topics:

* Differences and similarities between North American and European Rewilding efforts.
* Bridging the gaps between stakeholders’ disparate views on biodiversity rewilding needs.
* Farming then and now: how technology could help Rewilding projects.
* The future of Rewilding globally and the need for all levels of participation: how you can get involved.

 

Joan Maloof, Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University, founded the Old-Growth Forest Network to preserve, protect and promote the country’s few remaining stands of old-growth forest. She spends her time lecturing, writing, visiting forests, assisting private landowners, and supporting local groups trying to protect community forests from development.
She is the author of Teaching the Trees, Among the Ancients, Nature’s Temples, and most recently The Living Forest.
Today I talk to Joan about the Old Growth Forest Network, her definition and infectious love of old growth forests, and how our listeners can get involved, on the ground, identifying and protecting old growth forests where you live.
Topics:

* What is old-growth forest?
* How much old-growth forest is left in the Eastern United States?
* How to locate and assess old-growth forest for possible inclusion in the Old-Growth Forest Network.
* What do people even know about ancient, original forests these days?
* Why education and accessibility (even to small patches of old-growth) matters to the future of forest protection and wildlands connectivity and recovery.
* Instruction on how to get involved where you live!

Joan Maloof, Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University, founded the Old-Growth Forest Network to preserve, protect and promote the country’s few remaining stands of old-growth forest. She spends her time lecturing, writing, visiting forests, assisting private landowners, and supporting local groups trying to protect community forests from development.
She is the author of Teaching the Trees, Among the Ancients, Nature’s Temples, and most recently The Living Forest.
Today I talk to Joan about the Old Growth Forest Network, her definition and infectious love of old growth forests, and how our listeners can get involved, on the ground, identifying and protecting old growth forests where you live.
Topics:

* What is old-growth forest?
* How much old-growth forest is left in the Eastern United States?
* How to locate and assess old-growth forest for possible inclusion in the Old-Growth Forest Network.
* What do people even know about ancient, original forests these days?
* Why education and accessibility (even to small patches of old-growth) matters to the future of forest protection and wildlands connectivity and recovery.
* Instruction on how to get involved where you live!

John Davis, Executive Director of The Rewilding Institute, interviews Dave Parsons, former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Rewilding Board member, about the Mexican Wolf reintroduction and recovery program in the United States Southwest. Interview takes place in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico, Spring of 2018.
Topics:

* Mexican wolf reintroduction
* Lobo recovery program status
* Gila Wilderness

John Davis, Executive Director of The Rewilding Institute, interviews Dave Parsons, former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Rewilding Board member, about the Mexican Wolf reintroduction and recovery program in the United States Southwest. Interview takes place in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico, Spring of 2018.
Topics:

* Mexican wolf reintroduction
* Lobo recovery program status
* Gila Wilderness

John Davis is executive director of The Rewilding Institute and editor of Rewilding Earth. For Rewilding, he serves as a wildways scout, editor, interviewer, and writer. He rounds out his living with conservation field work, particularly within New York’s Adirondack Park, where he lives. John serves on boards of RESTORE: The North Woods, Eddy Foundation, Champlain Area Trails, Cougar Rewilding Foundation, and Algonquin to Adirondack Conservation Collaborative.
You can read more about John’s background and work at Rewilding.org, starting with his latest article “Rewilding Distilled” which takes you through the fundamentals of Rewilding. And… that’s where we’re starting today, with John’s definition of Rewilding…
In this episode:

* What is Rewilding?
* Split Rock Wildway, Adirondack Park
* Aspect of rewilding you don’t hear about often: Deadbeat dams
* Return of atlantic salmon.
* Local rewilding.
* Road removal – hundreds of thousands of miles of roads that were used to get
timber, not used now, can be removed.
* Economic impact of rewilding – dam removal, road obliterating, studies for
crossings, reintroduction of missing species. Thousands of jobs.
* Resurgence of interest in wildlife watching, benefits to humans of being near
unfragmented intact natural communities.
* A modern Civilian Conservation Corps
* Natural infrastructure and human infrastructure upgrades work together to prepare
for the future of climate chaos.
* John’s call for the American Eel as a possible aquatic counterpart (flagship
species) to Eastern Cougar reintroduction.
* Plants: American Chestnut, blight resistant, keystone species, possible
contributor to the demise of passenger pigeon when their food source was removed.
* Continental Wildways important, especially so as broad swaths relatively intact
wildways.
* Sue Morse, Keeping Track
* Wolves, pumas, eels, and chestnuts.

Read more about John’s work in his series on the Split Rock Wildway.
John Davis is executive director of The Rewilding Institute and editor of Rewilding Earth. For Rewilding, he serves as a wildways scout, editor, interviewer, and writer. He rounds out his living with conservation field work, particularly within New York’s Adirondack Park, where he lives. John serves on boards of RESTORE: The North Woods, Eddy Foundation, Champlain Area Trails, Cougar Rewilding Foundation, and Algonquin to Adirondack Conservation Collaborative.
You can read more about John’s background and work at Rewilding.org, starting with his latest article “Rewilding Distilled” which takes you through the fundamentals of Rewilding. And… that’s where we’re starting today, with John’s definition of Rewilding…
In this episode:

* What is Rewilding?
* Split Rock Wildway, Adirondack Park
* Aspect of rewilding you don’t hear about often: Deadbeat dams
* Return of atlantic salmon.
* Local rewilding.
* Road removal – hundreds of thousands of miles of roads that were used to get
timber, not used now, can be removed.
* Economic impact of rewilding – dam removal, road obliterating, studies for
crossings, reintroduction of missing species. Thousands of jobs.
* Resurgence of interest in wildlife watching, benefits to humans of being near
unfragmented intact natural communities.
* A modern Civilian Conservation Corps
* Natural infrastructure and human infrastructure upgrades work together to prepare
for the future of climate chaos.
* John’s call for the American Eel as a possible aquatic counterpart (flagship

Professor Tom Rooney is an ecologist, conservation biologist, and advocate for good stewardship of wild places and the wild things that live there. His scientific reputation is built on the management problems and challenges posed by white-tailed deer. His research examines the role of deer in forest ecosystems has been featured in the New York Times Science Times, Discover Magazine, Washington Monthly, Nautilus Magazine, and other publications. [More on Tom at Wright State University]
Today I spoke with Tom about his work in the upper midwest. He had some surprisingly good news around wolves and their effects on flora and fauna in the region as well as what it might take to improve connectivity among the areas affected by high road densities and other barriers to wildlife movement.
Topics

* The effects wolves have on the landscape, prey species, and flora.
* The smallest predators Tom has worked with. (HINT: smaller than you might think!)
* The surprising estimate of the number of wolves in upper midwest. (Can you guess how many?)
* How many deer do wolves take in Wisconsin every year?
* Possibilities for connectivity with current public lands network.
* What to do if you’re interested in the natural sciences and working on research projects like the ones professor Rooney describes in this podcast.

