About Today’s Guests George Wuerthner (President, sage.org/">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.org/">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.org/">Sage Steppe Wild * sage.org/resources">Tons of resources on all things Western public lands conservation and advocacy About Today’s Guests George Wuerthner (President, sage.org/">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.org/">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.org/">Sage Steppe Wild * sage.org/resources">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! ep-122.pdf">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. MacKay-and-Robert-Long-transcript.pdf">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! * Strohacker-Transcript-2023.pdf">Episode 119: Strohacker-Transcript-2023.pdf">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! * Strohacker-Transcript-2023.pdf">Episode 119: Strohacker-Transcript-2023.pdf">Lauren Strohacker Transcript 2023

About In the early 1980s, an outdoorsy, nature-loving undergrad named Keith Bowers had an epiphany. Keith had been studying landscape architecture at the University of Virginia when he met Ed Garbisch, a pioneering practitioner of marsh restoration along the Chesapeake Bay. “Wait a minute,” thought Keith. “I can apply my education to restoring the places I love?” After graduating in 1982, Keith started Biohabitats, an ecological restoration company. 36 years later, with a mission to “restore the earth and inspire ecological stewardship,” Biohabitats has become one of the most recognized names in ecological restoration and conservation. Topics * What is a BCorp? * What is a Perpetual Purpose Trust? * How does making nature the only shareholder in a company benefit conservation efforts? * What it’s like to work in such a company. * What’s ahead for forward-thinking companies who choose this model and how will it help rewild the planet? Extra Credit: * Subscribe to Leaf Litter at Biohabitats * Purpose Owned | Natalie White: “Specializing in a new legal form of ownership called the Perpetual Purpose Trusts. We help create plans that allow founders to protect their values while they step aside and new leaders to step in, deepen impact thought codifying purpose commitments, design ways to share governance and rewards with stakeholders, and bring in aligned financing to create regenerative business models. us.com/"> Purpose Foundation: “Purpose Foundation helps businesses and communities build equitable ownership, governance, and financing models.” Profit Reimagined: “We are on a journey to build a world where every women founder has the financial literacy to grow their own business.” Transcript: Bowers-Transcript-2023.pdf">Download the transcript of Episode 118 About In the early 1980s, an outdoorsy, nature-loving undergrad named Keith Bowers had an epiphany. Keith had been studying landscape architecture at the University of Virginia when he met Ed Garbisch, a pioneering practitioner of marsh restoration along the Chesapeake Bay. “Wait a minute,” thought Keith. “I can apply my education to restoring the places I love?” After graduating in 1982, Keith started Biohabitats, an ecological restoration company. 36 years later, with a mission to “restore the earth and inspire ecological stewardship,” Biohabitats has become one of the most recognized names in ecological restoration and conservation. Topics * What is a BCorp? * What is a Perpetual Purpose Trust? * How does making nature the only shareholder in a company benefit conservation efforts? * What it’s like to work in such a company. * What’s ahead for forward-thinking companies who choose this model and how will it help rewild the planet? Extra Credit: * Subscribe to Leaf Litter at Biohabitats * Purpose Owned | Natalie White: “Specializing in a new legal form of ownership called the Perpetual Purpose Trusts. We help create plans that allow founders to protect their values while they step aside and new leaders to step in, deepen impact thought codifying purpose commitments, design ways to share governance and rewards with stakeholders, and bring in aligned financing to create regenerative business models.

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 west-1.protection.sophos.com/?d=outlook.com&u=aHR0cHM6Ly9uYW0wNC5zYWZlbGlua3MucHJvdGVjdGlvbi5vdXRsb29rLmNvbS8_dXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3Lm9uZXBlcmNlbnRmb3J0aGVwbGFuZXQub3JnJTJGJmRhdGE9MDUlN0MwMSU3Q3JvYnluLnNhd2R5JTQwdGlnZXIyMS5jb20lN0NhODhjOTcyZmNiNWI0NDYwZjkwYTA4ZGFjOTg5YWI4MiU3Qzg5ZjJmNmMzYWE1MjRhZjk5NTNlMDJhNjMzZDBkYTRkJTdDMCU3QzAlN0M2MzgwNDM4OTI0NDIyMjg0MjclN0NVbmtub3duJTdDVFdGcGJHWnNiM2Q4ZXlKV0lqb2lNQzR3TGpBd01EQWlMQ0pRSWpvaVYybHVNeklpTENKQlRpSTZJazFoYVd3aUxDSlhWQ0k2TW4wJTNEJTdDMzAwMCU3QyU3QyU3QyZzZGF0YT1PUEI5QzVHcnd3QUhuR3Yzc0UzZ0ZZM3U1QmcyMEVqbUNWOGtxOWszYnVRJTNEJnJlc2VydmVkPTA=&i=NTZjMzQzNGFmYTYyMWIwZWRhM2ZkZjY5&t=UVU0V0ZOejBndU9hckVSa2J4WkttbnZkMURzV2F4OTdxQzlNQmdldWpoRT0=&h=29d4f7fc5a924285bb0d3fa7c2004ffe&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVbJP9e0QrAhSIlDCSJiRf8lrLjwtILHkmNXU939QljCnl15bbnBl2dTRqdzB0H6XB0">1% for the Planet, west-1.protection.sophos.com/?d=outlook.com&u=aHR0cHM6Ly9uYW0wNC5zYWZlbGlua3MucHJvdGVjdGlvbi5vdXRsb29rLmNvbS8_dXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LnRoZWxvbmdydW4ub3JnJTJGJmRhdGE9MDUlN0MwMSU3Q3JvYnluLnNhd2R5JTQwdGlnZXIyMS5jb20lN0NhODhjOTcyZmNiNWI0NDYwZjkwYTA4ZGFjOTg5YWI4MiU3Qzg5ZjJmNmMzYWE1MjRhZjk5NTNlMDJhNjMzZDBkYTRkJTdDMCU3QzAlN0M2MzgwNDM4OTI0NDIyMjg0MjclN0NVbmtub3duJTdDVFdGcGJHWnNiM2Q4ZXlKV0lqb2lNQzR3TGpBd01EQWlMQ0pRSWpvaVYybHVNeklpTENKQlRpSTZJazFoYVd3aUxDSlhWQ0k2TW4wJTNEJTdDMzAwMCU3QyU3QyU3QyZzZGF0YT1qQUxIc2VtbXVldTF3blBRWVFjMnp1RUVGa0FaaUF5aWVkRG5SeXU0bWhzJTNEJnJlc2VydmVkPTA=&i=NTZjMzQzNGFmYTYyMWIwZWRhM2ZkZjY5&t=QlpjUU8zVFkwa3VoTkhiT3Y2aG5CLzZrbFhNWjJqaXJPeTYyWWFQeE8zRT0=&h=29d4f7fc5a924285bb0d3fa7c2004ffe&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVbJP9e0QrAhSIlDCSJiRf8lrLjwtILHkmNXU939QljCnl15bbnBl2dTRqdzB0H6XB0">

About Rachel Conn As Deputy Director of Amigos Bravos, Rachel advocates for strong and environmentally just local, state, and federal water policy. She provides hands-on support to New Mexico communities and groups working to protect their watersheds. She is a leader in the ongoing campaigns to hold Los Alamos National Lab accountable for pollution, designate more of New Mexico’s waters as Outstanding National Resource Waters, protect New Mexico’s ground and surface water from degradation caused by mining, and advocate for strong water quality standards throughout New Mexico. Topics * Re-watering headwaters in northern New Mexico and statewide * The Amigos Bravos “wetland jewels” program * Differences between New Mexico’s “bouncing” wetlands and wetlands with standing water and cattails * River Otter reintroductions in the upper Rio Grande Watershed and possibilities in the Gila watershed * Restoration work with partners like Biohabitats Extra Credit * Visit & Support Amigos Bravos! * Read: Reintroduction of River Otters to New Mexico * Subscribe to Biohabitats “Leaf Litter” newsletter to meet more wild advocates like Rachel! About Rachel Conn As Deputy Director of Amigos Bravos, Rachel advocates for strong and environmentally just local, state, and federal water policy. She provides hands-on support to New Mexico communities and groups working to protect their watersheds. She is a leader in the ongoing campaigns to hold Los Alamos National Lab accountable for pollution, designate more of New Mexico’s waters as Outstanding National Resource Waters, protect New Mexico’s ground and surface water from degradation caused by mining, and advocate for strong water quality standards throughout New Mexico. Topics * Re-watering headwaters in northern New Mexico and statewide * The Amigos Bravos “wetland jewels” program * Differences between New Mexico’s “bouncing” wetlands and wetlands with standing water and cattails * River Otter reintroductions in the upper Rio Grande Watershed and possibilities in the Gila watershed * Restoration work with partners like Biohabitats Extra Credit * Visit & Support Amigos Bravos! * Read: Reintroduction of River Otters to New Mexico * Subscribe to Biohabitats “Leaf Litter” newsletter to meet more wild advocates like Rachel!

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 Chris Hawkins leads the Colorado Chapter of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Cities program where he spends his time focusing on improving regional habitat connectivity and access to nature; creating a more equitable and climate resilient urban forest; and ensuring there is funding and support for helping the region achieve more sustainable outcomes at the intersection of people and nature. Prior to this role, he was a member of TNC’s Chief Conservation Office and Global Cities team since May 2014. Before joining TNC, Chris spent six years in New York City Government, including time with the New York City Department of Education Office of Charter Schools, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and four years at the Department of Environmental Protection, the city’s drinking water and wastewater utility. Topics * Re-thinking and rebuilding urban landscapes to protect water, habitat, and promote full-life tree growth * Rain gardens and water permeable pavers and asphalt * Changes in the kinds of people attracted to city planning, more open to working with nature, more forward-looking projects * How to get involved in this exciting work even if you’re not an engineer, biologist, or other specialist Extra Credit * Subscribe to Leaf Litter at Biohabitats * Check out TNC’s “Nature In The Urban Century“ * Also see: North American Cities Network * Visit: Metro Denver Nature Alliance (Metro DNA) About Chris Hawkins leads the Colorado Chapter of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Cities program where he spends his time focusing on improving regional habitat connectivity and access to nature; creating a more equitable and climate resilient urban forest; and ensuring there is funding and support for helping the region achieve more sustainable outcomes at the intersection of people and nature. Prior to this role, he was a member of TNC’s Chief Conservation Office and Global Cities team since May 2014. Before joining TNC, Chris spent six years in New York City Government, including time with the New York City Department of Education Office of Charter Schools, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and four years at the Department of Environmental Protection, the city’s drinking water and wastewater utility. Topics * Re-thinking and rebuilding urban landscapes to protect water, habitat, and promote full-life tree growth * Rain gardens and water permeable pavers and asphalt * Changes in the kinds of people attracted to city planning, more open to working with nature, more forward-looking projects * How to get involved in this exciting work even if you’re not an engineer, biologist, or other specialist Extra Credit * Subscribe to Leaf Litter at Biohabitats * Check out TNC’s “Nature In The Urban Century“ * Also see: North American Cities Network * Visit: Metro Denver Nature Alliance (Metro DNA)

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 Erin English Erin leads Biohabitats’ visionary Integrated Water Strategies planning & engineering efforts. She applies her background in chemical and environmental engineering with her passion for water and ecology to help clients advance innovation in One Water and nature-based infrastructure. She has led constructed wetlands, wastewater, rainwater, and water reuse engineering for award-winning projects that have achieved the Living Building Challenge™, Net Zero Water, and that at their core embrace the value of water, ecology and watershed thinking. Her 20+ years of experience includes landmark high-performance buildings that prioritize water reuse, five of which have been awarded AIA COTE Top 10 recognition. Erin remains committed to the power of living systems to transform our approach to water engineering and infrastructure toward a regenerative future. She is based in Santa Fe, NM. Topics * Finding inspiration, immersion: Canyon Tree Frogs in Grand Canyon * Nature-based water cleaning and recycling * Partnering with nature to keep more water in rivers and streams * Big vision for the future with a hopeful sense of urgency Extra Credit Canyon Tree Frogs at Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park Native Waters Seep Spring Study and parks.com/grand-canyon-national-park/native-waters.html">Native Waters Springs of the Southwest Project National Blue-Ribbon Commission for Non-Potable Water Reuse Santa Fe River Watershed Association Overview Film Treatment Wetlands. Robert H. Kadlec, Scott Wallace, 2nd Edition, 2009 * Visit Biohabitats and subscribe to the Leaf Litter newsletter! — English-Transcript.pdf">Download Transcript About Erin English Erin leads Biohabitats’ visionary Integrated Water Strategies planning & engineering efforts. She applies her background in chemical and environmental engineering with her passion for water and ecology to help clients advance innovation in One Water and nature-based infrastructure. She has led constructed wetlands, wastewater, rainwater, and water reuse engineering for award-winning projects that have achieved the Living Building Challenge™, Net Zero Water, and that at their core embrace the value of water, ecology and watershed thinking. Her 20+ years of experience includes landmark high-performance buildings that prioritize water reuse, five of which have been awarded AIA COTE Top 10 recognition.

