Rewilding Earth: Recent Episodes
Jack
Summary To make way for double 30-foot, steel border walls in Lochiel, Arizona, federal contractors have clearcut a grove of three 200-year-old Fremont cottonwood trees that reached their boughs across the U.S.-Mexico border in a sign of connectivity, friendship, and anchoring the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River. On the heels of this destruction, grassroots […] Read full article: Episode 180: Activists Take to the Canopy to Defend Centuries-old Cottonwood, Cats, and Connectivity
About Ben Levitan is a senior attorney at Earthjustice, the nation’s largest and most active public interest environmental law organization — know for its motto “Because the Earth needs a good lawyer.” As part of Earthjustice’s Biodiversity Defense Program, Ben advocates for the protection of imperiled species and ecosystems and opposes attempts to weaken environmental laws. […] Read full article: Episode 179. The ESA Harm Rescission: Ecologically Disastrous and a Trap for Companies Attempting to Destroy the Wild — with Earthjustice’s Ben Levitan
About Michelle Lute is a wildlife scientist and conservation leader with two decades of experience in wildlife conservation, nonprofit leadership, and public policy. As executive director of Wildlife for All, she’s leading the charge to transform state wildlife governance and center justice, compassion, and democracy in conservation. Michelle holds a PhD in wildlife management and […] Read full article: Episode 178: The High Stakes of State Wildlife Governance and the Fight for Direct Democracy with Michelle Lute
Episode Summary In this poignant and historic episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, legendary Southwest author, activist, and audio naturalist Jack Loeffler connects with host Jack Humphrey, just ahead of Loeffler’s 90th birthday. A living thread to the bedrock of the modern conservation movement, Loeffler shares deeply personal stories of running wild rivers and backpacking […] Read full article: Episode 177: Jack Loeffler’s Lifelong Quest to Rewild the Colorado River Watershed and Human Consciousness
Episode Summary Louise Misztal, executive director of Sky Island Alliance (SIA), sits down with Rewilding Earth podcast host Jack Humphrey to explore the unique, biodiverse, and threatened Sky Island Region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They discuss how these isolated mountain ranges rise out of the surrounding valleys to create a biological […] Read full article: Episode 176: Protecting and Restoring the Wild Heart of the Sky Islands with Louise Misztal
Episode Summary In this episode, Jack welcomes back Cooper Freeman from the Center for Biological Diversity for a transparent, gritty, and surprisingly hopeful update on the frontlines of conservation in Alaska. Navigating a relentless onslaught of fast-tracked industrial projects and gutted regulatory procedures under the current administration, Cooper outlines how the Alaska team is successfully […] Read full article: Episode 175: Cooper Freeman on How Bedrock Environmental Laws Are Holding the Line in Alaska (For Now)
About the Author Julie Carrick Dalton is a novelist, former journalist, and farmer whose work explores the deep, often complicated relationship between humanity and the natural world. With decades of experience telling stories rooted in fact and reality as a reporter, Julie later turned to working the land, a pivot that ultimately unlocked her passion […] Read full article: Episode 174: How Fiction Moves the Needle on Real-World Conservation
Episode Summary In this episode, Jack sits down with Laiken Jordahl to discuss the immediate and unprecedented threat to Big Bend National Park and the surrounding West Texas borderlands. The conversation centers on current administration plans to extend border wall construction through one of America’s most iconic “crown jewel” landscapes. Laiken reveals how this project […] Read full article: Episode 173: Laiken Jordahl on the Battle for Big Bend
Summary In 1959, George Schaller entered the Virunga Mountains with nothing but a notebook and a folding chair. At a time when the world viewed the mountain gorilla as a savage, cinematic monster, Schaller saw something else: a peaceful, social being whose world we were only just beginning to understand. By sitting lower than the […] Read full article: Episode 172: George Schaller “Homesick for a World Unknown” with Miriam Horn
Dr. Larry Stevens is the Curator of Ecology at the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the Director of Spring Stewardship Institute. He received his Ph.D in Zoology from Northern Arizona University in 1989, and served as the ecologist for Grand Canyon National Park from 1989 to 1994. Well respected in the field of ecology, Dr. […] Read full article: Episode 171: The Hidden Universe of Springs with Larry Stevens
Paul Watson, Founder & Director, Paul Watson Foundation Captain Paul Watson is a marine wildlife conservation and environmental activist, renowned speaker, accomplished author, and master mariner. Watson was one of the founding members and directors of Greenpeace. In 1977, he left Greenpeace and founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In 2022, he founded the Captain […] Read full article: Episode 170: Paul Watson Defending the Southern Ocean with Operation Krill Wars