Did you know?

* There are over 1 million deer in Wisconsin!
* Wolves aren’t the biggest predator on deer in the upper midwest. (Can you guess which animals take more deer than wolves?)

Professor Tom Rooney is an ecologist, conservation biologist, and advocate for good stewardship of wild places and the wild things that live there. His scientific reputation is built on the management problems and challenges posed by white-tailed deer. His research examines the role of deer in forest ecosystems has been featured in the New York Times Science Times, Discover Magazine, Washington Monthly, Nautilus Magazine, and other publications. [More on Tom at Wright State University]
Today I spoke with Tom about his work in the upper midwest. He had some surprisingly good news around wolves and their effects on flora and fauna in the region as well as what it might take to improve connectivity among the areas affected by high road densities and other barriers to wildlife movement.
Topics

* The effects wolves have on the landscape, prey species, and flora.
* The smallest predators Tom has worked with. (HINT: smaller than you might think!)
* The surprising estimate of the number of wolves in upper midwest. (Can you guess how many?)
* How many deer do wolves take in Wisconsin every year?
* Possibilities for connectivity with current public lands network.
* What to do if you’re interested in the natural sciences and working on research projects like the ones professor Rooney describes in this podcast.

Did you know?

* There are over 1 million deer in Wisconsin!
* Wolves aren’t the biggest predator on deer in the upper midwest. (Can you guess which animals take more deer than wolves?)

Today, Rewilding Institute Director John Davis takes us to Ibera Argentina, where he interviewed Conservation Land Trust staffers Sofia Heinonen, Luli Masera, and Sebastian Di Martino about rewilding efforts in the region, including their work with Jaguars, Peccary, Macaws, and lowland Tapirs.
Iberá, located in the center and center-north of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, is one of the most important freshwater wetlands on the continent and the second-largest in the world after Pantanal in Brazil.
Guests
To dive deeper, be sure to check out the Rewilding Argentina series submitted by CLT.
Ibera Landscape and Wildlife Gallery
Today, Rewilding Institute Director John Davis takes us to Ibera Argentina, where he interviewed Conservation Land Trust staffers Sofia Heinonen, Luli Masera, and Sebastian Di Martino about rewilding efforts in the region, including their work with Jaguars, Peccary, Macaws, and lowland Tapirs.
Iberá, located in the center and center-north of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, is one of the most important freshwater wetlands on the continent and the second-largest in the world after Pantanal in Brazil.
Guests
To dive deeper, be sure to check out the Rewilding Argentina series submitted by CLT.
Ibera Landscape and Wildlife Gallery

Rick Ridgeway is a mountaineer and adventurer, who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer, filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and explored little-known regions on six continents. He was part of the 1978 team that were the first Americans to summit K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. Since 2005 he has overseen environmental affairs at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia, which has long been a supporter of groups like The Rewilding Institute.
He has authored six books and dozens of magazine articles, and produced or directed many documentary films.
During his explorations Ridgeway witnessed the degradations of the wildlands that had come to define his life: he saw firsthand remote grasslands in Patagonia turned to tourist cities, and the glaciers on Kilimanjaro disappear. He also witnessed the wildlife that inhabited those wildlands decline, and in the mid-’90s he began a series of journeys that allowed him to communicate, through books and films, what was happening to these formerly wild regions. –Wikipedia
Today I talk with Rick about conservation initiatives and activism in which Patagonia is taking part or leading, what it means to be an “activist company,” and how listeners can continue to help make sure companies are in business for the right reasons.
Podcast Topics:

* Activist companies
* Rewilding
* Bears Ears
* 3 pillars of climate change focus
* Patagonia’s global activism and initiatives

Bonus: Get to know more about Rick Ridgeway

Rick Ridgeway is a mountaineer and adventurer, who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer, filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and explored little-known regions on six continents. He was part of the 1978 team that were the first Americans to summit K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. Since 2005 he has overseen environmental affairs at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia, which has long been a supporter of groups like The Rewilding Institute.
He has authored six books and dozens of magazine articles, and produced or directed many documentary films.
During his explorations Ridgeway witnessed the degradations of the wildlands that had come to define his life: he saw firsthand remote grasslands in Patagonia turned to tourist cities, and the glaciers on Kilimanjaro disappear. He also witnessed the wildlife that inhabited those wildlands decline, and in the mid-’90s he began a series of journeys that allowed him to communicate, through books and films, what was happening to these formerly wild regions. –Wikipedia
Today I talk with Rick about conservation initiatives and activism in which Patagonia is taking part or leading, what it means to be an “activist company,” and how listeners can continue to help make sure companies are in business for the right reasons.
Podcast Topics:

* Activist companies
* Rewilding
* Bears Ears
* 3 pillars of climate change focus
* Patagonia’s global activism and initiatives

Bonus: Get to know more about Rick Ridgeway

What is “Rewilding?”
Episode 2 – Part 2 of the “What is Rewilding” series on the Rewilding Earth podcast.
Introduction
“Reed Noss has been publishing on conservation biology since the early 1980s, shortly after the first texts that used the name appeared. He is especially well known for his work developing concepts and approaches for regional and continental-scale conservation planning and reserve network design. By the late 1990s, he was collaborating with conservation biologist, Michael E. Soulé to refine the conservation idea of rewilding. According to their paper “Rewilding and Biodiversity: Complementary Goals for Continental Conservation” Soulé and Noss identified the driving factors of rewilding as “cores, corridors, and carnivores”.
In more recent decades, Noss has spoken about the decline of educational opportunities in natural history, and the diminishing exposure that students have to it.” –Wikipedia
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Reed discusses the early years of conservation biology, the first core, corridor mapping projects he led, as well as his thoughts on the current political climate for wilderness recovery and Rewilding efforts and how people can get involved.
Topics:

* Wilderness recovery
* First rewilding mapping projects
* Carnivores, Cores, Corridors
* Rewilding in Florida
* Florida black bear & puma
* Rewilding in Ohio

What is “Rewilding?”
Episode 2 – Part 2 of the “What is Rewilding” series on the Rewilding Earth podcast.
Introduction
“Reed Noss has been publishing on conservation biology since the early 1980s, shortly after the first texts that used the name appeared. He is especially well known for his work developing concepts and approaches for regional and continental-scale conservation planning and reserve network design. By the late 1990s, he was collaborating with conservation biologist, Michael E. Soulé to refine the conservation idea of rewilding. According to their paper “Rewilding and Biodiversity: Complementary Goals for Continental Conservation” Soulé and Noss identified the driving factors of rewilding as “cores, corridors, and carnivores”.
In more recent decades, Noss has spoken about the decline of educational opportunities in natural history, and the diminishing exposure that students have to it.” –Wikipedia
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Reed discusses the early years of conservation biology, the first core, corridor mapping projects he led, as well as his thoughts on the current political climate for wilderness recovery and Rewilding efforts and how people can get involved.
Topics:

* Wilderness recovery
* First rewilding mapping projects
* Carnivores, Cores, Corridors
* Rewilding in Florida
* Florida black bear & puma
* Rewilding in Ohio

What Is “Rewilding?”
Dave Foreman, Founder of The Rewilding Institute and coiner of the term “Rewilding,” discusses its origin and history on Episode 1 of the new Rewilding Earth Podcast.
Introduction:
Welcome to Episode 1 of the Rewilding Earth podcast! The Rewilding team discussed ideas on how best to launch the new podcast and decided to start at the beginning by answering the question “What Is Rewilding?”
For the answer, we had to invite the obvious guest, Dave Foreman. After all, he is the originator of the term Rewilding.
Dave’s work spans decades, starting in the early 70’s, he worked for The Wilderness Society as Southwest Regional Representative in New Mexico and the Director of Wilderness Affairs in Washington, DC. From 1976 to 1980, he was a board member for the New Mexico chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Dave co-founded Earth First! in 1980 with Howie Wolke, Ron Kezar, Bart Kohler and Mike Roselle. In the 90’s, he co-founded The Wildlands Project which eventually led to what was then called a conservation think-tank, The Rewilding Institute, in 2003.
You can read more about Dave’s background and check out his books, such as Rewilding North America and Man Swarm, at Rewilding.org.
It was in 1992 that Dave coined the phrase Rewilding. It has since has come to mean different things to different people and groups around the globe. I asked Dave to take us back to the beginning and describe how the idea for Rewilding came about and who the players were that helped him start what is now a conservation buzzword, inspiring and guiding wilderness protection and restoration efforts around the world.
Topics:

* Wilderness protection
* Sky Island Wildway Network
* Rewilding
* David Brower
* Glen Canyon
* Rewilding projects and global reach
* Carnivores, Cores, Corridors
* Wildeors, Wilderness, Wildways and Wardens
* Rewilding Europe
* Rewilding Britain
* Climate Change

See Also: Rewilding Synopsis | Rewilding North America | Rewilding Distilled | What Is Rewilding?
What Is “Rewilding?”
Dave Foreman, Founder of The Rewilding Institute and coiner of the term “Rewilding,” discusses its origin and history on Episode 1 of the new Rewilding Earth Podcast.
Introduction:
Welcome to Episode 1 of the Rewilding Earth podcast! The Rewilding team discussed ideas on how best to launch the new podcast and decided to start at the beginning by answering the question “What Is Rewilding?”
For the answer, we had to invite the obvious guest, Dave Foreman. After all, he is the originator of the term Rewilding.
Dave’s work spans decades, starting in the early 70’s, he worked for The Wilderness Society as Southwest Regional Representative in New Mexico and the Director of Wilderness Affairs in Washington, DC. From 1976 to 1980, he was a board member for the New Mexico chapter of 

About Renee
Renee Seacor is an interdisciplinary environmental advocate with a background in wildlife ecology and environmental law and policy who has dedicated her professional career to using science-based advocacy to guide and develop policy solutions to challenging conservation issues. She currently serves as the Carnivore Conservation Advocate for Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute, where she advocates for the conservation of carnivores and wild nature through rewilding and science-driven advocacy.
Renee grew up in the beautiful Hudson Valley region in New York, where she developed her deep appreciation for nature and wildlife. She followed her love for wild landscapes out west and spent over ten years exploring and living in the beautiful states of Montana and Oregon. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Rocky Mountain College in Montana and a J.D. with a concentration in environmental law from the University of Oregon School of Law.
It was in learning and connecting to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem where she developed a deep passion and understanding of the necessity of carnivores in the landscape. She spent a season studying winter ecology dynamics in Yellowstone National Park, observing the Park’s wolf packs, and learning firsthand the ecological importance of carnivores in the landscape. She also conducted historical research on the extirpation of wolves from the landscape, documenting and analyzing predator bounty certificates from livestock commission records across the state of Montana. In addition, she worked on numerous wildlife research studies in the Yellowstone River ecosystem, specifically studying the health of Osprey nesting in the region. These research experiences were foundational in inspiring her advocacy for policy solutions protecting wild carnivores and fostering coexistence between humans and wildlife. [Read more about Renee…]
Topics

* To Infinity and Beyond I-40! How artificial boundaries are of no interest to carnivores who need to roam.
* How one Mexican Wolf (Lobo) is moving north, the obstacles he faces, and what advocates like Renee are doing to help provide safe passage as Mexican Wolves seek mates and territory.
* The historical range of wolves along the spine of the continent and what the future might hold for our beloved Lobos.

Extra Credit

* Check out this cool map where you can track general whereabouts of the Mexican Wolves who are wearing GPC collars.
* Project Coyote Action Alert: Mexican Wolves Are Under Attack!
* Visit Project Coyote and learn more about their great work on carnivore protection.
* Meet the kids who named Infinity and 23 other wolf pups in 2020.

Click here to support the Rewilding Institute’s efforts to protect carnivores in the Mogollon Rim region, including Infinity and his friends!
 
About Renee
Renee Seacor is an interdisciplinary environmental advocate with a background in wildlife ecology and environmental law and policy who has dedicated her professional career to using science-based advocacy to guide and develop policy solutions to challenging conservation issues. She currently serves as the Carnivore Conservation Advocate for Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute, where she advocates for the conservation of carnivores and wild nature through rewilding and ...