About Chris Chris is a practice leader with Biohabitats, leading the firm’s research and development effort called Bioworks. He is an ecological engineer with 20 years of experience in restoration and regenerative design. Combining engineering and ecological design through a biomimicry lens, he approaches every project as an opportunity to create and restore functional life support systems. Recognizing that best intentions in design and implementation are not verification of outcomes, Mr. Streb is charged with developing methods for monitoring and evaluating projects to determine whether ecological goals are being realized. Over the past decade, he has designed and developed ecological interventions to restore functional habitat along urban waterfronts. He has been awarded a patent for a floating wetland technology and was the ecological team lead on the National Aquarium Floating Wetland Prototype which earned the 2018 Honor Award for Research from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Topics * Reimagining the urban landscape to attract and include wildlife * Design ideas to protect migratory birds and offer safe respite and food sources * Taking out major highways in and around cities * A hopeful vision for what urban landscapes could become and how they affect rewilding projects everywhere Extra Credit * Learn more about Biohabitats * The Baltimore Green Network plan * Healthy Harbor Initiative * Chris-Streb-Transcript.pdf">Download the transcript of this episode About Chris Chris is a practice leader with Biohabitats, leading the firm’s research and development effort called Bioworks. He is an ecological engineer with 20 years of experience in restoration and regenerative design. Combining engineering and ecological design through a biomimicry lens, he approaches every project as an opportunity to create and restore functional life support systems. Recognizing that best intentions in design and implementation are not verification of outcomes, Mr. Streb is charged with developing methods for monitoring and evaluating projects to determine whether ecological goals are being realized. Over the past decade, he has designed and developed ecological interventions to restore functional habitat along urban waterfronts. He has been awarded a patent for a floating wetland technology and was the ecological team lead on the National Aquarium Floating Wetland Prototype which earned the 2018 Honor Award for Research from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Topics * Reimagining the urban landscape to attract and include wildlife * Design ideas to protect migratory birds and offer safe respite and food sources * Taking out major highways in and around cities * A hopeful vision for what urban landscapes could become and how they affect rewilding projects everywhere Extra Credit * Learn more about Biohabitats * The Baltimore Green Network plan * Healthy Harbor Initiative * Chris-Streb-Transcript.pdf">Download the transcript of this episode

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 * Fouty-transcript-1.pdf">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 Dillard-Transcript-PDF.pdf">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, earth.com/oasis-earth-planet-in-peril">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 Matt Koozer As Senior Restoration Ecologist & Construction Mgr. for Biohabitats, Matt has 24 years of experience leading design-build teams in water resources management and habitat restorations. He has managed all phases of river, estuary, wetland and riparian restoration and management projects, with a focus on habitat restoration construction. Matt has been involved in over 150 habitat restoration projects including dam removal, channel realignment, estuary levee breaching, engineered log jams and riffles, and fish passage projects including culvert replacements and water intake diversion and fish screening modifications. Matt is dedicated to the restoration of ecosystems via smart, efficient design solutions and innovative construction means and methods. Matt currently leads Biohabitats self-performing construction services from Portland, Oregon. For fun, Matt enjoys fishing, skiing, and playing guitar is his neighborhood dad rock project Templeton Peck. Topics * Dam removal in the Pacific Northwest * Before, during, and after construction and demolition projects * How to get involved with restoration projects near you * The results of 24 years of restoration work around the Portland area Extra Credit * Learn more about the Gales Creek Bank Stabilization and Enhancement project * Check out “Leaf Litter,” the Biohabitats newsletter, to learn more about restoration ecology and projects like the ones discussed in this episode. About Matt Koozer As Senior Restoration Ecologist & Construction Mgr. for Biohabitats, Matt has 24 years of experience leading design-build teams in water resources management and habitat restorations. He has managed all phases of river, estuary, wetland and riparian restoration and management projects, with a focus on habitat restoration construction. Matt has been involved in over 150 habitat restoration projects including dam removal, channel realignment, estuary levee breaching, engineered log jams and riffles, and fish passage projects including culvert replacements and water intake diversion and fish screening modifications. Matt is dedicated to the restoration of ecosystems via smart, efficient design solutions and innovative construction means and methods. Matt currently leads Biohabitats self-performing construction services from Portland, Oregon. For fun, Matt enjoys fishing, skiing, and playing guitar is his neighborhood dad rock project Templeton Peck. Topics * Dam removal in the Pacific Northwest * Before, during, and after construction and demolition projects * How to get involved with restoration projects near you * The results of 24 years of restoration work around the Portland area Extra Credit * Learn more about the Gales Creek Bank Stabilization and Enhancement project * Check out “Leaf Litter,” the Biohabitats newsletter, to learn more about restoration ecology and projects like the ones discussed in this episode.

Links to full episodes featured here: Kate McFarland Stephen Pyne Deborah Landau Bethanie Walder Cara Nelson Ben Goldfarb Remembering Dave Foreman Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila Renee Seacor John Davis Kelly Borgman Extra Credit Subscribe to “Leaf Litter” at Biohabitats! Sponsor of several episodes highlighted in today’s year-end recap. Links to full episodes featured here: Kate McFarland Stephen Pyne Deborah Landau Bethanie Walder Cara Nelson Ben Goldfarb Remembering Dave Foreman Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila Renee Seacor John Davis Kelly Borgman Extra Credit Subscribe to “Leaf Litter” at Biohabitats! Sponsor of several episodes highlighted in today’s year-end recap.

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 Stephen Pyne became interested in fire as a result of 15 seasons on a fire crew, the North Rim Longshots, at Grand Canyon National Park.  He has written a gamut of fire-themed books, among them national fire histories for America, Australia, Canada, Europe (including Russia), Mexico (pending), and the Earth overall, culminating in The Pyrocene: How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next.  Other works include How the Canyon Became Grand, The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica, Voyager, and The Great Ages of Discovery: How Western Civilization Learned About a Wider World.  Presently, he is a writer, urban farmer, and emeritus professor at Arizona State University. Stephen holds a BA in English from Stanford University, and an MA and PHD in American Civilization from the University of Texas, Austin. He is currently writing a fire history of Mexico. Topics * What if Bison could start fires? * How humans created the age of fire. * In the beginning there was lightning. (Or was it fuel?) * When did humanity really start turning on the afterburners on fire and climate change? * How human use of fire affects the oceans. * Good wildfires vs bad wildfires. * The illusion that we have control over large, intense fires. * The wildland/urban fire relationship at the center of all fire policy and mistakes. * Dealing with the huge fire deficit on wild landscapes. Extra Credit * Read Stephen’s interview in Biohabitats Leaf Litter National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Today: useful source of fire community news Joint Fire Science Program: good source of current research and link to regional fire science exchanges Check out the entire issue of Leaf Litter, The Biohabitats newsletter:   “We didn’t start the fire It was always burning Since the world’s been turning We didn’t start the fire No, we didn’t light it But we tried to fight it” ~Billy Joel

About Deborah Landau is the Director of Ecological Management at the Maryland/DC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, where she has worked since 2001. Her work focuses on restoration at more than 30 Conservancy preserves across Maryland and DC. She works with staff and partners to restore natural communities across the state, ensuring they are healthy and resilient in light of an uncertain climate future. Among the many restoration activities Deborah manages are prescribed burns, and she has planned and implemented more than a hundred of them over the course of her career in conservation. As a firefighter, she serves as Engine Boss and Firing Boss. Deborah is the project lead for the Potomac Headwaters Fire Learning Network, and she serves as adjunct faculty at Frostburg State University and Salisbury University. Before coming to The Nature Conservancy, Deborah worked on the MesoAmerican Biological Corridor for the World Bank, focusing on Belize, Nicaragua and Honduras. She holds a BS in International Environmental Studies and International Food and Agriculture, from Rutgers University, Cook College; an MS in Entomology and Plant Pathology from the University of Tennessee; and a PhD in Entomology and Plant Biology from Louisiana State University. This episode sponsored by: Coinciding with the earth’s biorhythms, Leaf Litter is published at the Spring and Fall Equinoxes. Its mission is to generate discourse, new thinking, and action on key issues pertaining to conservation planning, ecological restoration, and regenerative design. Topics * The age-old story of fire on the landscape and it’s crucial role in resetting balance on the land. * Natural vs. unnatural fires and how humans have poorly tinkered with natural fire regimes. * What a prescribed burn looks like versus uncontrolled, devastating fires. * The beautiful, immediate effects of a good burn. * Fired up? Learn how you can pitch in at a prescribed burn near you! Extra Credit * Leaf Litter Interview with Deborah Landau * Subscribe to Leaf Litter by Biohabitats * Check out TNC’s learning-network.aspx">Fire Learning Network * TNC: “Why We Work With Fire“ * The TNC Maryland fire page The-Story-Of-Fire-and-Ecological-Restoration-with-Deborah-Landau-transcript.pdf">Episode 98 Transcript (PDF) About Deborah Landau is the Director of Ecological Management at the Maryland/DC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, where she has worked since 2001. Her work focuses on restoration at more than 30 Conservancy preserves across Maryland and DC. She works with staff and partners to restore natural communities across the state, ensuring they are healthy and resilient in light of an uncertain ...

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“

To support the continuation of Dave’s work at The Rewilding Institute, please sign up for our newsletter here and consider donating here. Thanks to everyone who has sent messages, songs, poems, and condolences in the past week. They have been a great comfort to your friends here at TRI and to Dave’s family. Bart Kohler’s song to Dave… To the tune of Amazing Grace Walk in the woods, you know I’m here; When a Chickadee lands near! (“Chickadee” “Chickadee” call) The cries of the Loon echo in the night The calls so bright and clear! Oh Wilderness how sweet the sound My spirit soars today……. You will hear me when the lone Wolf howls; I won’t be far away! HOWLs…….. @Bart Koehler/Johnny Sagebrush “Five-Little-Birds-and-Their-Lessons.pdf">5 Little Birds and Their Lessons“ was taken from Dave’s talk at the Western Wilderness Conference in Berkeley in 2010. He dedicated the talk to Polly Dyer who was there. “We all don’t have to be saints on this planet to do something for it. We don’t have to have our philosophy honed down to the nth degree. There’s room for inconsistency, but do something!” -Dave Foreman To support the continuation of Dave’s work at The Rewilding Institute, please sign up for our newsletter here and consider donating here. Thanks to everyone who has sent messages, songs, poems, and condolences in the past week. They have been a great comfort to your friends here at TRI and to Dave’s family. Bart Kohler’s song to Dave… To the tune of Amazing Grace Walk in the woods, you know I’m here; When a Chickadee lands near! (“Chickadee” “Chickadee” call) The cries of the Loon echo in the night The calls so bright and clear! Oh Wilderness how sweet the sound My spirit soars today……. You will hear me when the lone Wolf howls; I won’t be far away! HOWLs…….. @Bart Koehler/Johnny Sagebrush “Five-Little-Birds-and-Their-Lessons.pdf">5 Little Birds and Their Lessons“ was taken from Dave’s talk at the Western Wilderness Conference in Berkeley in 2010. He dedicated the talk to Polly Dyer who was there. “We all don’t have to be saints on this planet to do something for it. We don’t have to have our philosophy honed down to the nth degree. There’s room for inconsistency, but do something!” -Dave Foreman

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 Kevin Kevin is founder and executive director of the Southwest Environmental Center. He received a BS in Biology from Dartmouth College, and a MS in Natural Resources Policy at the University of Michigan. After decades of advocating for wildlife, he realized that as long as the people who viewed wild animals as soulless resources were making all the decisions about how they should be managed, wildlife advocates would be fighting endless rearguard actions to stop bad things from happening, and rewilding would remain a distant dream. So he and the SWEC team decided to launch Wildlife for All, a national campaign to reform state wildlife management to be more ecologically-driven, democratic and compassionate. The first Wildlife for All conference was held in 2018. He lives in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico where he and his wife enjoy the sunsets and coyotes. Topics * Wildlife governance reform * Pittman–Robertson Act * The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) * The overbearing influence of hunting, fishing, agriculture, the gun industry, and oil and gas on the fate of non-game species in every state * What to watch out for when RAWA passes Extra Credit Visit Wildlife For All and get involved! About Kevin Kevin is founder and executive director of the Southwest Environmental Center. He received a BS in Biology from Dartmouth College, and a MS in Natural Resources Policy at the University of Michigan. After decades of advocating for wildlife, he realized that as long as the people who viewed wild animals as soulless resources were making all the decisions about how they should be managed, wildlife advocates would be fighting endless rearguard actions to stop bad things from happening, and rewilding would remain a distant dream. So he and the SWEC team decided to launch Wildlife for All, a national campaign to reform state wildlife management to be more ecologically-driven, democratic and compassionate. The first Wildlife for All conference was held in 2018. He lives in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico where he and his wife enjoy the sunsets and coyotes. Topics * Wildlife governance reform * Pittman–Robertson Act * The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) * The overbearing influence of hunting, fishing, agriculture, the gun industry, and oil and gas on the fate of non-game species in every state * What to watch out for when RAWA passes Extra Credit Visit Wildlife For All and get involved!