Reba Elliott, Executive Director, Great Old Broads for Wilderness Reba has over a decade of experience in collaborating with grassroots leaders to protect our planet. Before coming to Broads, she most recently helped lead a faith-based environmental movement with over 700 member organizations and 19,000 certified volunteers around the globe. A native of Virginia, Reba […] Read full article: Episode 169: Reba Elliott On The Strategic Power of Older Women in Defense of Public Lands
Show Notes Sean Gerrity – Author of Wild on Purpose: The American Prairie Story and the Art of Thinking Bigger Sean Gerrity, founder and former CEO of American Prairie, discusses building the largest wildlife reserve in the lower 48 states — bigger than Yellowstone and Glacier Parks combined. He shares how an “interim CEO” role […] Read full article: Episode 168: American Prairie’s Sean Gerrity on the Art of Thinking Bigger to Rewild the Planet
Paul Lister, founder of the European Nature Trust and owner of Alladale Wilderness Reserve in Scotland, has spent 20 years restoring 23,000 acres through reforestation, peatland restoration, and deer management. He advocates for reducing meat consumption, addressing population growth, and redirecting wealth toward nature restoration, demonstrating through tourism and immersive experiences that rewilding degraded landscapes […] Read full article: Episode 167: Paul Lister on Rewilding Scotland’s Highlands at Alladale Wilderness Reserve
In this episode, we explore the front lines of coral reef rewilding with Sam Teicher, Co-Founder of Coral Vita. While coral reefs cover a mere fraction of the ocean floor, they are the essential architects of marine life, providing the structural foundation for a quarter of all species in the sea. We discuss the urgent […] Read full article: Episode 166: Coral Reef Restoration with Sam Teicher of Coral Vita
Episode summary Jack Humphrey interviews filmmaker Austin Alvarado about his work on the new Fin & Fur Films documentary “Borderlands Jaguar,” which documents jaguars at the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora, Mexico. Austin shares his journey from river guide in West Texas to wildlife cinematographer, detailing the intense dedication required for remote camera work – […] Read full article: Episode 165: Filming the Elusive El Tigre for “Borderlands Jaguar” with Austin Alvarado
About Valerie and Cuenca Los Ojos Valerie Gordon’s conservation work spans more than two decades focused on endangered species, water, rangeland, and wildlife habitat. Most notably, she spearheaded the transition of Cuenca Los Ojos, a family foundation started by her mother, Valer Clark, into a non-profit that promotes land restoration in the U.S. and Mexico. […] Read full article: Episode 164: Cuenca Los Ojos – A Rewilding Success Story Still Being Written
Dr. Carver is a Geographer and Professor at the University of Leeds. He has over 30 years of experience in GIS and multi-criteria evaluation, with special interests in wilderness, wildland, rewilding, landscape evaluation, and public participation. He has worked extensively on the development of methodologies for wildland mapping and assessment. He has tested and applied […] Read full article: Episode 163: Steve Carver On The Challenges Of Implementing Rewilding Goals Across Fragmented Geographic, Cultural, and Political Landscapes
Dave is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where from 1990-1999 he led the USFWS’s effort to reintroduce the endangered Mexican gray wolf to the American Southwest. His interests include the ecology and conservation of large carnivores, protection and conservation of biodiversity, and wildlands conservation at scales that fully support ecological and evolutionary […] Read full article: Episode 162: Inside Dave Parsons’ Battle to Bring Back El Lobo and the Decades of Carnivore Advocacy That Followed
About Danny Giovale Danny Giovale is the founder and president of Kahtoola, an outdoor equipment company he established in 1999. As a native of Flagstaff, Arizona, Giovale was deeply influenced by the area’s local community and environment, which fostered a strong sense of stewardship that guides his work. Kahtoola, which specializes in winter traction products, […] Read full article: Episode 161: Danny Giovale – The Vision to Innovate, The Passion to Rewild
Summary In this episode, Julius Purcell takes us into the heart of Spain’s Sierra Morena to explore the dramatic recovery of the Iberian Lynx, the world’s most endangered feline. We follow the story from near-extinction to a conservation success, meet the people behind the restoration project, and examine the complex relationship between rural communities, farmers, […] Read full article: Episode 160: Europe’s Big Three – Wolves, Bears, Lynx. Part 3: Spain’s Missing Lynx Makes A Cautionary Comeback
Episode Summary In this episode, Julius Purcell journeys deep into the Pyrenees to explore the dramatic story of brown bears—once nearly extinct in these mountains, now at the center of a fierce cultural and ecological debate. Through vivid field reporting, interviews with conservationists, shepherds, and locals, we trace the history of Pyrenean brown bear (Ursus […] Read full article: Episode 159: Europe’s Big Three – Wolves, Bears, Lynx. Part 2: The Brown Bear’s Rocky Return to the Pyrenees