About
Fran is an interdisciplinary researcher and nature advocate with over a decade’s experience in conservation and animal science, ethics and policy issues. He is the Big River Connectivity Science and Conservation Manager for Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute, where he helps promote compassion and respect for wild carnivores and nature, their protection, and the rewilding of the Mississippi River Watershed.
His work explores the application of nature ethics to our mixed-community of humans, animals and nature, with a focus on the promotion of worldviews rooted in an ethic of care and justice towards nonhumans, and a reverence for life.
He is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras (BA, Political Science and Economics), Duke University (Masters in Public Policy and Environmental Management), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD, Environment & Resources). He has worked on a variety of environmental and conservation issues, from state wildlife management to national and international impact assessments.
Topics

* Compassion and Coexistence
* Mitigating harmful impacts on the land to promote connectivity throughout the watershed
* What it’s like working on rewilding at “ground zero” in the lower 48
* How to do cores, corridors in radically developed landscapes

Extra Credit
Reading

* Science and Ethics Agree: Coexistence Must Replace Killing Wolves Part 1
* Science and Ethics Agree: Coexistence Must Replace Killing Wolves Part 2

Big River Connectivity

* Learn more about Big River Connectivity
* BRC project on Project Coyote’s site

Webinar – Science and Ethics Agree: Coexistence Must Replace Killing Wolves

About
Fran is an interdisciplinary researcher and nature advocate with over a decade’s experience in conservation and animal science, ethics and policy issues. He is the Big River Connectivity Science and Conservation Manager for Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute, where he helps promote compassion and respect for wild carnivores and nature, their protection, and the rewilding of the Mississippi River Watershed.
His work explores the application of nature ethics to our mixed-community of humans, animals and nature, with a focus on the promotion of worldviews rooted in an ethic of care and justice towards nonhumans, and a reverence for life.
He is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras (BA, Political Science and Economics), Duke University (Masters in Public Policy and Environmental Management), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD, Environment & Resources). He has worked on a variety of environmental and conservation issues, from state wildlife management to national and international impact assessments.
Topics

* Compassion and Coexistence
* Mitigating harmful impacts on the land to promote connectivity throughout the watershed
* What it’s like working on rewilding at “ground zero” in the lower 48
* How to do cores, corridors in radically developed landscapes

Extra Credit
Reading

Welcome to a special Earth Day episode of the Rewilding Earth Podcast!

About
Cara Nelson is a Professor of Restoration Ecology and the Chair of the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at the University of Montana’s W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and a leader of the Restoration Thematic Group of the IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management. Cara has helped develop the guiding principles for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and she contributed to the paper, “Guiding principles for rewilding,” which appeared in Conservation Biology.
Topics

* Are the terms ecosystem and ecological restoration the same?
* The relationship between rewilding and restoration.
* Concrete accomplishments so far on the UN Decade.
* Key challenges for successful implementation of the UN Decade.
* Why principles and standards of practice are needed.

Extra Credit

* Check out the latest issue of Biohabitats’ free publication, Leaf Litter.
* Visit the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration website
* Learn more about Biohabitats’ Beaver Creek Restoration project
* Download “Principles for Ecosystem Restoration To Guide the United Nations Decade 2021-2030“
* Read “Guiding Principles for Rewilding” at Society for Conservation Biology

Welcome to a special Earth Day episode of the Rewilding Earth Podcast!

About
Cara Nelson is a Professor of Restoration Ecology and the Chair of the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at the University of Montana’s W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and a leader of the Restoration Thematic Group of the 

About
Brad Meiklejohn is a member of the Rewilding Institute Leadership Council, and he is currently Senior Alaska Representative for The Conservation Fund, where he has worked since 1994. Brad has directed hundreds of conservation projects protecting over 500,000
acres of wild land in Alaska, and he recently completed a major dam removal project on Alaska’s Eklutna River. Brad was successful in removing cows from 200,000 acres in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park and he is working on constructing wildlife highway crossings in New Hampshire. Brad served as President of the Patagonia Land Trust, as President of the American Packrafting Association, as Associate Director of the Utah Avalanche Center, and as a board director of The Murie Center. Brad is a birder and wilderness explorer, and he recently published The Wild Trails, a book that is part memoir, part conservation polemic, and part Buddhist training manual.
Rewilding Earth Podcast listeners keen to have their own copy of Brad’s book can email him at br************@ao*.com.
Or you can get the book straight from us: Until our supply runs out, TRI will send donors of $100 or more a signed copy of The Wild Trails as a thank you for your generous donation.
Topics

* Ecological amnesia and how it hinders conservation efforts
* Reverse wildlands network design
* Deadbeat dams
* Touching the third rail of conservation: Overpopulation
* Reciprocity, restrain, respect
* An incredibly important set of tips from Brad on taking care of yourself.

Extra Credit
Visit The Conservation Fund to learn more about Brad’s work there.
Read Brad’s latest articles, including excerpts from his wonderful new book “The Wild Trails.”

The emperor goose (Anser canagicus), also known as the beach goose or the painted goose, is a waterfowl species in the family Anatidae, which contains the ducks, geese, and swans. It is blue-gray in color as an adult and grows to 66–71 centimeters (26–28 in) in length. Adults have a black chin and throat, a pink bill, yellow-orange legs, and a white head, which often turns reddish-brown in summer. In the winter, the emperor goose lives in mudflats and coasts in Alaska and occasionally Canada and the contiguous United States. [More at Wikipedia]
About
Brad Meiklejohn is a member of the Rewilding Institute Leadership Council, and he is currently Senior Alaska Representative for The Conservation Fund, where he has worked since 1994. Brad has directed hundreds of conservation projects protecting over 500,000
acres of wild land in Alaska, and he recently completed a major dam removal project on Alaska’s Eklutna River. Brad was successful in removing cows from 200,000 acres in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park and he is working on constructing wildlife highway crossings in New Hampshire. Brad served as President of the

Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D. co-founded the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT) in 1998 and has served as its Executive Director since 2011. In her work for SPLT, she is striving to create large shortgrass prairie wildlife refuges that emulate the “American Serengeti” that once occurred in the Great Plains.
Dr. Daniel Kinka is American Prairie Reserve’s Wildlife Restoration Manager. His primary responsibilities include restoring and monitoring wildlife on the Reserve and managing the wildlife-friendly ranching program “Wild Sky.” He also acts as a liaison to scientists conducting research at American Prairie, other non-governmental organizations, agencies, and other external entities.
Topics

* Hard vs soft rewilding
* Wildlands philanthropy
* Coexistence and tolerance as a key factor in the density of wildlife on the Great Plains
* The big vision and how we can bring back the American Serengeti

Extra Credit
Visit and support these great organizations!