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 Bethanie Walder joined the Society for Ecological Restoration as Executive Director in September 2015 and has more than 20 years’ experience in environmental conservation, restoration and education. Prior to joining the SER, Bethanie served as the Executive Director of Wildlands CPR, where she oversaw several highly successful conservation and restoration campaigns. Today she is responsible for helping guide SER’s overall work to achieve its mission of advancing the science, practice and policy of ecological restoration. Bethanie has an undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Studies from Duke University and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana. She lives, works, and plays in Missoula, Montana. Topics * Really big restoration projects * Really small restoration projects * Tree planting or ecosystem restoration? * What you can do to help: Make a Difference Week! * Why it’s not just corporations on the hook. Our collective impact is immense and important. Extra Credit Reading * Check out the latest issue of Biohabitats’ free publication, Leaf Litter. Which of the plethora of tree-growing projects to support? * Learn more about Biohabitats’ Redhorse Bend Nature Preserve restoration project * Week-Infographic-copyright.pdf">Make A Difference Week 2021 results. (PDF) Visit * Register your project at Make a Difference Week! * Visit the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) * Visit the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration website Bethanie-Walder-On-The-Importance-Of-Ecological-Restoration-At-All-Scales-transcript.pdf">Episode 90 Transcript (PDF)     About Bethanie Walder joined the Society for Ecological Restoration as Executive Director in September 2015 and has more than 20 years’ experience in environmental conservation, restoration and education. Prior to joining the SER, Bethanie served as the Executive Director of Wildlands CPR, where she oversaw several highly successful conservation and restoration campaigns. Today she is responsible for helping guide SER’s overall work to achieve its mission of advancing the science, practice and policy of ecological restoration. Bethanie has an undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Studies from Duke University and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana. She lives, works, and plays in Missoula, Montana. Topics * Really big restoration projects * Really small restoration projects * Tree planting or ecosystem restoration? * What you can do to help: Make a Difference Week! * Why it’s not just corporations on the hook. Our collective impact is immense and important. Extra Credit Reading * Check out the latest issue of Biohabitats’ free publication, 

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-United-Nations-Decade-2021-2030.pdf">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 Patagonia Land Trust,

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 * color.pdf">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 earth.com/">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 earth.com/oasis-earth-planet-in-peril">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: PR-Rulemaking-Petition.pdf">Rulemaking Petition * Press release: End-Federal-Subsidies-for-States-War-on-Wolves.pdf">End Federal Subsidies for States’ War on Wolves * Visit: earth.com">Oasis Earth * Read: earth.com/oasis-earth-planet-in-peril">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 earth.com/">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: is-most-bio-diverse-place-on.html">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: is-most-bio-diverse-place-on.html">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 earthproject.org/maps">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 earthproject.org/half-earth-project-educator-ambassadors/#resources">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) earthproject.org/the-richness-and-rarity-of-hummingbirds-a-guided-inquiry-activity-series/">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. earthproject.org/saving-americas-amazon-with-ben-raines/">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 earthproject.org/half-earth-project-educator-ambassadors/#join">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 earthproject.org/pledge/">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.

About Keith In the early 1980s, an outdoorsy, nature-loving undergrad named Keith Bowers had an epiphany. Keith had been studying landscape architecture at the University of Virginia when he met Ed Garbisch, a pioneering practitioner of marsh restoration along the Chesapeake Bay. “Wait a minute,” thought Keith. “I can apply my education to restoring the places I love?” After graduating in 1982, Keith started Biohabitats, an ecological restoration company. 36 years later, with a mission to “restore the earth and inspire ecological stewardship,” Biohabitats has become one of the most recognized names in ecological restoration and conservation. Topics * Why conservationists need to work more tightly with companies to achieve the lofty goals ahead. * What is a B Corporation or “B-Corp?” * Why we can’t wait for regulations to force businesses to do the right thing. * How to be a profitable while giving back to the planet, workers, and communities. * Environment, people, and business as “nested” pieces of a whole, rather than business as usual. Extra Credit Benefit Corporations – A benefit corporation is a legal tool to create a solid foundation for long term mission alignment and value creation. B-Corps (Biohabitats B-Corps score) – Certified B Corporations are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good. * 1% for the Planet (Biohabitats) – 1% for the Planet is a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions through annual memberships and everyday actions. future.org/just/">JUST – Just is a nutrition label for socially just and equitable organizations. Corp-Annual-Report-2019-Final.pdf">Biohabitats 2019 Annual Benefit Report – The annual benefit report is the backbone of a benefit corporation,

About Carey Peterson is a professional writer, editor and conservationist. She is co-author, with friend and former husband Robert Glenn Ketchum, of The Tongass: Alaska’s Vanishing Rainforest, published by Aperture. In addition to many local conservation initiatives in the various places she has lived, including New York, Hawaii, California, and Washington State, she served as development director for Rod Jackson and Darla Hillard at The Snow Leopard Conservancy. She has traveled through all 50 states, and much of China, Japan, Europe, Central America, and Africa. She is currently a Managing Director of the Solitaire Land Trust in Namibia, a habitat and migration corridor restoration project and has lived on the edge of the Namib Desert for the past 9 years. Topics * Letting Namibia rewild itself * How fencing challenges wildlife movement and the ongoing work to remove fences and save wild lives * The importance of private landowners being able to connect to national international databases and tracking soil, species, rainfall, and other metrics for operations under 100,000 acres * What kills more wildlife than poaching? * The impacts of cattle grazing in Namibia * What it’s like to be trapped on the wrong side of a fast-moving wildfire * Water issues challenge rewilding Namibia * Human wildlife conflict in Namibia Extra Credit Visit and support Solitaire Land Trust Reading Read Carey’s article here on Rewilding.org: Solitaire Land Trust – A Contribution to Rewilding Namibia Biodiversity and the need for refuge * Biodiversity, climate change, and mass extinctions * Mammals Going Nocturnal to Avoid Humans * Vultures in Africa Connectivity, fences and migration * Wildebeast Faces Extinction * How Bison Create Spring Connectivity_CLLC_and_partners from The Center on Vimeo. The colonial origins of a fenced-off Southern Africa Caught between a Rock and a Hyrax: Consequences of Vermin Control in Namibia wild oryx, Namibia from carey peterson on Vimeo. 30 x 30: where will the money come from? * farmland-extinction.html">Restoring Farmland Could Drastically Slow Extinctions, Fight Climate Change * The World’s Banks M...

About Former Vice President of IUCN, former leader of the Australian Green Party and current Global Greens Ambassador, Christine Milne took up the role of Co-Convenor of the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee in the lead up the United Nations Decade of Ecological Restoration (2021-2030) to campaign for an agreement (by the summer of 2021-22) to restore Lake Pedder and surrounding environs. Topics * The history of Lake Pedder * The future of Lake Pedder * Tasmania’s conservation leadership: a history of success and long fights for the rights of nature * How you can help restore Lake Pedder and bring attention to this globally significant Rewilding project Extra Credit Visit: Restore Lake Pedder Read: “milne.com/an-activist-life">An Activist Life” by Christine Milne Watch: 1971 – A Last Look At Lake Pedder Before Flooding https://rewilding.org/rewilding-tasmanias-finest-lake/ About Former Vice President of IUCN, former leader of the Australian Green Party and current Global Greens Ambassador, Christine Milne took up the role of Co-Convenor of the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee in the lead up the United Nations Decade of Ecological Restoration (2021-2030) to campaign for an agreement (by the summer of 2021-22) to restore Lake Pedder and surrounding environs. Topics * The history of Lake Pedder * The future of Lake Pedder * Tasmania’s conservation leadership: a history of success and long fights for the rights of nature * How you can help restore Lake Pedder and bring attention to this globally significant Rewilding project Extra Credit Visit: Restore Lake Pedder Read: “milne.com/an-activist-life">An Activist Life” by Christine Milne Watch: 1971 – A Last Look At Lake Pedder Before Flooding https://rewilding.org/rewilding-tasmanias-finest-lake/

About Leon Kolankiewicz is scientific director of NumbersUSA and vice-president of Scientists and Environmentalists for Population Stabilization (SEPS).  He is also a consulting environmental scientist and natural resources planner. He has managed many Environmental Impact Statements (EIS’s) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on proposed projects ranging from dams and reservoirs to flood control facilities, roads, parks, coal-fired power plants, wind farms, power lines, nuclear facilities, oil & gas drilling, and mines. Leon has assisted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the preparation of long-term management plans of habitat, wildlife populations, and public use at more than 40 national wildlife refuges in many states and territories.  Receiving his B.S. at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) and M.Sc. at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, B.C. Canada), during his career Leon has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Service, Orange County (CA) Environmental Management Agency, University of Washington, University of New Mexico, the NGO Carrying Capacity Network, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, and as an environmental consultant.  As a contractor, he has consulted for the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers, NASA, and NOAA, among other federal agencies.  He is the author of two books and chapters in three other books, scores of technical environmental reports, a dozen studies on population growth and urban sprawl, and hundreds of articles and blog posts.  Among other writings, Leon co-authored “The Environmental Movement’s Retreat from Advocating U.S. Population Stabilization: A First Draft of History” in the scholarly Journal of Policy History, and wrote the chapter “Overpopulation versus Biodiversity: How a Plethora of People Produces a Paucity of Wildlife” in Life on the Brink: Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation (University of Georgia Press), an excerpt of which appeared alongside other classic and contemporary selections in the anthology Environment and Society: A Reader (New York University Press).    Leon is an avid naturalist, star-gazer, hiker, mountain climber, ocean kayaker, angler, and wilderness enthusiast.   Topics * Having productive, effective conversations about population stabilization * The culture and history of building large numbers for safety * The economics of endless growth and how it is destroying biodiversity Extra Credit * Reading: Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change and “Too Smart For Our Own Good“ * Listen to other Rewilding Earth Podcast episodes on population stabilization * For you University of New Mexico Daily Lobo fans, check out Leon’s 1988 article “1988.pdf">Overpopulation A Real Concern” Daily Lobo, Nov. 1988   About Leon Kolankiewicz is scientific director of NumbersUSA and vice-president of