Happy Wolf Awareness Week! Julius Purcell discovered his interest in audio while training as a journalist in the Middle East. He later worked as a deputy editor at National Geographic History magazine, a role that sparked his fascination with environmental history and rewilding. Julius’s audio series for the Rewilding Institute, “WOLF, BEAR, LYNX,” looks at […] Read full article: Episode 158: Europe’s Big Three – Wolves, Bears, Lynx. Part 1: The Wolf’s Uneasy Return to Germany
A biologist with a lifelong dedication to conservation, Sebastián Di Martino began his involvement with environmental organizations at the age of 13. He earned a degree in Biology in his native Argentina and a Master’s in Natural Protected Areas in Spain before working with the Directorate of Natural Protected Areas of the Province of Neuquén. […] Read full article: Episode 157: The Jaguar’s Path – Rewilding a Continental Corridor with Sebastian Di Martino
Trevor Ritland spent two years in the cloud forests of Costa Rica before returning to the United States to complete graduate work in documentary studies and science communication. His writing and video projects explore imperiled species, environmental mysteries, and ghost stories. Trevor lives with his wife and daughter (and their dog, Indiana Bones) in Flagstaff, […] Read full article: Episode 156: The Golden Toad – Hope, Loss, and the Power of Conservation Storytelling
Russ McSpadden works to protect public lands and the wildlife who call them home in Arizona and the rest of the Southwest. Before joining the Center in 2012, Russ engaged in grassroots environmental activism. He holds a master’s degree in environmental history from Florida Atlantic University. Show Notes In this episode of the Rewilding Earth […] Read full article: Episode 155: Jaguars, Justice, and the Border Wall – Stories from the Frontlines With Russ McSpadden
With a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town, Ryan Olinger is a wildlife biologist as well as an award-winning photographer and videographer. He has dedicated nearly a decade to studying a variety of species and the impact of climate change, with field experience spanning the American Southwest to Africa. Ryan’s […] Read full article: Episode 154: “The American Southwest” Elevates The Art of Storytelling In Wildlife Films
Renee Seacor is Mighty Earth’s Northeast Rewilding Director, where she oversees the campaign to reintroduce catamounts to the forests of the Northeast. Renee previously served as the Carnivore Conservation Director for Project Coyote, overseeing campaigns aimed at promoting coexistence with North America’s wild carnivore species. She has built a career in environmental advocacy, using litigation […] Read full article: Episode 153: Preparing For A Catamount Homecoming in the Northeast
Zafeer Ahmed Shaikh is an early-career conservationist from Southern Pakistan, mainly focused on initiatives dedicated to lesser-known wildlife species found in the country. He has a unique passion for the lesser-known wild cats of Pakistan. With the country’s tiger and lion populations gone, his focus shifted to the small, elusive species that still call Pakistan […] Read full article: Episode 152: Wild Cat Rewilding In Pakistan
Adam Weymouth is a writer and journalist whose work has been widely published, appearing in Granta, The Atlantic, The Observer, and the BBC. Adam’s features have covered subjects as diverse as illegal cedar logging in Malawi, the politics of oil in Alaska, migration in Greece, flooding in Wales, and depopulation on the Outer Hebrides. His […] Read full article: Episode 151: Tracing The Epic Journey Of Europe’s Most Famous Wolf With Adam Weymouth
The Superior Bio-Conservancy is an ambitious plan to protect and restore the biological integrity and hydrology of the Great Lakes Region and the Laurentian Forest Province throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The conservation plan will create maps and effectively advocate for the creation of protected wildlife corridors to connect large tracts of public (Federal, State […] Read full article: Episode 150: Democratizing Wildlife Management Data To Protect Biodiversity And Habitat In The Superior Bio-Preserve
Henry has a background in ecology and conservation with a strong focus on quantitative, data-driven science and practice. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology and nearly 15 years’ experience as a wildlife biologist and academic researcher. He is dedicated to gaining ground for prairie […] Read full article: Episode 149: Rewilding The American Serengeti With Henry Pollock from Southern Plains Land Trust
Bringing together a mix of comedy, ballads and love songs, Dana’s sharp wit and beautiful voice have him performing at concert halls, festivals, conventions, fundraisers and universities across the US and around the world. Dana’s music receives crossover radio play on country, rock, alternative, community, college and oldies radio stations worldwide. “Every movement has its […] Read full article: Episode 148: The Art of Finding Balance In Choppy Waters With Dana Lyons