* Southern Plains Land Trust
* American Prairie
* Listen to Nicole in Episode 15: Nicole Rosmarino on Rewilding The American Serengeti
* Listen to Daniel in Episode 76: American Prairie Reserve – Big Rewilding On America’s Northern Great Plains

American Prairie Current Land Map

Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D. co-founded the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT) in 1998 and has served as its Executive Director since 2011. In her work for SPLT, she is striving to create large shortgrass prairie wildlife refuges that emulate the “American Serengeti” that once occurred in the Great Plains.
Dr. Daniel Kinka is American Prairie Reserve’s Wildlife Restoration Manager. His primary responsibilities include restoring and monitoring wildlife on the Reserve and managing the wildlife-friendly ranching program “Wild Sky.” He also acts as a liaison to scientists conducting research at American Prairie, other non-governmental organizations, agencies, and other external entities.
Topics

* Hard vs soft rewilding
* Wildlands philanthropy
* Coexistence and tolerance as a key factor in the density of wildlife on the Great Plains
* The big vision and how we can bring back the American Serengeti

Extra Credit
Visit and support these great organizations!

* Southern Plains Land Trust
* American Prairie
* Listen to Nicole in Episode 15: Nicole Rosmarino on Rewilding The American Serengeti
* Listen to Daniel in Episode 76: American Prairie Reserve – Big Rewilding On America’s Northern Great Plains

American Prairie Current Land Map

About
Chad Hanson co-founded the John Muir Project in 1996. He first became involved in national forest protection after hiking the 2,700-mile length of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada with his older brother in 1989. During this hike he witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by rampant commercial logging on our National Forests in California, Oregon and Washington.
Chad finished his Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA after completing the Pacific Crest Trail and then attended law school at the University of Oregon, during which time he also began his career as an environmental advocate working for Native Forest Council and volunteering for the Sierra Club. Chad earned his law degree in 1995, and started the John Muir Project shortly thereafter.
In 2003 Chad returned to school, and earned his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California at Davis in 2007, with a research focus on forest and fire ecology and the rare wildlife species that depend upon post-fire habitat in forests of the Sierra Nevada and elsewhere in the western U.S.. He has published an impressive list of scientific research papers on forest and fire ecology, wildlife use of burned forest and fire history and trend.
Chad is the author of Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate
Topics

* Debunking the myths around forest health, fire ecology, and “restoration” projects used by the Forest Service to distract from commercial logging.
* How over 50% of climate mitigation can be achieved by rewilding, protecting, and restoring forests and grasslands.
* Getting the Forest Service out of the commercial logging business once and for all.
* How you can help!

Extra Credit

* Support the John Muir Project
* Read “Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate“

About
Chad Hanson co-founded the John Muir Project in 1996. He first became involved in national forest protection after hiking the 2,700-mile length of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada with his older brother in 1989. During this hike he witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by rampant commercial logging on our National Forests in California, Oregon and Washington.
Chad finished his Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA after completing the Pacific Crest Trail and then attended law school at the University of Oregon, during which time he also began his career as an environmental advocate working for Native Forest Council and volunteering for the Sierra Club. Chad earned his law degree in 1995, and started the John Muir Project shortly thereafter.
In 2003 Chad returned to school, and earned his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California at Davis in 2007, with a research focus on forest and fire ecology and the rare wildlife species that depend upon post-fire habitat in forests of the Sierra Nevada and elsewhere in the western U.S.. He has published an impressive list of scientific research papers on forest and fire ecology, wildlife use of burned forest and fire history and trend.
Chad is the author of Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate
Topics

* Debunking the myths around forest health, fire ecology,

About
John Davis is executive director of The Rewilding Institute and editor of Rewilding Earth. For Rewilding, he serves as a wildways scout, editor, interviewer, and writer. He rounds out his living with conservation field work, particularly within New York’s Adirondack Park, where he lives. John serves on boards of RESTORE: The North Woods, Eddy Foundation, Champlain Area Trails, Cougar Rewilding Foundation, and Algonquin to Adirondack Conservation Collaborative.
You can read more about John’s epic journey “Trek West” in 2013, hiking, biking, and floating along the Spine of the Continent from Mexico to British Columbia to promote a Western Wildway. A big chunk of which we are talking about with John today.

Topics

* The proposed Mogollon Wildway boundaries
* Protections already in place
* The “Lobo Trail” initiative
* Wildlife overpasses and underpasses
* The Mogollon Wildway coalition

Extra Credit

* MOGOLLON WILDWAY Ramble FIELD NOTES from Autumn 2018 Scouting
* The Mogollon Wildlife Corridor: A Big Step Toward Half Earth and Beyond -Kim Crumbo
* The Mogollon Wildlife Corridor campaign page
* What is Rewilding?

About
John Davis is executive director of The Rewilding Institute and editor of Rewilding Earth. For Rewilding, he serves as a wildways scout, editor, interviewer, and writer. He rounds out his living with conservation field work, particularly within New York’s Adirondack Park, where he lives. John serves on boards of RESTORE: The North Woods, Eddy Foundation, Champlain Area Trails, Cougar Rewilding Foundation, and Algonquin to Adirondack Conservation Collaborative.
You can read more about John’s epic journey “Trek West” in 2013, hiking, biking, and floating along the Spine of the Continent from Mexico to British Columbia to promote a Western Wildway. A big chunk of which we are talking about with John today.

Topics

* The proposed Mogollon Wildway boundaries
* Protections already in place
* The “Lobo Trail” initiative
* Wildlife overpasses and underpasses
* The Mogollon Wildway coalition

Extra Credit

* MOGOLLON WILDWAY Ramble FIELD NOTES from Autumn 2018 Scouting
* The Mogollon Wildlife Corridor: A Big Step Toward Half Earth and Beyond -Kim Crumbo
* The Mogollon Wildlife Corridor campaign page
* What is Rewilding?