Intro music: Native American Flute “Welcome Song” by Robert TallTree Outro Music: “Healing Song” by Robert TallTree About Robert and Terri TallTree Robert and Terri TallTree are spiritual leaders to a great many people around the world. Robert is a direct lineal descendent of Black Elk of the Swan Creek Black River Band of Chippewa Indians of Michigan. Multi-talented and boundlessly energetic, TallTree appears to have found his own balance through numerous outlets, not just as a professional speaker, but in the arts as well. An accomplished flautist, Robert was nominated for the prestigious Native American Music Awards. He is also an author, business owner, and former elected Chief of the Lone Feather Indian Council of Colorado Springs. Terri TallTree has used her skill in identifying and motivating human potential to create and develop innovative training programs in a wide variety of fields. She was presented a Humanitarian Award for outstanding contributions in developing programs for children with asthma. After 25 years in the corporate world, Terri now focuses on empowering people to live with purpose and vision in their professional and personal lives. A singer/songwriter and international recording artist, it’s been said “she has the voice of an angel”; “her voice is a gift which she uses with humility and grace.” Topics * River personhood – sentient being * The feather nation, the swimmers, the crawlers, we are all interdependent. * Staying grounded when you’re bombarded by tough issues and the daily modern grind * Creating peace in whatever space you’re provided – taking the forest with you * Music as prayer * Getting back to balance, lead with your heart, staying connected * An Ojibwe prayer for Earth Extra Credit Chief Robert TallTree’s “Healing Song” * Visit the TallTrees at their website “How To Live On Purpose“ * New York Times article mentioned this episode: “report-biodiversity-climate.html">They Want to Start Paying Mother Nature for All Her Hard Work“   Intro music: Native American Flute “Welcome Song” by Robert TallTree Outro Music: “Healing Song” by Robert TallTree About Robert and Terri TallTree Robert and Terri TallTree are spiritual leaders to a great many people around the world. Robert is a direct lineal descendent of Black Elk of the Swan Creek Black River Band of Chippewa Indians of Michigan. Multi-talented and boundlessly energetic, TallTree appears to have found his own balance through numerous outlets, not just as a professional speaker, but in the arts as well. An accomplished flautist, Robert was nominated for the prestigious Native American Music Awards. He is also an author, business owner, and former elected Chief of the Lone Feather Indian Council of Colorado Springs. Terri TallTree has used her skill in identifying and motivating human potential to create and develop innovative training programs in a wide variety of fields. She was presented a Humanitarian Award for outstanding contributions in developing programs for children with asthma. After 25 years in the corporate world, Terri now focuses on empowering people to live with purpose and vision in their professional and personal lives. A singer/songwriter and international recording artist, it’s been said “she has the voice of an angel”; “her voice is a gift which she uses with humility and grace.” Topics * River personhood – sentient being * The feather nation, the swimmers, the crawlers, we are all interdependent. * Staying grounded when you’re bombarded by tough issues and the daily modern grind

About Aimee joined the Trust in 2009 as the California Program Manager. Her experience includes serving as executive director of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy. Previously, she was a founder of Friends of the Sacramento River Greenway. She worked with the American Institute of Architects as Director of Governmental Relations, and served as legislative advocate for the California Bicycle Coalition. She holds a BA from Pomona College. Aimee is based in South Lake Tahoe, California. Topics * Putting wilderness back together * What happens when we love a place too much and how to fix * Abacho Canyon project * Mt Shasta Trail association and sisquiyou land trust * Restoring inholdings to wilderness quality * Flying cabins * Trail route restoration Extra Credit Visit & Support The Wilderness Land Trust Read: “Conserving Canyon Country” about New Mexico’s Organ Mountains Wilderness About Aimee joined the Trust in 2009 as the California Program Manager. Her experience includes serving as executive director of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy. Previously, she was a founder of Friends of the Sacramento River Greenway. She worked with the American Institute of Architects as Director of Governmental Relations, and served as legislative advocate for the California Bicycle Coalition. She holds a BA from Pomona College. Aimee is based in South Lake Tahoe, California. Topics * Putting wilderness back together * What happens when we love a place too much and how to fix * Abacho Canyon project * Mt Shasta Trail association and sisquiyou land trust * Restoring inholdings to wilderness quality * Flying cabins * Trail route restoration Extra Credit Visit & Support The Wilderness Land Trust Read: “Conserving Canyon Country” about New Mexico’s Organ Mountains Wilderness

About Gary Gary joined SJCA in April 2020 and was a board member for several years prior to that. Gary worked for the Colorado Division of Wildlife for 23 years. Throughout his professional career, Gary focused on threatened and endangered species management and spearheaded the agency’s efforts on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. He has also worked for Great Old Broads for Wilderness and as an environmental consultant and monitoring conservation easements for La Plata Open Space Conservancy. Gary has a B.S. in wildlife management from the University of New Hampshire and a M.S. in wildlife biology from Colorado State University. He enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities and lives near Aztec, NM with his wife, Kate Pickford, and three dogs. Topics * The importance of collaboration with landowners for a successful Colorado wolf reintroduction * How soon can Colorado wolf reintroduction proceed? * How much habitat is needed for a healthy wolf population in Colorado? * How will private landowners coexist with wolves? Extra Credit * Visit and Support San Juan Citizens Alliance * Gary Skiba’s wolf posts on the San Juan Citizens Alliance site YouTube video describing the impacts of wolves on the environment in Yellowstone: How wolves change rivers Visit: Yellowstone Wolves website Two Great Books Wolves by Mech/Boitani Yellowstone Wolves , book trailer About Gary Gary joined SJCA in April 2020 and was a board member for several years prior to that. Gary worked for the Colorado Division of Wildlife for 23 years. Throughout his professional career, Gary focused on threatened and endangered species management and spearheaded the agency’s efforts on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. He has also worked for Great Old Broads for Wilderness and as an environmental consultant and monitoring conservation easements for La Plata Open Space Conservancy. Gary has a B.S. in wildlife management from the University of New Hampshire and a M.S. in wildlife biology from Colorado State University. He enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities and lives near Aztec, NM with his wife, Kate Pickford, and three dogs. Topics * The importance of collaboration with landowners for a successful Colorado wolf reintroduction * How soon can Colorado wolf reintroduction proceed? * How much habitat is needed for a healthy wolf population in Colorado? * How will private landowners coexist with wolves? Extra Credit * Visit and Support San Juan Citizens Alliance * Gary Skiba’s wolf posts on the San Juan Citizens Alliance site YouTube video describing the impacts of wolves on the environment in Yellowstone: How wolves change rivers Visit: Yellowstone Wolves website Two Great Books Wolves by Mech/Boitani Yellowstone Wolves , book trailer

“For decades, eight lower Snake and Columbia river dams and reservoirs have hampered, harmed, killed, and rendered threatened and endangered four anadromous fish species. The lack of Snake River chinook salmon, a primary food source for the Salish Seas’ southern resident orcas, has concurrently brought these orcas to the brink of extinction.” ~Great Old Broads Don’t Dam Salmon page Today’s Guests Mickey is a co-chair of the board of the national conservation group Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Co-founder of the CV chapter (or “broadband” as we call them) of Great Old Broads, covers the region of NW Oregon and SW Washington. Mickey is a lawyer and in her career she focused on social justice work, representing people without housing and low income tenants in their housing and related legal needs. Amy worked for the past 40 years as a fish and wildlife biologist and spent 3 of those 4 decades with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Most of her work was as a fish biologist in central and eastern Oregon with experiences including fish habitat and population management and restoration, hydropower project relicensing and dam removals, and most recently as the Deschutes Basin manager. “I have been involved with opposition to the Four Lower Snake River Dams since the late 1960s. They were not a good idea even before their installation!” -Julie Weikel Forty five years as a large animal veterinarian, including academia, private practice, and regulatory medicine, gave Julie a big window on the American West. All those observations led inevitably to a realization that much of our natural world is in jeopardy and needs a more thoughtful and longer view. Maps   Extra Credit Learn More About The Salmon Wars: The $34 Billion Dollar Plan To Breach The Lower Snake River Dams What if ? | Simpson on Salmon Recovery” * Great Old Broads Don’t Dam Salmon page * Watch: Dammed to Extinction movie * Niimipuu Protecting the Environment * Earth Justice Here is a short list of actions that you can take based on the Dammed to Extinction movie: * Letters to governors, congress and legislators * Letters to editors (LTEs) for local and regional newspapers. * Tell 5 people (and your family) what you have learned about salmon restoration. (Send them a link to this podcast page!) * Donate to non-profit groups that take action to restore rivers and promote dam breaching of the LSRD. * Join and participate in non-profit groups that advocate for dam removal of the LSRD. * Participate in activities by non profits such as the flotilla to restore salmon. “For decades, eight lower Snake and Columbia river dams and reservoirs have hampered, harmed, killed, and rendered threatened and endangered four anadromous fish species. The lack of Snake River chinook salmon, a primary food source for the Salish Seas’ southern resident orcas, has concurrently brought these orcas to the brink of extinction.” ~Great Old Broads Don’t Dam Salmon page Today’s Guests Mickey is a co-chair of the board of the national conservation group Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Co-founder of the CV chapter (or “broadband” as ...

In this episode Rewilding’s Wildlands Coordinator Kim Crumbo clarifies how the conservation community must lean into the 30×30 campaign. He reminds us, while we have a friendly administration, we still have much work to do. And The Rewilding Institute is ready to provide the on-the-ground plan for protecting at least 30% land and water by 2030 for North America. Also: * The Wild Horses issue * Wolf recovery in Colorado About Kim Crumbo As The Rewilding Institute’s Wildlands Coordinator, Kim Crumbo leads our 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. Extra Credit * Learn more about the Rewilding Institute’s efforts toward 30×30 * Download a Kim-Crumbo.pdf">transcript of this episode. (PDF) In this episode Rewilding’s Wildlands Coordinator Kim Crumbo clarifies how the conservation community must lean into the 30×30 campaign. He reminds us, while we have a friendly administration, we still have much work to do. And The Rewilding Institute is ready to provide the on-the-ground plan for protecting at least 30% land and water by 2030 for North America. Also: * The Wild Horses issue * Wolf recovery in Colorado About Kim Crumbo As The Rewilding Institute’s Wildlands Coordinator, Kim Crumbo leads our 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. Extra Credit * Learn more about the Rewilding Institute’s efforts toward 30×30 * Download a Kim-Crumbo.pdf">transcript of this episode. (PDF)

“Women – educated, empowered, integrated in to the workforce, and with access to family planning technologies – hold the key to our ecological salvation.” -Chris Tucker About Dr. Christopher Tucker is chairman of the American Geographical Society, and serves on the boards of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and the Open Geospatial Consortium. He is the author of “A Planet of 3 Billion: Mapping Humanity’s Long History of Ecological Destruction and Finding Our Way to a Resilient Future” Today we explore a more productive way to talk about how to ethically and responsibly lower global human population. Without dealing with bringing human population into balance with what Earth is capable of supporting, we can’t fully accomplish the rewilding work it will take to restore and protect all life on this planet. Topics * How to talk about human population issues productively. * What does “overpopulation” really mean? * Calculating a “total fertility rate” (TFR) target for 2030 * What does “half-earth” really mean on the ground? * How are rewilding and human population inextricably linked? * How empowering women and girls is the key to lowering human population. Extra Credit * Calling for 1.5TFR by 2030 – Dr. Christopher Tucker * Phoebe Barnard, PhD: “It’s Time To Talk About Population Stabilization” * World Scientists’ Warning of A Climate Emergency“ * Some great women (and a few men) talking population: Earth Overshoot Day * Visit American Geographical Society * Read: “A Planet of 3 Billion“ “Women – educated, empowered, integrated in to the workforce, and with access to family planning technologies – hold the key to our ecological salvation.” -Chris Tucker About Dr. Christopher Tucker is chairman of the American Geographical Society, and serves on the boards of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and the Open Geospatial Consortium. He is the author of “A Planet of 3 Billion: Mapping Humanity’s Long History of Ecological Destruction and Finding Our Way to a Resilient Future” Today we explore a more productive way to talk about how to ethically and responsibly lower global human population. Without dealing with bringing human population into balance with what Earth is capable of supporting, we can’t fully accomplish the rewilding work it will take to restore and protect all life on this planet. Topics * How to talk about human population issues productively. * What does “overpopulation” really mean? * Calculating a “total fertility rate” (TFR) target for 2030 * What does “half-earth” really mean on the ground? * How are rewilding and human population inextricably linked? * How empowering women and girls is the key to lowering human population. Extra Credit * Calling for 1.5TFR by 2030 – Dr.