With books like the bestselling “The World Without Us,” a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and translated into thirty-four languages, and “Countdown,” winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, environmental journalist Alan Weisman has established himself as one of the most prophetic voices on humanity’s relationship to the Earth. For his […] Read full article: Episode 147: Alan Weisman On His New Book “Hope Dies Last”
Randy Hayes has been described in the Wall Street Journal as “an environmental pit bull.” He is Executive Director of Foundation Earth, an organization fostering the big rethink from the ground up to help protect the planet’s life support systems. Hayes, a former filmmaker, then founder of Rainforest Action Network, is a veteran of many high-visibility corporate accountability campaigns […] Read full article: Episode 146: Randy Hayes’ Roadmap for an Ecological Civilization
Gregg founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 based on his passion for exploration, scientific discovery and galvanizing “the choir” to more directly participate in citizen science conservation. National Geographic named Gregg Treinish “Adventurer of the Year” in 2008 when he and a friend completed a 7,800-mile trek along the spine of the Andes mountain range, and […] Read full article: Episode 145: Calling All Citizen Scientists! How To Make A Big Impact On Your Next Adventure With Adventure Scientists
Cooper Freeman works to protect Alaska’s wildlife, lands and oceans. Before joining the Center for Biological Diversity, he worked with Alaskan Native Tribes and Tribal organizations as a strategic planning facilitator and policy advisor, was program manager and development director at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Northern California, and professionally guided class V […] Read full article: Episode 144 | Fighting Back: Alaska’s Stand Against Trump’s Environmental Blitzkrieg
Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar specializes in building resilience in diverse communities by enhancing the connections between people, culture, and natural resources. He brings vast experience on the multicultural border region between the US and Mexico, where he has implemented community-based approaches to watershed management, river restoration, geo-tourism, conservation of native peoples, and best practices for the ranching […] Read full article: Episode 143: Beavering Beyond Boundaries With Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar
Nadia Steinzor is an environmental consultant with 25 years of experience in policy analysis, research, writing, and communications. She has developed and managed projects to investigate the oil and gas industry’s impact on the climate and communities, secure governmental protections for air, water, land, and wildlife, and engage the public in advocacy efforts. Nadia works […] Read full article: Episode 142: Nadia Steinzor On Northeast Carnivore Recovery and Coexistence Through State Wildlife Agency Plans
Since 1979, Tom Biebighauser has enthusiastically restored wetlands, lakes, streams, and rivers. He has designed over 10,000 wetland projects and successfully supervised the construction of more than 3,000 wetlands and streams in 26 states, three Canadian provinces, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and Taiwan. He has a deep and long-standing concern for the environment and […] Read full article: Episode 141: Tom Biebighauser Gives A Wetland Rewilding Masterclass
Wade Crowfoot serves as California’s Natural Resources Secretary, leading efforts to conserve California’s environment and natural resources. He has served as Secretary since 2019 and advises Governor Newsom as a member of his cabinet. Secretary Crowfoot oversees an agency of over 25,000 employees spread across 26 departments, commissions, and conservancies. His agency is charged with stewarding […] Read full article: Episode 140: California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot On Beavers, Rewilding Rivers, and Wildlife Crossings
Welcome to our 2024 recap episode! This year, we’re doing something different. We’ve asked a group of our 2024 guests to come back and give updates on their work since their episodes aired. Thanks to our sponsor, Biohabitats, and to all the individual supporters of the Rewilding Earth Podcast and the Rewilding Institute! In this […] Read full article: Episode 139: Year-End Recap With 2024 Guest Updates
“It’s obvious to me that Japan [was] seeking revenge for the international humiliation caused by the Whale Wars TV series, reporting our actions against illegal whaling. But my two little boys need me more than Japan needs its revenge” – Paul Watson Special Episode: Finally released from Nuuk, Greenland prison, Paul Watson talks about Japan’s […] Read full article: Episode 138: No Surrender! Paul Watson Talks About His Latest Victory Over Japan and The Battles Ahead
About Paul Ehrlich Paul Ehrlich is the Bing Professor of Population Studies, Emeritus, and founder of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford. He has carried out field, laboratory, and theoretical research on the dynamics and genetics of insect populations, the evolutionary interactions of plants and herbivores, the behavioral ecology of birds and reef fishes, […] Read full article: Episode 137: Paul Ehrlich On Saving Nature’s Populations and Ourselves