About
Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and taking care of the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature, while participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities.
Following her passion for wild nature, Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from Ball State University. She then spent the next several years travelling and has spent time working as a field guide in South Africa, a human-manatee interactions researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Florida, a National Park Service cowgirl in Montana, and a conservation educator in Ohio. And now she is part of the Rewilding Institute and Project Coyote team working on our new rewilding and carnivore coexistence program in the Mississippi River Watershed.
Topics

* Rewilding challenges in states like Iowa
* How farmers view carnivore coexistence
* A 9 million acre rewilding opportunity without disturbing prime farmland operations

Extra Credit
Learn more about Big River Connectivity
BRC project on Project Coyote’s site
About
Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and taking care of the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature, while participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities.
Following her passion for wild nature, Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from Ball State University. She then spent the next several years travelling and has spent time working as a field guide in South Africa, a human-manatee interactions researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Florida, a National Park Service cowgirl in Montana, and a conservation educator in Ohio. And now she is part of the Rewilding Institute and Project Coyote team working on our new rewilding and carnivore coexistence program in the Mississippi River Watershed.
Topics

* Rewilding challenges in states like Iowa
* How farmers view carnivore coexistence
* A 9 million acre rewilding opportunity without disturbing prime farmland operations

Extra Credit
Learn more about Big River Connectivity
BRC project on Project Coyote’s site

About Zach
Zach is a Wildlife Science MS student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. After reading a book as a teenager featuring species profiles and illustrations of recent, human-caused extinctions (including Stellar’s sea cow, moa, great auk, and more), he developed a passion to restore nature and prevent any further species loss.
Since then, Zach has become involved in various land trusts in his home state of Indiana by volunteering to remove invasive species, help out with prescribed burns, and collect prairie seeds for future prairie restorations.
Additionally, he de-trashes rivers in his canoe or on foot at various local trails. He also incorporated his passion for ecological restoration in his graduate studies by assessing habitat suitability for potential species reintroductions.
Topics

* The science behind rewilding a landscape: restoring critical species.
* The reintroduction potential of lesser-known but critical species to an Indiana tallgrass prairie.
* Data collection and presentation, maps, and making the case for species reintroduction.
* Greater Prairie Chicken and Franklin’s Ground Squirrel.
* How to get started in Wildlife Sciences.

Extra Credit
Read about:

* Greater Prairie Chicken
* Franklin’s Ground Squirrel

Visit The Prairie Preserves of Indiana:

* Gibson Woods Nature Preserve – Lake County
* Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve – Lake County
* Post Oak-Cedar Nature Preserve – Harrison County
* Sandhill Nature Preserve – Pulaski County
* Spinn Prairie Nature Preserve – White County

About Zach
Zach is a Wildlife Science MS student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. After reading a book as a teenager featuring species profiles and illustrations of recent, human-caused extinctions (including Stellar’s sea cow, moa, great auk, and more), he developed a passion to restore nature and prevent any further species loss.
Since then, Zach has become involved in various land trusts in his home state of Indiana by volunteering to remove invasive species, help out with prescribed burns, and collect prairie seeds for future prairie restorations.
Additionally, he de-trashes rivers in his canoe or on foot at various local trails. He also incorporated his passion for ecological restoration in his graduate studies by assessing habitat suitability for potential species reintroductions.
Topics

* The science behind rewilding a landscape: restoring critical species.
* The reintroduction potential of lesser-known but critical species to an Indiana tallgrass prairie.
* Data collection and presentation, maps, and making the case for species reintroduction.
* Greater Prairie Chicken and Franklin’s Ground Squirrel.
* How to get started in Wildlife Sciences.

Extra Credit
Read about:

* Greater Prairie Chicken
* Franklin’s Ground Squirrel

Visit The Prairie Preserves of Indiana:

*

About
Rick Steiner is a conservation biologist in Anchorage, Alaska, and founder of Oasis Earth. He has been involved in the global conservation movement for over 40 years. From 1980-2010 he was a marine conservation professor with the University of Alaska, stationed in the Arctic, Prince William Sound, and Anchorage, specializing in marine conservation, and worked on environmental effects of offshore oil, climate change, fisheries, marine mammals, shipping safety, habitat conservation, and conservation policy.
After the university and the U.S. government pressured him to restrain from raising concerns about the risks and impacts of offshore oil development in Alaska, he resigned his tenured professorship in protest.
He has authored over one hundred publications; written commentaries for many national and international media outlets including USA Today, LA Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Hill, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun, and Huffington Post; and worked around the world with governments, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and many Indigenous People’s and non-governmental organizations in diverse regions including Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Pakistan, China, the Middle East, the South Pacific, Australia, the Arctic, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and El Salvador.
He has received several conservation awards, and The Guardian called him “one of the world’s leading marine conservation scientists,” and “one of the most respected and outspoken academics on the oil industry’s environmental record.” He serves on the Board of Directors of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and the Board of Advisors of The Ocean Foundation.
He has delivered Oasis Earth: Planet in Peril as a public presentation for over 30 years, in many venues around the world, and authored the book Oasis Earth: Planet in Peril, released in 2020.
Topics

* Wildlife governance reform
* Finally, a solution to the mismanagement of wildlife, especially predators, on public lands in the United States.
* A proposed rule to force Interior to make states prove that they are managing wildlife responsibly or lose their funding.
* Which states would most likely become ineligible for federal grant money if the proposed rule is adopted?
* How consumptive interests (trappers, trophy hunters, guides) have taken over every wildlife board in the United States.

Extra Credit

* Download: Rulemaking Petition
* Press release: End Federal Subsidies for States’ War on Wolves
* Visit: Oasis Earth
* Read: Oasis Earth: Planet in Peril
* Contact Interior Secretary Haaland in support of our rulemaking petition

About
Rick Steiner is a conservation biologist in Anchorage, Alaska, and founder of Oasis Earth. He has been involved in the global conservation movement for over 40 years. From 1980-2010 he was a marine conservation professor with the University of Alaska, stationed in the Arctic, Prince William Sound, and Anchorage, specializing in marine conservation, and worked on environmental effects of offshore oil, climate change, fisheries, marine mammals, shipping safety, habitat conservation, and conservation policy.
After the university and the U.S. government pressured him to restrain from raising concerns abou...