About Brian Czech Brian Czech is the founding president of the Center For The Advancement Of The Steady State Economy (CASSE). Czech served as the first conservation biologist in the history of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1999-2017, and concurrently as a visiting professor of natural resource economics in Virginia Tech’s National Capitol Region. He is the author of several books including Supply Shock, Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train, and The Endangered Species Act: History, Conservation Biology, and Public Policy, as well as over 50 academic journal articles. His primary contributions to ecological economics pertain to the “trophic” origins of money, the process of technological progress, and the political “steady state revolution.” Czech is a frequent speaker, moderator, commentator, and regular contributor to the Steady State Herald. He has a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, an M.S. from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. “A steady state economy is an economy of stable or mildly fluctuating size. The term typically refers to a national economy, but it can also be applied to a local, regional, or global economy. An economy can reach a steady state after a period of growth or after a period of downsizing or degrowth. To be sustainable, a steady state economy may not exceed ecological limits.” -From CASSE’s Steady State Economy Definition page Topics * How can a steady state economy help restore and protect wild nature and biodiversity? * How to put population and immigration into perspective in order to have a civil discussion. * Steady state GDP and what that looks like. * The basic truth that economic growth fundamentally conflicts with environmental protection. Extra Credit * Visit CASSE to learn more and sign the petition of support for SSE. About Brian Czech Brian Czech is the founding president of the Center For The Advancement Of The Steady State Economy (CASSE). Czech served as the first conservation biologist in the history of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1999-2017, and concurrently as a visiting professor of natural resource economics in Virginia Tech’s National Capitol Region. He is the author of several books including Supply Shock, Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train, and The Endangered Species Act: History, Conservation Biology, and Public Policy, as well as over 50 academic journal articles. His primary contributions to ecological economics pertain to the “trophic” origins of money, the process of technological progress, and the political “steady state revolution.” Czech is a frequent speaker, moderator, commentator, and regular contributor to the Steady State Herald. He has a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, an M.S. from the University of Washington,

About Jack Loeffler With the temperament of Santa Claus and the tenacity of a badger, Jack Loeffler reveals his compassion and concern for Southwestern traditional cultures and their respective habitats in the wake of Manifest Destiny. Working both as an individual and with comrades—including Edward Abbey and Gary Snyder—he was part of an early coterie of counterculturalists and environmentalists who fought to thwart the plunder of natural resources in the Southwest. Loeffler, a former jazz musician, fire lookout, museum curator, bioregionalist, and self-taught aural historian, shares his humor and imagination, his adventures, observations, reflections, and meditations along the trail in his retelling of a life well lived. He advises each and every one of us to go skinny-dipping joyfully in the flow of Nature to better understand where we’re headed. Acclaim For “Headed Into The Wind” “Over these pages, we relive Loeffler’s life and learn why he might honestly come to the title of America’s most interesting and thoughtful man.”—Sean Prentiss, author of Finding Abbey: The Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Desert Grave Topics * Re-naturalizing human consciousness * Counterculture, beat generation, bohemian culture * Ed Abbey, Gary Snyder, Alan Watts, Stewart Brand * Federal vs grassroots vs self governance * Zen, Taoism * “Nature Abhors A Maximum” * “If you look at nature and don’t see yourself in it, you’re too far away.” * The Song of the Leaf Cutter Ant * Culture is shaped by the habitat that sprouts it Extra Credit   Listen to this 54 minute podcast of a radio program Jack produced regarding Aldo Leopold in the Southwest that was broadcast over Public Radio in 2009 * Aldo Leopold and the Emerging Land Ethic PBS interview from last year with Lorene Mills Books by Jack Loeffler:           2013 Quivira Conference, Gary Snyder & Jack Loeffler   About Jack Loeffler With the temperament of Santa Claus and the tenacity of a badger, Jack Loeffler reveals his compassion and concern for Southwestern traditional cultures and their respective habitats in the wake of Manifest Destiny. Working both as an individual and with comrades—including Edward Abbey and Gary Snyder—he was part of an early coterie of counterculturalists and environmentalists who fought to thwart the plunder of natural resources in the Southwest. Loeffler, a former jazz musician, fire lookout, museum curator, bioregionalist, and self-taught aural historian, shares his humor and imagination, his adventures, observations, reflections, and meditations along the trail in his retelling of a life well lived. He advises each and every one of us to go skinny-dipping joyfully in the flow of Nature to better understand where we’re headed. Acclaim For “Headed Into The Wind” “Over these pages, we relive Loeffler’s life and learn why he might honestly come to the title of America’s most interesting and thoughtful man.”—Sean Prentiss, author of Finding Abbey: The Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Desert Grave Topics * Re-naturalizing human consciousness

About Kevin As the son of a naval officer, Kevin grew up all over the world, but the American West has always been home. While attending high school in Oakland, he began his activist career by volunteering at the Berkeley Ecology Center. After graduating with a B.A. in biology from Dartmouth College in 1978, he returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and began volunteering at Friends of the Earth where he rubbed elbows with the late, great David Brower. Working to save condors and whales by day, he made a living by driving a San Francisco taxicab at night. Realizing that more education might be useful, Kevin set off to the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan in 1985, where he earned a Master’s degree in Natural Resources Policy. But the West beckoned, and in 1988 Kevin moved to New Mexico with his future wife, Lisa LaRocque, and started the Southwest Environmental Center in 1991. Topics * How wildlife management by states is controlled special interests and how to protect biodiversity rather than game and introduced species on public lands * Follow the money: state game and fish departments are primarily funded with hunting and fishing licenses, effectively locking out public interest in favor of a minority * How you can make a change in your state Extra Credit Read Kevin’s article: “Why Hunting Isn’t Conservation And Why It Matters” Visit Southwest Environmental Center About Kevin As the son of a naval officer, Kevin grew up all over the world, but the American West has always been home. While attending high school in Oakland, he began his activist career by volunteering at the Berkeley Ecology Center. After graduating with a B.A. in biology from Dartmouth College in 1978, he returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and began volunteering at Friends of the Earth where he rubbed elbows with the late, great David Brower. Working to save condors and whales by day, he made a living by driving a San Francisco taxicab at night. Realizing that more education might be useful, Kevin set off to the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan in 1985, where he earned a Master’s degree in Natural Resources Policy. But the West beckoned, and in 1988 Kevin moved to New Mexico with his future wife, Lisa LaRocque, and started the Southwest Environmental Center in 1991. Topics * How wildlife management by states is controlled special interests and how to protect biodiversity rather than game and introduced species on public lands * Follow the money: state game and fish departments are primarily funded with hunting and fishing licenses, effectively locking out public interest in favor of a minority * How you can make a change in your state Extra Credit Read Kevin’s article: “Why Hunting Isn’t Conservation And Why It Matters” Visit Southwest Environmental Center

About Dennis holds a BS from New Mexico State University in Wildlife Science and an MS from the University of Montana in Wildlife Ecology. His 40 years of conservation work experience includes law enforcement, management, education, and research. Dennis is a former President of The Wildlands Project and currently serves as Vice President of the Taku-Atlin Conservancy and as a board member of the Pax Natura Foundation. I met Dennis Sizemore in 1995 at the Black Range Lodge situated on the edge of the Gila Wilderness. It was the beginning of the Sky Island Wildland Network Design project. I have always thought of Dennis as someone with the coolest job in the world. In 1991 he co-founded of Round River Conservation Studies, and has served as the organization’s executive director since then. Nearing 30 years of operation, Round River Conservation Studies has been responsible for varying degrees of protection and vastly greater understanding of millions of acres of wildands and countless species who make their homes there. 30 years of undergrad students getting an experience of a lifetime while doing field work many said couldn’t be done properly by undergrads. All over the world. Today I talk with Dennis about his work with Round River, sharing local wine and Kudu steak in the African bush with Michael Soule, and vital conservation efforts in many of the locations around the globe where Round River operates. Topics * Carrying out Michael Soule’s mission with every Round River field study * Working in Botswana on wildlife issues, community relations, and conservation work * The value of a Round River experience for undergrads (It’s WILD!) * When you should come out of your tent in the morning when elephants are in your camp (the answer might not surprise you!) Extra Credit * Visit Round River Conservation Studies * Round River YouTube Channel * Where RR Works * Student Programs About Dennis holds a BS from New Mexico State University in Wildlife Science and an MS from the University of Montana in Wildlife Ecology. His 40 years of conservation work experience includes law enforcement, management, education, and research. Dennis is a former President of The Wildlands Project and currently serves as Vice President of the Taku-Atlin Conservancy and as a board member of the Pax Natura Foundation. I met Dennis Sizemore in 1995 at the Black Range Lodge situated on the edge of the Gila Wilderness. It was the beginning of the Sky Island Wildland Network Design project. I have always thought of Dennis as someone with the coolest job in the world. In 1991 he co-founded of Round River Conservation Studies, and has served as the organization’s executive director since then. Nearing 30 years of operation, Round River Conservation Studies has been responsible for varying degrees of protection and vastly greater understanding of millions of acres of wildands and countless species who make their homes there. 30 years of undergrad students getting an experience of a lifetime while doing field work many said couldn’t be done properly by undergrads. All over the world. Today I talk with Dennis about his work with Round River, sharing local wine and Kudu steak in the African bush with Michael Soule, and vital conservation efforts in many of the locations around the globe where Round River operates. Topics * Carrying out Michael Soule’s mission with every Round River field study * Working in Botswana on wildlife issues, community relations,

About Don and Bob Don Waller is a forest ecologist, conservation biologist and evolutionary biologist who taught ecology, evolution, and conservation biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the J.T. Curtis Professor until 2019. His research interests include the causes and consequences of inbreeding, the evolution of mating systems and life histories, rare plant demography and genetics, and the forces driving long-term forest community change. These include habitat fragmentation, climate change, aerial N deposition, invasive species, and deer browsing and other impacts. Dr Waller co-authored Wild Forests: Conservation Biology and Public Policy (Island Press 1994) and The Vanishing Present: Shifts in Wisconsin’s lands, waters, and wildlife (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2008) as well as over 160 papers and book chapters. He chairs the Science Advisory Council for the midwestern Environmental Law and Policy Center. He serves on the Rewilding Leadership Council and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Bob Boucher has a MS in Water Resource Management from the UW Madison with an emphasis in ecosystem management of watersheds. He studies landscape ecology and is an advisor to the Beaver Institute. ​He was the founder of Milwaukee Riverkeeper and is the retired Executive Director of the Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation, Wisconsin’s oldest land trust. Bob has traveled to over 60 countries, exploring wild and tame places. He has worked in Alaska as a fishing, kayak and naturalist guide and led wilderness trips for Camp Manito-Wish. He is a member of the Birch Leggings club and has summited Denali. Bob and his wife Mary share a love of nature, wildlife, hiking, biking, skiing, their home, organic gardening and their dogs. Superior Bio-Preserve Map Topics * Acheiving 50% protection in upper midwest by 2050 * A giant 33,000 square mile wildlands network * The importance of indian tribes in policy and coalition building * Elevating the land ethics of how people live on the planet: stewardship vs extraction model * Heavy, non-compatible logging going on in upper midwest, the “paperbasket” of the United States. Extra Credit Visit: Superior Bio-Conservancy Read: The North American Wildlands Network: Four Megalinkages Further info focused on Don’s research: * Faculty spotlight: Don Waller, steward of Wisconsin forests * Wisconsin Plant Ecology Laboratory * Research Gate Profile * Talk at Humboldt University, Berlin, on long-term ecological change Deer in the upper Midwest: * Why hunt deer? * Deer Hunters and Balance * The Hunt for Answers * Citizen Science on Deer Impacts in Upper Midwest The Northwoods fight: * Rush Logging Will Harm The Northwoods *

About Jean Although Jean Ossorio wasn’t actually raised by wolves, she was taken to the Missouri woods for the first time at age six weeks. Her nature-loving parents met on a field trip. During childhood she accompanied them on annual camping expeditions to New Mexico and southern Colorado, falling in love with the Southwest and its native wildlife. After her parents retired to Silver City in 1971, she and her husband and daughter spent numerous holidays and summer vacations exploring New Mexico, especially the southwestern quadrant of the state. Jean has spent over 530 nights tent camping in the Mexican wolf recovery area since 1998, and has seen 57 Mexican wolves in the wild. She served on the stakeholder panel of the 2003 Mexican Wolf Recovery Team, on Governor Richardson’s Catron County Wolf Task Force in 2005, and as a pre-release pen sitter for the Coronado Pack in 2013. She writes occasional features for the website, “Lobos of the Southwest” (also known as mexicanwolves.org), and gives frequent public outreach programs on the Mexican gray wolf. Topics * Some of Jean’s favorite sightings and interactions with Mexican Wolves * Misconceptions about Mexican gray wolves * Patience, luck, and happenstance: the art of seeing wolves in the wild Extra Credit Check out MexicanWolves.org Jean’s articles on MexicanWolves.org * Remembering a Real-Life Super Wolf * Tribute to an Old Lobo Friend: Dark Canyon AM992 * Obituary: First Wild Mexican Gray Wolf Foster Mom Dies * Remembering Ernesta Other Articles * Defenders: Lucky Encounter * Expmag: “Mexican wolves are hated, feared, and imperiled. Jean Ossorio, 75, has seen more of them than almost anyone.” Read more… About Jean Although Jean Ossorio wasn’t actually raised by wolves, she was taken to the Missouri woods for the first time at age six weeks. Her nature-loving parents met on a field trip. During childhood she accompanied them on annual camping expeditions to New Mexico and southern Colorado, falling in love with the Southwest and its native wildlife. After her parents retired to Silver City in 1971, she and her husband and daughter spent numerous holidays and summer vacations exploring New Mexico, especially the southwestern quadrant of the state. Jean has spent over 530 nights tent camping in the Mexican wolf recovery area since 1998, and has seen 57 Mexican wolves in the wild. She served on the stakeholder panel of the 2003 Mexican Wolf Recovery Team, on Governor Richardson’s Catron County Wolf Task Force in 2005, and as a pre-release pen sitter for the Coronado Pack in 2013. She writes occasional features for the website, “Lobos of the Southwest” (also known as mexicanwolves.org), and gives frequent public outreach programs on the Mexican gray wolf. Topics * Some of Jean’s favorite sightings and interactions with Mexican Wolves * Misconceptions about Mexican gray wolves * Patience, luck, and happenstance: the art of seeing wolves in the wild Extra Credit Check out MexicanWolves.org Jean’s articles on MexicanWolves.org *