Leon Kolankiewicz is Scientific Director of NumbersUSA and Vice-President of Scientists and Environmentalists for Population Stabilization. His career as a wildlife/fisheries biologist and environmental scientist spans more than 30 years, 40 states, and three countries. He has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department Fish and Game, Orange County (California) […] Read full article: Episode 136: How To Save Greater Yellowstone From Runaway Sprawl
Dr. Todd Bridges is a Professor of Practice in resilient and sustainable systems in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia. Prior to joining UGA in 2023, Bridges served for 17 years as the U.S. Army’s Senior Research Scientist (ST) for Environmental Science, one of 40 Senior Research Scientists in the Department of […] Read full article: Episode 135: Dr. Todd Bridges on Engineering with Nature
Before his and his wife Lucinda’s rewilding work on the Pitchfork Ranch over the last 20 years, A Thomas Cole spent thirty-two years as a small-town lawyer in Casa Grande, Arizona, successfully defended two death-penalty murder cases, a dozen homicide cases, co-counseled the largest jury verdict in Arizona history, Chaired the Casa Grande Town Hall, […] Read full article: Episode 134: Rewilding Pitchfork Ranch – On The Ground With AT Cole
“Whoever you are, wherever your interest lies, whatever you’ve fallen in love with, get out of bed every morning and do something. Act, step into the fray—fight for a human society in balance with the natural world.” —Kristine McDivitt Tompkins Kristine McDivitt Tompkins is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, an American conservationist, and […] Read full article: Episode 133 | Beyond National Parks: Kris Tompkins’ Ambitious Vision For Continental-Scale Rewilding
About Dr. Jessica Hardesty Norris is a biologist with over 20 years of experience in ecological planning and research, program development, strategic planning and community outreach for natural resource conservation. She has demonstrated success in proposal writing, partnership building, and project management. Her recent project work includes park planning for Charleston County and leading Biohabitats’ […] Read full article: Episode 132: Rewilding Our World – Big Ideas for Landscapes Large & Small
About Michael Kellett, the co-founder and Executive Director of RESTORE: The North Woods, has over 35 years of experience in the land conservation movement. In 1994, he wrote the first white paper proposing a 3.2 million-acre Maine Woods National Park & Preserve, and has been actively involved in efforts to restore the endangered wildlife such […] Read full article: Episode 131: The Growing Movement Toward 100 New US National Parks
About Emily Burns Emily joined the Sky Island Alliance in 2019 after practicing conservation science and restoration for nearly a decade in the redwood forests of California at Save the Redwoods League. She leads the team running all programs, including the Border Wildlife Study, the Trinational Internship Program, Sky Island FotoFauna, Spring Seeker, their stewardship […] Read full article: Episode 130: Conservation Challenges and Successes Amidst Increased Border Militarization In The Sky Islands
About As the United States Policy Director for Wildlands Network, Erin Sito researches, develops and promotes laws and policies geared towards supporting habitat connectivity and biodiversity at the local, state, and federal level. Erin’s work also focuses on state agency reform and funding, and outreach to promote Wildlands Network’s policy initiatives nationwide. Episode 129 Rewilding […] Read full article: Episode 129: Advancing Wildlife Connectivity with Erin Sito of Wildlands Network
About Eric Trefney grew up in Michigan in the metro-Detroit area, where he often camped and canoed with his family and friends. After finishing graduate school in 2015, Eric joined the Peace Corps, where he was assigned to Senegal, Africa, in the Sahel desert region. Eric practiced and trained in agroforestry techniques with local Senegalese […] Read full article: Episode 128: A Howl of Hope – Eric Trefney’s Inspiring Campaign to Protect the Critically Endangered Red Wolf
Ruskin Hartley champions equitable access to dark skies and quality lighting for all through DarkSky’s award-winning programs. He works closely with volunteer leaders and donors to secure increased support for our priorities around the world. Ruskin believes that experiencing a dark sky, and appreciating quality lighting, are essential to DarkSky’s mission. Before this position, Ruskin directed […] Read full article: Episode 127: How Rewilding The Night Skies Can Provide Major Benefits To Migratory Birds And Other Species
About Myles Traphagen coordinates Wildlands Network’s borderlands program, focusing on channeling collaborative efforts to maintain and restore habitat for species like jaguar, black bear, and Sonoran pronghorn. He oversees strategic partnerships, communications, and projects to advance large-landscape conservation goals in Mexico and the United States. Learn more about Myles here. Show Notes In this episode […] Read full article: Episode 126: Borderlands Connectivity – Conservation Challenges And Victories on the U.S.-Mexico Border