Ignacio Jiménez (1969, Spain) has extensive international experience in conservation. He has coordinated research and management projects with manatees in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and with golden-crowned sifakas in Madagascar, worked on wetlands and protected areas in El Salvador, and coordinated and published a national assessment of the Spanish experience in endangered species recovery. He has a degree in Animal Biology from the Universidad de Valencia in Spain, and a Masters in Wildlife Management and Conservation from the Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. He worked for CLT/Tompkins Conservation in Argentina between 2005 and 2018, where he coordinated the largest reintroduction program in the Americas. This initiative included restoring populations of giant anteater, pampas deer, tapir, peccary, green-winged macaw, maned wolf and jaguar. He spent 2016 in South Africa in order to learn about how public and private organizations in Africa manage and integrate nature reserves, rewilding and ecotourism. In 2018 Ignacio started collaborating with Brazilian organizations to establish two large conservation landscapes in the Atlantic Forest and Pantanal. He returned to Spain in that year and he is presently coordinating a project aimed to establish new or expanded protected areas in that country. He works for Fundación Global Nature, is member board of Rewilding Spain and the IUCN Conservation Translocation Group, and is also a National Geographic Explorer.
His main theme of interest is institutional ecology: learning how to design institutions and organizations to improve social and biodiversity outcomes. His research and conservation efforts have been featured in scientific journals, books and other publications. Ignacio is the main author of a practical manual for the management of conservation programs published in Spanish and Portuguese and soon to be published in English by Island Press. He has coordinated dozens of training courses in six countries, acted as key speaker in international meetings and has written and directed more than 10 videos about conservation. Presently, Ignacio lives with his family near a nature park in the Spanish coast.
Topics

* Making ecological, political, and social space for biodiversity
* Rewilding in Spain
* Finding common ground even with our “enemies”
* Communication and it’s role in making progress in rewilding and biodiversity protection

Extra Credit
The Three Kingdoms vs Empty Spain


* See also: Three Kingdoms of Spain (Original with English Subtitles)

Hiking The Three Kingdoms

Argentina

* Rewilding Ibera Documentary (English version)

About Laura Wildman
Laura Wildmand is Practice Area Lead at Biohabitats. She is a practicing fisheries and water resource specializing in ecological restoration consulting for aquatic systems.  Her expertise and passion, centers on the restoration of rivers through the reestablishment of natural functions and aquatic connectivity. She is considered one of the foremost nation U.S. experts on barrier removal and alternative fish passage techniques, regularly lecturing, instructing, and publishing on these topics; including assisting with the instruction of courses for the University of Wisconsin and Yale University.  She recently co-wrote the Dam Removal chapter in the book Sea to Source 2.0, discussed the history and human dimensions of barrier removal projects in a special edition of the Journal of Engineering Geology, and described sediment management issues associated with dam removal in an interview for the Adaptive Management of Barriers on European Rivers’ Let It Flow Magazine.
Topics

* Learn about aquatic connectivity issues.
* Why no one really knows how many dams there are in the United States.
* The Twenty-First Century Dams Act: A big step in ramping up outdated and ecologically destructive dam removal.
* How to do the kind of work Laura does:  The education needed and the passion to speak for the rivers.

Extra Credit
Read the latest issue of Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter on Dam Removal

* Learn more about Laura Wildman
* Check out the work happening at Biohabitats

Laura’s work has recently been highlighted in the following documentaries: 

* Undamming the Hudson River
* Dam Busters
* Veins of Nature, Lule River, Sweden

More Dam Podcasts

* Episode 67: The Case For Removing 4 Dams On The Lower Snake River
* Episode 14: A Rewilding Success Story on the Elwha River
* Episode 21: Ed Friedman Migratory Fish Restoration in Merrymeeting Bay
* Episode 43: Gary Wockner – Life As A River Warrior

About Laura Wildman
Laura Wildmand is Practice Area Lead at Biohabitats. She is a practicing fisheries and water resource specializing in ecological restoration consulting for aquatic systems.  Her expertise and passion, centers on the restoration of rivers through the reestablishment of natural functions and aquatic connectivity. She is considered one of the foremost nation U.S. experts on barrier removal and alternative fish passage techniques, regularly lecturing, instructing, and publishing on these topics; including assisting with the instruction of courses for the University of Wisconsin and Yale University.  She recently co-wrote the Dam Removal chapter in the book Sea to Source 2.0, discussed the history and human dimensions of barrier removal projects in a special edition of the Jo...

About
Mark is a leader in BeWildReWild and its Big River Connectivity project. He was raised a self-described military brat, a nomad bouncing back and forth across the oceans searching for a home. After college, his Thoreau experiment of living in a shack with no running water by the river continued for 17 years. He retired after 30 years leading restoration efforts within the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and is still pursuing being naturalized while maintaining his river residency for 60 years.
Topics

* Rewilding issues in Iowa
* How to rewild a greatly altered landscape with few public protected areas
* Where to find connectivity in mostly flat private ag lands
* Hands and knees conservation
* What is BeWild ReWild?

Extra Credit

* Heartland Rewilding: The Big River Connectivity Project
* BeWildRewild.org
* The Wildest Place in the World
* Article: What is the most bio diverse place on the planet Earth?

We are almost ready to launch a new page on Big River Connectivity, funded by BeWild ReWild, which focuses mapping and storytelling work on Loess Hills, The Driftless, and Ozark Plateau regions of the Mississippi River Watershed. Watch this space and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be updated when the page is live!
*The pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat, with large, simple leaves. The fruit taste a bit like mango.
Correction from podcast recording: Jack mentions no farming above 9 degrees. The goal is no farming on slopes greater than 9%.
About
Mark is a leader in BeWildReWild and its Big River Connectivity project. He was raised a self-described military brat, a nomad bouncing back and forth across the oceans searching for a home. After college, his Thoreau experiment of living in a shack with no running water by the river continued for 17 years. He retired after 30 years leading restoration efforts within the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and is still pursuing being naturalized while maintaining his river residency for 60 years.
Topics

* Rewilding issues in Iowa
* How to rewild a greatly altered landscape with few public protected areas
* Where to find connectivity in mostly flat private ag lands
* Hands and knees conservation
* What is BeWild ReWild?

Extra Credit

* Heartland Rewilding: The Big River Connectivity Project
* BeWildRewild.org
* The Wildest Place in the World
* Article: What is the most bio diverse place on the planet Earth?