About Tyus Williams is a Wildlife Ecologist currently working with The University of Nevada Reno as a field ecologist. He went to school at the University of Georgia where he studied fisheries and wildlife science. After performing his undergraduate thesis on jaguars in Belize he is now pursuing graduate school in the interest of carnivore ecology and spatial analysis. Topics * Why fixing the equality and social justice problem is key to winning big conservation battles. * The need for better science funding. * The facts of incremental change vs. running out the clock. Will we make it in time? * Dealing with the onslaught of racial anxiety and social unrest as a black wildlife ecologist. Extra Credit * Follow Tyus on Twitter Tyus Recommends: * ACLU * NAACP * Atlanta Community Food Bank * Defenders of Wildlife * Human Rights Campaign * Backyard Basecamp * Outdoor Afro * Panthera About Tyus Williams is a Wildlife Ecologist currently working with The University of Nevada Reno as a field ecologist. He went to school at the University of Georgia where he studied fisheries and wildlife science. After performing his undergraduate thesis on jaguars in Belize he is now pursuing graduate school in the interest of carnivore ecology and spatial analysis. Topics * Why fixing the equality and social justice problem is key to winning big conservation battles. * The need for better science funding. * The facts of incremental change vs. running out the clock. Will we make it in time? * Dealing with the onslaught of racial anxiety and social unrest as a black wildlife ecologist. Extra Credit * Follow Tyus on Twitter Tyus Recommends: * ACLU * NAACP * Atlanta Community Food Bank * Defenders of Wildlife * Human Rights Campaign * Backyard Basecamp * Outdoor Afro * Panthera

About Paola grew up in South Africa, completed her academic training in the US, and is now based full-time in Mozambique.  She’s an ecologist and conservationist dedicated to the recovery of large carnivores and their co-existence with human communities in the Gorongosa Ecosystem of Central Mozambique. In May of 2012 Paola co-founded Projecto Leões da Gorongosa, directing research, capacity-building and strategic conservation efforts focused on large carnivores in partnership with the Park’s scientific, conservation and senior management teams. Academic summary: B.S. in Biology (2001) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and M.S. in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology (2005) at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, San Francisco State University.  Currently pursuing a PhD in Wildlife Management at University of Pretoria with Dr. Michael Somers focused on the ecological and social aspects of post-war recovery of large carnivores in Central Mozambique. Topics * Conservation is a crisis discipline. * Painted wolves reintroduced and thriving. * Gorongosa National Park has the “best lions ever!” according to Paola. * Elephant, Pangolins, Leopards, Waterbuck. Learn about an amazing park exploding with wildlife! Extra Credit * Check Out The Wildlife Of Gorongosa National Park!  * “The wild experiment to bring apex predators back from the brink” – Wired Magazine * WildCam Gorongosa * A Rewilding Success Story in Gorongosa National Park Watch for: A PBS feature that will air in late 2020 focused on return of Painted Wolves to Gorongosa Transcript Download Bouley-Rewilding-Earth-Podcast-Transcript.pdf">Episode 57 Paola Bouley show transcript. (PDF) About Paola grew up in South Africa, completed her academic training in the US, and is now based full-time in Mozambique.  She’s an ecologist and conservationist dedicated to the recovery of large carnivores and their co-existence with human communities in the Gorongosa Ecosystem of Central Mozambique. In May of 2012 Paola co-founded Projecto Leões da Gorongosa, directing research, capacity-building and strategic conservation efforts focused on large carnivores in partnership with the Park’s scientific, conservation and senior management teams. Academic summary: B.S. in Biology (2001) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and M.S. in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology (2005) at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, San Francisco State University.  Currently pursuing a PhD in Wildlife Management at University of Pretoria with Dr. Michael Somers focused on the ecological and social aspects of post-war recovery of large carnivores in Central Mozambique. Topics * Conservation is a crisis discipline. * Painted wolves reintroduced and thriving.

About Kathleen Kathleen is a conservation leader recognized for her extensive experience in integrated large landscape conservation and development programs in Africa and North America. Kathleen has lived in Africa for 12 years. She was a senior staff member of the African Wildlife Foundation for 11 years, most recently serving as Vice President for East and Southern Africa. She also serves as a member of the Rewilding Leadership Council. She now leads capital.com/">Conservation Capital’s Business Consulting Africa division focusing on increasing revenue for protected area management and wildlife conservation. She serves as Senior Conservation Advisor to AWF. Kathleen has helped create new conservation areas, improve management of protected areas, established innovative public, private partnerships and led community conservation initiatives. She managed climate mitigation and adaptation programs and completed dozens of land transactions in North America and Africa. Topics * Challenging times for parks and conservancies in Africa who depend primarily or completely on tourism dollars to fund rangers and programs meant to protect African widlife and landscapes. * Innovating funding ideas to broaden parks and conservancies’ funding sources. * What’s really behind all the neat photos of lions lying in the middle of the road and the seeming break that wildlife is getting during the pandemic? * How you can help support African wildlife conservancies and parks. Extra Credit The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) is a Kenyan commitment, to conserve the greater Maasai Mara ecosystem, through a network of protected areas (conservancies and conservation areas). capital.com/">Conservation Capital develops financial and business driven solutions to support the world’s most important conservation areas. About Kathleen Kathleen is a conservation leader recognized for her extensive experience in integrated large landscape conservation and development programs in Africa and North America. Kathleen has lived in Africa for 12 years. She was a senior staff member of the African Wildlife Foundation for 11 years, most recently serving as Vice President for East and Southern Africa. She also serves as a member of the Rewilding Leadership Council. She now leads capital.com/">Conservation Capital’s Business Consulting Africa division focusing on increasing revenue for protected area management and wildlife conservation. She serves as Senior Conservation Advisor to AWF. Kathleen has helped create new conservation areas, improve management of protected areas, established innovative public, private partnerships and led community conservation initiatives. She managed climate mitigation and adaptation programs and completed dozens of land transactions in North America and Africa. Topics * Challenging times for parks and conservancies in Africa who depend primarily or completely on tourism dollars to fund rangers and programs meant to protect African widlife and landscapes. * Innovating funding ideas to broaden parks and conservancies’ funding sources. * What’s really behind all the neat photos of lions lying in the middle of the road and the seeming break that wildlife is getting during the pandemic? * How you can help support African wildlife conservancies and parks. Extra Credit The

About Kurt A former archaeologist, Kurt Menke is a geospatial generalist based in Albuquerque. He founded Bird’s Eye View to apply his expertise with GIS technology towards solving the world’s mounting ecological, economic and social issues. His areas of focus are public health, conservation and education. Kurt has a broad skill set. He is a spatial analyst, cartographer, web map developer, trainer/teacher and author. He is also one of the newest members of the Rewilding Leadership Council. Kurt has been involved in myriad conservation mapping projects, including one we talk about today, the very successful Tijeras Canyon wildlife passage. We start with a bit of background before we really geek out on the vital importance of mapping to rewilding projects around the world. Topics * Why mapping is crucial to the vision and success of any rewilding project * How good maps are worth many thousands of words when it comes to depicting on-the-ground elements important to reconnecting and protecting habitat and species * The successful Tijeras Canyon wildlife passage project * Kurt’s favorite “back of a napkin” map by Dave Foreman Extra Credit * Visit Kurt at Bird’s Eye View GIS and on Twitter * Read more about Kurt’s background on his Rewilding Leadership Council page About Kurt A former archaeologist, Kurt Menke is a geospatial generalist based in Albuquerque. He founded Bird’s Eye View to apply his expertise with GIS technology towards solving the world’s mounting ecological, economic and social issues. His areas of focus are public health, conservation and education. Kurt has a broad skill set. He is a spatial analyst, cartographer, web map developer, trainer/teacher and author. He is also one of the newest members of the Rewilding Leadership Council. Kurt has been involved in myriad conservation mapping projects, including one we talk about today, the very successful Tijeras Canyon wildlife passage. We start with a bit of background before we really geek out on the vital importance of mapping to rewilding projects around the world. Topics * Why mapping is crucial to the vision and success of any rewilding project * How good maps are worth many thousands of words when it comes to depicting on-the-ground elements important to reconnecting and protecting habitat and species * The successful Tijeras Canyon wildlife passage project * Kurt’s favorite “back of a napkin” map by Dave Foreman Extra Credit * Visit Kurt at Bird’s Eye View GIS and on Twitter * Read more about Kurt’s background on his Rewilding Leadership Council page

About Karen is a lifelong environmentalist, naturalist, educator, poet,  author and overpopulation activist. She began her career as a naturalist in 1983 and as the director of the City of Richfield’s Wood Lake Nature Center in 1991. She is passionate about the role nature centers can make in keeping communities thriving. She is a former public and private school teacher and received her doctorate from the University of St. Thomas in 2002 where she studied critical pedagogy and its implications for the future of nature centers. As a member of the advisory board of the non-profit “ World Population Balance,” she has become deeply alarmed by the lack of discourse surrounding the overpopulation crisis. In 2015 she published her book Move Upstream, A Call To Solve Overpopulation. Topics * What is an upstream conversation on population or conservation? * Context matters: where and when to engage on issues depends on what part of the “river” you’re on. * Solving overpopulation is one of the hardest conversations to have. Tips for communicating effectively on population issues. Extra Credit * Read Karen’s article here on Rewilding.org: It’s Hard to Practice Social Distancing in an Overpopulated World * Karen’s site: MovingUpstream.com About Karen is a lifelong environmentalist, naturalist, educator, poet,  author and overpopulation activist. She began her career as a naturalist in 1983 and as the director of the City of Richfield’s Wood Lake Nature Center in 1991. She is passionate about the role nature centers can make in keeping communities thriving. She is a former public and private school teacher and received her doctorate from the University of St. Thomas in 2002 where she studied critical pedagogy and its implications for the future of nature centers. As a member of the advisory board of the non-profit “ World Population Balance,” she has become deeply alarmed by the lack of discourse surrounding the overpopulation crisis. In 2015 she published her book Move Upstream, A Call To Solve Overpopulation. Topics * What is an upstream conversation on population or conservation? * Context matters: where and when to engage on issues depends on what part of the “river” you’re on. * Solving overpopulation is one of the hardest conversations to have. Tips for communicating effectively on population issues. Extra Credit * Read Karen’s article here on Rewilding.org: It’s Hard to Practice Social Distancing in an Overpopulated World * Karen’s site: MovingUpstream.com

Host’s Note: Today’s talk with Crista Valentino about next-gen conservation reinforces my sincere belief that our planet is in good hands. “Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright The kids are alright” ~ The Who About Crista Crista co-founded CoalitionWILD in 2013 after an invitation from the WILD Foundation to address the lack of support and visibility available to younger generations in the environmental sector. She continues to lobby for a stronger integration of youth voices and empowerment in organizational and business decision making, and has achieved this through recently co-publishing an 1.pdf">intergenerational leadership toolkit for conservation and leading multiple projects that accelerate and further initiatives around the world being led by young people for nature. Crista is the North American Focal Point for the World Commission on Protected Areas Young Professionals, was named Wyoming’s Top 40 under 40, and is on the Executive Committee for the 11th World Wilderness Congress. Topics * Engaging younger generations in conservation work starts with allowing them to follow their passion * Seeding the world with young leaders who are making a difference * Conservation for regular people from all backgrounds * Similarities and differences between old guard Wilderness advocates and younger generation’s strategy for protecting biodiversity Extra Credit Visit: CoalitionWILD Reading: “How Our Emotions Could Help Save The World” Show transcript Host’s Note: Today’s talk with Crista Valentino about next-gen conservation reinforces my sincere belief that our planet is in good hands. “Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright The kids are alright” ~ The Who About Crista Crista co-founded CoalitionWILD in 2013 after an invitation from the WILD Foundation to address the lack of support and visibility available to younger generations in the environmental sector. She continues to lobby for a stronger integration of youth voices and empowerment in organizational and business decision making, and has achieved this through recently co-publishing an 1.pdf">intergenerational leadership toolkit for conservation and leading multiple projects that accelerate and further initiatives around the world being led by young people for nature. Crista is the North American Focal Point for the World Commission on Protected Areas Young Professionals, was named Wyoming’s Top 40 under 40, and is on the Executive Committee for the 11th World Wilderness Congress. Topics * Engaging younger generations in conservation work starts with allowing them to follow their passion * Seeding the world with young leaders who are making a difference * Conservation for regular people from all backgrounds * Similarities and differences between old guard Wilderness advocates and younger generation’s strategy for protecting biodiversity