About With an academic background in landscape architecture and plant ecology, Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation as an intern in 1996 and today serves as its President and Executive Director. In this role, he headed the $7.5 million campaign to construct and endow the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center and served as the Executive […] Read full article: Episode 125: Reflections on The 75th Anniversary of ‘A Sand County Almanac’ and the 100th Anniversary of the Gila Wilderness with Buddy Huffaker
About Rowan Kilduff is a dad, long-time mountain, hawk & wildlife enthusiast, poet, and activist-artist. He has worked on various projects, including with Greenpeace, hands-on forest conservation in the Czech Republic, fixing a roof in Nepal, and photos used by The Irish Seal Sanctuary. His first writing about rewilding and first poems were published in Rewilding […] Read full article: Episode 124: Rowan Kilduff On The Poetry Of Coexistence
About Today’s Guests George Wuerthner (President, Sage Steppe Wild) – George is a professional photographer, writer, and ecologist. He has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 400 wilderness areas, more than 200 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi. George is the author of 38 books on […] Read full article: Episode 123: Who Pays for Conservation, Being the Lorax, and Introducing A New Voice For Western Lands Conservation
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 […] Read full article: Episode 122: Seeds of Hope in the Land of the Jaguar – Rejuvenating Habitat in Sonora Mexico
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 […] Read full article: Episode 121: Beyond Borders – Jaguar Recovery In The United States
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 […] Read full article: Episode 120: Carnivore Conservation in the Pacific Northwest With Paula MacKay and Robert Long
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 […] Read full article: Episode 119: The Art Of Rewilding With Lauren Strohacker
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 […] Read full article: Episode 118: Keith Bowers Shows How Giving Nature A Seat At The Table Is Just Good Business
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 […] Read full article: Episode 117: Learning About The Vital Importance Of The Springs of the Southwest with Christina Selby
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 […] Read full article: Episode 116: A Lifetime of Advocacy for the Protection and Restoration America’s Wild Northeastern Forests
About Duncan is the Founder and Managing Director of Journeys With Purpose. Journeys With Purpose is a member of 1% for the Planet, The Long Run, and a Certified B Corp, and as B Corp’s highest-scoring travel company it’s been awarded “Best for the World: Environment 2022”. Our Vision is for A World Where All Life Thrives. Duncan passionately believes in […] Read full article: Episode 115: Spreading Rewilding Awareness And Advocacy Via Journeys With Purpose
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 […] Read full article: Episode 114: Rachel Conn On Re-Watering, Re-Ottering, and Rewilding Watersheds In New Mexico
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 […] Read full article: Episode 113: A Fascinating Talk With Peter Alagona About Grizzlies And Their Future Return To California
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 […]
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 […] Read full article: Episode 111: Combat Vet Jon Rezendes on Large Carnivore Coexistence and a Habitat Protection Victory in El Paso’s Franklin Mountains
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 […] Read full article: Episode 110: Deploying Nature-Based Water Solutions – The Future Of Water Use In The Southwest
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 […] Read full article: Episode 109: Rewilding Anywhere At Any Scale Relies Greatly On How We Restore And Reimagine Our Urban Environments
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 […] Read full article: Episode 108: Kelly Borgman on Rewilding the Enormous Mississippi River Watershed
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 […] Read full article: Episode 107: Toward An Executive Order Protecting Beaver on Federally Managed Public Lands
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 […] Read full article: Episode 106: On Humanity’s Evolution To An Ecocentric View of Nature’s Value
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 […] Read full article: Episode 105: Changing The Future Of Wildlife Management On Public Lands
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 […] Read full article: Episode 104: Bill Ryerson On A Novel Approach To Population Education That Actually Works
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 […] Read full article: Episode 103: On The Construction Side Of Restoration Ecology With Matt Koozer
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 […] Read full article: Episode 102: What We Learned In 2022 – The Rewilding Earth Podcast Year In Review
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 […] Read full article: Episode 101: A Philosophical Chat About Original Rewilding And It’s Different Uses Around the World with Kate McFarland