We are almost ready to launch a new page on Big River Connectivity, funded by BeWild ReWild, which focuses mapping and storytelling work on Loess Hills, The Driftless, and Ozark Plateau regions of the Mississippi River Watershed. Watch this space and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be updated when the page is live!
*The pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat, with large, simple leaves. The fruit taste a bit like mango.
Correction from podcast recording: Jack mentions no farming above 9 degrees. The goal is no farming on slopes greater than 9%.

About Dennis
A nationally recognized expert in science education, Dennis directed the production of educational media at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for 20 years before joining the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation in 2019 as Vice President of Education. He works with scientists, educators, graphic designers, animators, filmmakers, and students to design experiences to have lasting impact on learners. The Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador Program aims to build a high impact community of educators devoted to infusing biodiversity and conservation thinking across the curriculum. Dennis has a particular passion for meeting audiences where they are to pull them into science thinking and has been an advisor on numerous museum exhibits and community science programs. He studied zoology at the University of Wisconsin, earned a Ph.D. from University of Oregon, and was faculty at the University of Washington.
Topics

* Challenges and opportunities in enriching conservation education in America and beyond
* Working with teachers to provide conservation education in an “industrial education” system
* Rewilding the Heartland: engaging and captivating the minds of the next generation in farming towns throughout the upper Mississippi watershed
* What does Half-Earth mean in places like Iowa from a farming community kid’s perspective?

Extra Credit
Check out the Half-Earth Map to see the three critical types of information we need to start making the most effective conservation decisions. The map is for policy makers, conservation managers, educators, students, and anyone who’s curious about our world. Besides giving us a view of the state of biodiversity at home and across the world, mapping digital data is a critical new skill for students.
This article from Psychology Today frames the importance of Biodiversity and Conservation themes in education
This partial list of Half-Earth Project educational resources shows examples of some of the material that teachers are discussing and using with their students as part of the Half-Earth Educator Ambassador community. We offer in-depth lesson sequences such as the Half-Earth Map Design Challenge, but also NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
This major new multi-lesson unit guides students in their own biodiversity inquiries using some of the best digital resources available and focuses on hummingbirds because they are familiar, beautiful, and diverse.
This recent blogpost shows how we organize our educational materials by themes that can be refreshed and updated continuously. Here, we emphasize videos that introduce teachers and students to the amazing biodiversity in Alabama, the environmentally challenged home state of E.O. Wilson.
Everyone is welcome, but we particularly hope for educators to sign up to be a Half-Earth Project Ambassador. You can become as involved as works best for you. At the very least, keep up with us by getting our mostly bi-monthly newsletter.
Half-Earth Facebook group
Consider taking the Half-Earth Pledge
Visit the Foundation website to learn more about biodiversity and the ideas of E.O. Wilson.
About Dennis

About Dr. Kinka
Dr. Daniel Kinka is American Prairie Reserve’s Wildlife Restoration Manager. His primary responsibilities include restoring and monitoring wildlife on the Reserve and managing the wildlife-friendly ranching program “Wild Sky.” He also acts as a liaison to scientists conducting research at American Prairie, other non-governmental organizations, agencies, and other external entities. He joined American Prairie in 2018, shortly after completing his doctoral degree in ecology at Utah State University. In graduate school, he studied the use of livestock guardian dogs to promote coexistence between large North American carnivores and ranchers. Originally from Florida and the Washington DC area, Daniel has enjoyed living “out west” since 2010. In addition to restoration ecology and applied science, Daniel harbors a deep passion for science communication, having worked as a science reporter for Utah Public Radio, publishing in High Country News, and serving as a National Geographic Society Fellow.
Topics

* What is the American Prairie Reserve?
* Scope of the project (current size and planned)
* Wildlands restoration on the Northern Great Plains
* Wildlife of the American Prairie Reserve
* Working on a human landscape to restore and protect wild nature


Extra Credit
Visit: American Prairie Reserve
Article: Tribes Begin Five-Year Swift Fox Reintroduction at Fort Belknap
Watch: “This Is American Prairie Reserve”


 

About
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance’s Terri Martin, Intermountain West Organizer, Clayton Daughenbaugh, Organizing Director & Midwest Field Organizer, and Rewilding’s Wildlands Coordinator Kim Crumbo discuss the opportunity to make a huge impact in the 30×30 effort by finally passing America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act.

New peer reviewed research shows that America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change. Protecting these wild landscapes would keep a significant amount of fossil fuels in the ground, accounting for 5.7 percent of the carbon mitigation needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, scientists estimate that the lands proposed for protection currently sequester and store 247 million metric tons of organic carbon in plants and soils. Designating these lands as wilderness would even help preserve flows in the Colorado River (the lifeblood of the arid Southwest) by preventing surface-disturbing activities that cause windborne dust to coat Colorado snowpack, melting it faster and earlier.
All lands proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act are owned by the American public and administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bill is supported by SUWA, Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wasatch Mountain Club, and more than 200 other national and regional conservation organizations belonging to the Utah Wilderness Coalition.
Topics

* Mitigating climate crisis by protecting lands and keeping fossil fuels in Southern Utah in the ground
* The impact that such a large wilderness bill can have on 30×30 and protecting biodiversity in North America
* What you can do to ensure the passage of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act

Extra Credit
Take action and let your congressperson know how important America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act is to you!
Read: America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act: Moving America Closer to 30×30 and Enhancing Wildlife Connectivity
About
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance’s Terri Martin, Intermountain West Organizer, Clayton Daughenbaugh, Organizing Director & Midwest Field Organizer, and Rewilding’s Wildlands Coordinator Kim Crumbo discuss the opportunity to make a huge impact in the 30×30 effort by finally passing America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act.

New peer reviewed research shows that America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change. Protecting these wild landscapes would keep a significant amount of fossil fuels in the ground, accounting for 5.7 percent of the carbon mitigation needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, scientists estimate that the lands proposed for protection currently sequester and store 247 million metric tons of organic carbon in plants and soils. Designating these lands as wilderness would even help preserve flows in the Colorado River (the lifeblood of the arid Southwest) by preventing surface-disturbing activities that cause windborne dust to coat Colorado snowpack, melting it faster and earlier.
All lands proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act are owned by the American public and administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bill is supported by SUWA, Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wasatch Mountain Club, and more than 200 other national and regional conservation organizations belonging to the Utah Wilderness Coalition.