About Joe Joseph Bish is Director of Issue Advocacy for Population Media Center An expert on population, family-planning, and other global sustainability issues related to PMC’s mission, Joe ensures Marketing and Communications initiatives include effective and focused advocacy messaging. Monitoring and analyzing new trends in PMC’s focus issue areas, the field of social change communications, and PMC’s operational landscape, he communicates these findings to both external and internal audiences. Joe holds a Master of Science in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing from Antioch University New England. Topics * How storytelling is used to change societal norms and beliefs around conservation and population issues. * The lessons learned from embedding important education and messaging in entertainment programming. Extra Credit Reading: PMC’s analysis of the most influential drivers of ongoing global population growth Watch: PMC’s “Theory of Change” Recent Blog Posts: * THE END OF POPULATION GROWTH DEPENDS ON LOWER IDEAL FAMILY SIZE * OVERPOPULATED COUNTRIES, UNSUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION * BELOW-REPLACEMENT-LEVEL FERTILITY: DON’T FEAR IT, ROSS DOUTHAT About Joe Joseph Bish is Director of Issue Advocacy for Population Media Center An expert on population, family-planning, and other global sustainability issues related to PMC’s mission, Joe ensures Marketing and Communications initiatives include effective and focused advocacy messaging. Monitoring and analyzing new trends in PMC’s focus issue areas, the field of social change communications, and PMC’s operational landscape, he communicates these findings to both external and internal audiences. Joe holds a Master of Science in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing from Antioch University New England. Topics * How storytelling is used to change societal norms and beliefs around conservation and population issues. * The lessons learned from embedding important education and messaging in entertainment programming. Extra Credit Reading: PMC’s analysis of the most influential drivers of ongoing global population growth Watch: PMC’s “Theory of Change” Recent Blog Posts: * THE END OF POPULATION GROWTH DEPENDS ON LOWER IDEAL FAMILY SIZE * OVERPOPULATED COUNTRIES, UNSUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION * BELOW-REPLACEMENT-LEVEL FERTILITY: DON’T FEAR IT, ROSS DOUTHAT

About Kim Kim Vacariu is the former Western Director for Wildlands Network (1998-2017) where he organized and led the 25 conservation organizations making up the Western Wildway Network in its efforts to connect wildlife habitat corridors from Alaska to Mexico. Kim has been instrumental in elevating the recognition of habitat connectivity threats posed by the walling off of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, including organization of the first Border Ecological Symposiums in Arizona. He also convened the first private lands conservation workshops in Arizona, and was a co-recipient of the Federal Highway Administration’s 2007 Environmental Excellence Award for his work on Arizona’s statewide Wildlife Linkage Assessment.  Kim was co-author in 2000 of the ground-breaking Sky Islands Wildlands Network Design – the first effort to publish specific science-based maps and implementation steps required for protection of regional habitat networks. Topics * The need for a conservation media coalition and professional messaging campaigns with commercial reach. * How to reach people who don’t think about conservation daily, or much at all, and get them on board. * Meeting people where they are, rather than wagging fingers and moralizing. * The need for a focused, global, ongoing campaign for conservation put together by a professional ad agency. Extra Credit Read Kim’s article: To Win, Conservationists Must Change Their Message   About Kim Kim Vacariu is the former Western Director for Wildlands Network (1998-2017) where he organized and led the 25 conservation organizations making up the Western Wildway Network in its efforts to connect wildlife habitat corridors from Alaska to Mexico. Kim has been instrumental in elevating the recognition of habitat connectivity threats posed by the walling off of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, including organization of the first Border Ecological Symposiums in Arizona. He also convened the first private lands conservation workshops in Arizona, and was a co-recipient of the Federal Highway Administration’s 2007 Environmental Excellence Award for his work on Arizona’s statewide Wildlife Linkage Assessment.  Kim was co-author in 2000 of the ground-breaking Sky Islands Wildlands Network Design – the first effort to publish specific science-based maps and implementation steps required for protection of regional habitat networks. Topics * The need for a conservation media coalition and professional messaging campaigns with commercial reach. * How to reach people who don’t think about conservation daily, or much at all, and get them on board. * Meeting people where they are, rather than wagging fingers and moralizing. * The need for a focused, global, ongoing campaign for conservation put together by a professional ad agency. Extra Credit Read Kim’s article: To Win, Conservationists Must Change Their Message  

About Howie Wolke Howie Wolke is a nationally-known advocate for protecting wilderness and was a co-founder of the original Earth First! He is the author of Wilderness On the Rocks and co-authored The Big Outside, a historic inventory of America’s remaining wilderness lands, with our own Dave Foreman. He has served as the President of the national conservation group Wilderness Watch. Howie has led well over five-hundred multi-day treks since the mid 1970s. The founder of Big Wild Adventures, Howie is probably the most experienced backpacking guide in the Western U.S. He has a particular affinity for wolves and grizzly bears, is an avid hunter, back-country skier, river-runner and bird-watcher, and has a B.S. in Conservation and Wildlife Ecology. Topics * Wilderness as outdoor gymnasiums * How to reach 50% of the U.S. protected as wildlands * Wilderness designation in national parks * Did you know there were different versions of the Wilderness Act? * The magic word Howard Zahniser included in the Wilderness Act that made all the difference * WINO (Wilderness in name only) * Cracking a dam Extra Credit Visit: Wilderness Watch | Big Wild Adventures Read: Wilderness On the Rocks & The Big Outside (Scroll to see description and purchase link) — This is Rewilding Earth Podcast’s 50th Episode! I’d like to thank the Rewilding Earth board for agreeing to the (then) odd idea that we produce and host our own podcast. Since Episode 1 with Dave Foreman, I’ve had the honor of interviewing a range of guests from organizations around the world. Some in the beginning of their careers and others seasoned icons of the conservation movement. Interviewing your heros can be intimidating and thrilling. And the work of helping to educate and inspire a new generation of conservation heroes is a responsibility I do not take lightly. Archiving the energy, wisdom, and passionate voices of conservation authors, scientists, founders, and artists is my passion. I can’t wait to see what the next 50 episodes of Rewilding Earth contributes to the fight to protect the remaining biodiversity of this fragile planet. -Jack Humphrey, Host of the Rewilding Earth Podcast About Howie Wolke Howie Wolke is a nationally-known advocate for protecting wilderness and was a co-founder of the original Earth First! He is the author of Wilderness On the Rocks and co-authored The Big Outside, a historic inventory of America’s remaining wilderness lands, with our own Dave Foreman. He has served as the President of the national conserva...

About Allison Allison Jones received her B.A in Environmental Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz under the guidance of her mentor and advisor, Michael Soule.  She then completed her M.S in Conservation Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1996.  Her Masters study analyzed the effects of cattle grazing on small mammal communities in the Great Basin.   Allison then went to work as the staff conservation biologist for the Wild Utah Project in late 1999.  In 2014 Allison ascended to Executive Director of Wild Utah Project, until she moved on from the organization in January of 2020. Allison currently serves as principal of Allison L Jones, LLC, where she specializes in large landscape scale conservation analyses, and analyses of state and federal wildlife and habitat management plans and revisions. Allison works on a contract basis to University researchers, independent scientists, government agencies, and conservation NGOs. We are proud to announce Allison as a new member of the Rewilding Leadership Council. Topics * Citizen science and its role in shaping public and private lands conservation * Juggling a huge volunteer effort as part of Wild Utah Project’s Citizen Science initiatives * Human-made beaver dams vs beaver-made beaver dams – What’s the deal with that? * Winning over initially reluctant stakeholders to the side of conservation Extra Credit * Visit Allison on LinkedIn Learn more about Wild Utah Project * Visit Western Wildlife Conservancy * Download: Jones-Transcript2-1.pdf">Show Transcript (PDF) About Allison Allison Jones received her B.A in Environmental Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz under the guidance of her mentor and advisor, Michael Soule.  She then completed her M.S in Conservation Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1996.  Her Masters study analyzed the effects of cattle grazing on small mammal communities in the Great Basin.   Allison then went to work as the staff conservation biologist for the Wild Utah Project in late 1999.  In 2014 Allison ascended to Executive Director of Wild Utah Project, until she moved on from the organization in January of 2020. Allison currently serves as principal of Allison L Jones, LLC, where she specializes in large landscape scale conservation analyses, and analyses of state and federal wildlife and habitat management plans and revisions. Allison works on a contract basis to University researchers, independent scientists, government agencies, and conservation NGOs. We are proud to announce Allison as a new member of the Rewilding Leadership Council. Topics * Citizen science and its role in shaping public and private lands conservation * Juggling a huge volunteer effort as part of Wild Utah Project’s Citizen Science initiatives * Human-made beaver dams vs beaver-made beaver dams – What’s the deal with that? * Winning over initially reluctant stakeholders to the side of conservation Extra Credit * Visit Allison on LinkedIn Learn more about Wild Utah Project * Visit Western Wildlife Conservancy

About Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land, a history of indigenous American nations, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Greenpeace: The Inside Story, a finalist for the BC Book Award and the Shaughnessy-Cohen Award for Political Writing; and The Jesus Sayings, a deconstruction of first century history, a finalist for the BC Book Award. In the 1970s, Weyler was a cofounder of Greenpeace International and editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles. He served on campaigns to preserve rivers and forests, and to stop whaling, sealing, and toxic dumping. He currently writes a monthly column on the Greenpeace International website. Topics * The double bind of the pandemic. * How can we emerge with a far greater respect for nature? * The one solution that most environmentalists refuse to tackle. * Hope for the future of humanity and nature still reigns. Extra Credit Visit: Rex Weyler’s website Essays from Rex Weyler * Ecological Trauma and Common Addiction * What can we do? A prescription for taking action * How do systems get unstuck? Learning to face difficulty like a living system * Does human scale matter? About overshoot   About Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land, a history of indigenous American nations, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Greenpeace: The Inside Story, a finalist for the BC Book Award and the Shaughnessy-Cohen Award for Political Writing; and The Jesus Sayings, a deconstruction of first century history, a finalist for the BC Book Award. In the 1970s, Weyler was a cofounder of Greenpeace International and editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles. He served on campaigns to preserve rivers and forests, and to stop whaling, sealing, and toxic dumping. He currently writes a monthly column on the Greenpeace International website. Topics

About Laiken Laiken Jordahl, Borderlands Campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity, works to protect wildlife and communities across the U.S.-Mexico borderlands from border wall construction and militarization. Before joining the Center, Laiken worked with the National Park Service researching threats to wilderness character at five National Park Service wilderness areas. He studied the impacts of border activity on wilderness resources at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Big Bend National Park, which led him to become an advocate against border walls and militarization. Laiken has also worked as a legislative fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bike mechanic, and a clam farmer in Washington State. Topics * Border wall construction and its effects on wildland connectivity, water, communities, and wildlife * The laws that are being “waived” to construct the border wall by the Trump administration * Up close and personal with the wounds this wall construction is causing * What it’s like to be a “disaster tour guide” * What can be done about restoring the wildlands affected by the wall once Trump is out Extra Credit Follow Laiken on Twitter Read Laiken’s article: “Trump’s wall is destroying the environment we worked to protect” “Imagine dedicating your entire life to protecting a place. Then imagine watching everything you’ve worked to protect be bulldozed by a desperate, self-serving president. That’s what’s happening right now to career scientists and conservationists at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on Arizona’s border with Mexico. I used to work there too. It breaks my heart.” [Read more…] Trump is racing to build his despicable #BorderWall through the most stunning & remote corner of Arizona. Last week I took a trip down the historic Devil’s Highway to document the heartbreaking destruction & share it with the world. I came home horrified by what I saw. pic.twitter.com/9UrcWkOTwX — Laiken Jordahl (@LaikenJordahl) April 29, 2020 #BorderWall construction in the rugged Tinajas Altas Mountains looks more like a strip mine than border security. These are your tax dollars at work—blowing up an impassible range that already serves as a border in the most remote corner of Arizona. pic.twitter.com/iOJzFCiz8E — Laiken Jordahl (@LaikenJordahl) April 28, 2020 The tweet that really got me and made up my mind that Laiken needed to be our next guest on Rewilding Earth podcast: Daily reminder: while we’re all stuck inside, the Trump admin is racing to build the #BorderWall, leaving nothing but carnage in its wake. pic.twitter.com/iDajTJdMEb — Laiken Jordahl (@LaikenJordahl) April 21, 2020 About Laiken Laiken Jordahl,

About Carl Ecologist and author Carl Safina explores how humans are changing the living world, and what those changes mean for wild places and for human and other beings. His work connects broad scientific understanding with a moral call to action. His writing has won the MacArthur “genius” prize; Pew and Guggenheim Fellowships; book awards from Lannan, Orion, and the National Academies; and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals. Safina hosted the 10-part PBS series, Saving the Ocean With Carl Safina. He holds the Endowed Chair for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University and is founder of the not-for-profit Safina Center. He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Patricia and their dogs and feathered friends. Carl’s most recent book is Becoming Wild; How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace. Talking Points * Animal cultures – Humans aren’t the only species with cultures * Pandemics and our relationship with the wild world * A warning about the next pandemic – we got lucky this time * Correcting our relationship with the wild world to save ourselves and biodiversity Extra Credit Reading * Becoming Wild; How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace * Beyond Words; What Animals Think and Feel Visit * SafinaCenter.org * CarlSafina.com * “Saving The Ocean” A PBS Series with Carl Safina Watch Carl on Tedx What animals are thinking and feeling, and why it should matter | Carl Safina | TEDxMidAtlantic About Carl Ecologist and author Carl Safina explores how humans are changing the living world, and what those changes mean for wild places and for human and other beings. His work connects broad scientific understanding with a moral call to action. His writing has won the MacArthur “genius” prize; Pew and Guggenheim Fellowships; book awards from Lannan, Orion, and the National Academies; and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals. Safina hosted the 10-part PBS series, Saving the Ocean With Carl Safina. He holds the Endowed Chair for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University and is founder of the not-for-profit Safina Center. He lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Patricia and their dogs and feathered friends. Carl’s most recent book is Becoming Wild; How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace. Talking Points * Animal cultures – Humans aren’t the only species with cultures * Pandemics and our relationship with the wild world * A warning about the next pandemic – we got lucky this time * Correcting our relationship with the wild world to save ourselves and biodiversity Extra Credit Reading * Becoming Wild; How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace * Beyond Words; What Animals Think and Feel Visit * SafinaCenter.org * CarlSafina.com * “Saving The Ocean” A PBS Series wit...

About Shelby Perry is the Stewardship Director at Northeast Wilderness Trust, whose mission is to conserve forever-wild landscapes for nature and people. She received her master’s degree from the University of Vermont’s field naturalist program, and holds a bachelors in environmental engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A Vermont native, she has also lived and worked in the Adirondacks, California, the Caribbean, Wyoming, and West Africa, where she served a term in the US Peace Corps. In her free time Shelby enjoys hiking far away from trails, swimming in mountain streams, and identifying mysterious plants, fungi, and slime molds. Talking Points * What does a Rewilding-focused wildlands philanthropy organization do? * Buying and protecting key lands and allowing them to rewild largely on their own. * The meaning of protecting forests that won’t rewild to old growth in our lifetime. Extra Credit * Northeast Wilderness Trust 2019 Year in Review * NWT 5 Year Strategic Plan * Bramhall Wilderness Preserve In Progress: Habitat for Moose, Brook Trout, Mature Forest Birds, and More * Update on Bramhall Wilderness Preserve! About Shelby Perry is the Stewardship Director at Northeast Wilderness Trust, whose mission is to conserve forever-wild landscapes for nature and people. She received her master’s degree from the University of Vermont’s field naturalist program, and holds a bachelors in environmental engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A Vermont native, she has also lived and worked in the Adirondacks, California, the Caribbean, Wyoming, and West Africa, where she served a term in the US Peace Corps. In her free time Shelby enjoys hiking far away from trails, swimming in mountain streams, and identifying mysterious plants, fungi, and slime molds. Talking Points * What does a Rewilding-focused wildlands philanthropy organization do? * Buying and protecting key lands and allowing them to rewild largely on their own. * The meaning of protecting forests that won’t rewild to old growth in our lifetime. Extra Credit * Northeast Wilderness Trust 2019 Year in Review * NWT 5 Year Strategic Plan * Bramhall Wilderness Preserve In Progress: Habitat for Moose, Brook Trout, Mature Forest Birds, and More * Update on Bramhall Wilderness Preserve!

About For over 40 years Dr. John Laundré has studied predators and their prey in the western U.S. and northern Mexico. He has conducted one of the longest studies of cougar ecology and behavior to date and has published over 80 scientific articles on his scientific work. He is the originator of the concept of the landscape of fear that proposed that fear of prey for their predators drives many, if not all ecological processes. The one important aspect of this concept is that predators become instrumental in maintaining the balance between prey species and their habitat, not so much by killing their prey but affecting how they use the landscape. John’s book, Phantoms of the Prairie, The Return of Cougars to the Midwest, looks at the phenomenon of cougars actually moving back into the Great Plains region of the U.S. He is teaching at Western Oregon University and serves on the Board of the Cougar Rewilding Foundation whose goal is the eventual re-establishment of viable cougar populations in the Eastern U.S. Topics * Why state wildlife agencies are really just hunting organizations and what to do about it. * Why care what hunters think about conservation and wildlife management? * Piercing the veil of state game agencies and putting the people in charge, not the 4% of hunters currently in charge. * Following the money. Plenty of money from public coffers available, but agencies won’t use it so that they can say the hunters solely support conservation efforts. Extra Credit Reading: Dead Cats Walking by John Laundré Visit: CougarRewilding.org Great book: Phantoms of the Prairie: The Return of Cougars to the Midwest About For over 40 years Dr. John Laundré has studied predators and their prey in the western U.S. and northern Mexico. He has conducted one of the longest studies of cougar ecology and behavior to date and has published over 80 scientific articles on his scientific work. He is the originator of the concept of the landscape of fear that proposed that fear of prey for their predators drives many, if not all ecological processes. The one important aspect of this concept is that predators become instrumental in maintaining the balance between prey species and their habitat, not so much by killing their prey but affecting how they use the landscape. John’s book, Phantoms of the Prairie, The Return of Cougars to the Midwest, looks at the phenomenon of cougars actually moving back into the Great Plains region of the U.S. He is teaching at Western Oregon University and serves on the Board of the Cougar Rewilding Foundation whose goal is the eventual re-establishment of viable cougar populations in the Eastern U.S. Topics * Why state wildlife agencies are really just hunting organizations and what to do about it. * Why care what hunters think about conservation and wildlife management? * Piercing the veil of state game agencies and putting the people in charge, not the 4% of hunters currently in charge. * Following the money.

About Gary Gary Wockner, Ph.D., has been active in environmental protection most of his adult life. Over the past 15 years, Gary has spearheaded the protection and restoration of his local watershed in Fort Collins, CO, as the co-founder, Executive Director, and Waterkeeper for Cache la Poudre River. Since 2010, Gary has played an increasing role in Colorado River protection throughout the Southwest U.S. by co-founding and directing the Save The Colorado River Campaign with New Belgium Brewing and Patagonia. Gary is an award-winning environmental activist and writer — he has been named a “River Hero,” an “Eco-Rockstar Impacting the Planet,” and a “Renowned Environmental Leader” by environmental publications. Gary writes, travels, and advocates internationally for the protection of rivers, fighting climate change, and stabilizing human population. "Gary is one of Colorado's most outspoken water watchdogs." -- Colorado Independent, 2018 "Gary is an authentic environmental activist." -- Independence Institute, 2019 "Gary serves alongside Bobby Kennedy Jr. as a serial dam killer." -- Augusta MetroSpirit, 2019 Topics * Protecting rivers around the globe * River protection through Rights for Nature initiatives and legislation * Human population pressures on rivers * Decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam and others like it * One of Gary’s favorite rivers to float in the United States Extra Credit * Visit GaryWockner.com * Visit: Save The Colorado River Campaign About Gary Gary Wockner, Ph.D., has been active in environmental protection most of his adult life. Over the past 15 years, Gary has spearheaded the protection and restoration of his local watershed in Fort Collins, CO, as the co-founder, Executive Director, and Waterkeeper for Cache la Poudre River. Since 2010, Gary has played an increasing role in Colorado River protection throughout the Southwest U.S. by co-founding and directing the Save The Colorado River Campaign with New Belgium Brewing and Patagonia. Gary is an award-winning environmental activist and writer — he has been named a “River Hero,” an “Eco-Rockstar Impacting the Planet,” and a “Renowned Environmental Leader” by environmental publications. Gary writes, travels, and advocates internationally for the protection of rivers, fighting climate change, and stabilizing human population. "Gary is one of Colorado's most outspoken water watchdogs." -- Colorado Independent, 2018 "Gary is an authentic environmental activist." -- Independence Institute, 2019 "Gary serves alongside Bobby Kennedy Jr. as a serial dam killer." -- Augusta MetroSpirit, 2019 Topics * Protecting rivers around the globe * River protection through Rights for Nature initiatives and legislation * Human population pressures on rivers * Decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam and others like it * One of Gary’s favorite rivers to float in the United States Extra Credit * Visit GaryWockner.com * Visit: Save The Colorado River Campaign

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 / earthproject.org/">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: trav-white-sands-new-mexico-1231-20191222-daewqgc7w5aobjmwtoiaxcqwvi-story.html">White Sands National Park Notes from Michael on the figures for proposed new national parks The National Park System is Acreage-9-30-2019.pdf">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

For over three decades, Keith Bowers has been at the forefront of applied ecology, land conservation and sustainable design.  Founder and president of Biohabitats, Keith has built a multidisciplinary organization focused on conservation planning, ecological restoration and regenerative design.  His work has spanned the scale from site-specific ecosystem restoration projects involving wetland, river, woodland and coastal habitat restoration to regional watershed management and species conservation planning. Keith also founded and is a partner in m.com/">Ecological Restoration and Management Inc., a restoration construction company providing native revegetation, invasive species management and coastal restoration throughout the mid-Atlantic. Keith served on the board of the Society for Ecological Restoration for more than 10 years and  on the board of the Wildlands Network for 8 years. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and is a Professional Wetland Scientist. Topics * What ecological restoration/rewilding projects look like on the ground. * Connecting the groundwork to larger regional plans. * Restoration ecology * Myriad professional and volunteer ways to get involved in restoration/rewilding projects * What we know about putting ecological processes back together * B Corps and Benefit Corporations – a different kind of company Extra Credit Subscriber to Leaf Litter Quarterly, an e-publication for people interested in ecological restoration, conservation planning, and regenerative design.  Focused on a theme every quarter and interview experts, practitioners and advocates around the world.  There are many past issues that Rewilding folks may be interested in – just scroll down under Topics on the side bar. About Biohabitats – Part of the mission of Biohabitats is to… REVERE WILD NATURE “Nature, and the full array of life this planet has to offer, is at the very core of what we are about. Increasingly we find ourselves living in an artificial world. A world where ecosystem processes are compromised, and biodiversity is marginalized and commoditized. Nature, in its wildest and raw form, is at the essence of what we are about. Wild nature provides the blueprint for ensuring that we know how to conserve, restore, and regenerate the full expression of biological diversity and ecosystem functions to ensure our survival. It is at the heart of our collective souls.” ~Biohabitats “Roots” section of their “Headwaters Guide to [the company’s] Beliefs, Policies, and Cultural Practices.” For over three decades, Keith Bowers has been at the forefront of applied ecology, land conservation and sustainable design.  Founder and president of Biohabitats, Keith has built a multidisciplinary organization focused on conservation planning, ecological restoration and regenerative design.  His work has spanned the scale from site-specific ecosystem restoration projects involving wetland, river, woodland and coastal habitat restoration to regional watershed management and species conservation planning. Keith also founded and is a partner in m.com/">Ecological Restoration and Management Inc., a restoration construction company providing native revegetation, invasive species management and coastal restoration throughout the mid-Atlantic. Keith served on the board of the Society for Ecological Restoration for more than 10 years and  on the board of the

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