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 […] Read full article: Episode 99: Stephen Pyne On Humanity’s Evolving Relationship With Fire
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 […] Read full article: Episode 98: The Story Of Fire and Ecological Restoration with Deborah Landau
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 […] Read full article: Episode 97: On Re-watering The West With Beavers And Decommissioning Forest Service Roads With Ben Goldfarb
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 […] Read full article: Episode 96: Saying Goodbye To Dave Foreman And Keeping His Fight For Nature Alive
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 […] Read full article: Episode 95: Liz Hillard On Wildlife Connectivity In The Pigeon River Gorge – Interstate 40 corridor
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 […] Read full article: Episode 94: George Wuerthner On The Proposed Western Rewilding Network
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 […] Read full article: Episode 93: An Eye-Opening Discussion On Practical Solutions To Human Overpopulation
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 […] Read full article: Episode 92: Wrestling Wildlife Governance Reform From The Tight Grip Of The Hunting, Fishing, and Gun Industries
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 […] Read full article: Episode 91: Renee Seacor Advocates For Mexican Wolves To Infinity and Beyond I-40!
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 […] Read full article: Episode 90: Bethanie Walder On The Importance Of Ecological Restoration At All Scales
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 […] Read full article: Episode 89: Francisco Santiago-Avila On Rewilding And Coexistence In The Heartland
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 […] Read full article: Episode 88: Cara Nelson On The United Nations Decade On Ecosystem Restoration
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 […] Read full article: Episode 87: Lessons From Alaska – Winning The Conservation Battles Ahead While Keeping Your Fire Alive With Brad Meiklejohn
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 […] Read full article: Episode 86: Rewilding The Great Plains – America’s Serengeti
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 […] Read full article: Episode 85: Chad Hanson – Time To Fully Protect Our Public Forests From Commercial Logging
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 […] Read full article: Episode 84: John Davis Introduces the Mogollon Wildlife Corridor Campaign
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 […] Read full article: Episode 83: Rewilding The Mississippi River Watershed with Kelly Borgmann
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 […] Read full article: Episode 82: The Science Of Reintroducing Important Species To An Indiana Tallgrass Prairie with Zach Finn
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 […] Read full article: Episode 81: Proposed Solution To State Wildlife Mismanagement With Rick Steiner
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 […] Read full article: Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 80: Ignacio Jimenez on Institutional Ecology and Rewilding Spain
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. […] Read full article: Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 79: Dam Removal and River Restoration with Laura Wildman
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 […] Read full article: Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 78: Iowa Rewilding and Big River Connectivity With Mark Edwards
About Dennis
A nationally recognized expert in science education, Dennis directed the production of educational media at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for 20 years before joining the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation in 2019 as Vice President of Education. He works with scientists, educators, graphic designers, animators, filmmakers, and students to design experiences to have lasting impact on learners. The Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador Program aims to build a high impact community of educators devoted to infusing biodiversity and conservation thinking across the curriculum. Dennis has a particular passion for meeting audiences where they are to pull them into science thinking and has been an advisor on numerous museum exhibits and community science programs. He studied zoology at the University of Wisconsin, earned a Ph.D. from University of Oregon, and was faculty at the University of Washington.
Topics
- Challenges and opportunities in enriching conservation education in America and beyond
- Working with teachers to provide conservation education in an "industrial education" system
- Rewilding the Heartland: engaging and captivating the minds of the next generation in farming towns throughout the upper Mississippi watershed
- What does Half-Earth mean in places like Iowa from a farming community kid's perspective?
Extra Credit
Check out the Half-Earth Map to see the three critical types of information we need to start making the most effective conservation decisions. The map is for policy makers, conservation managers, educators, students, and anyone who’s curious about our world. Besides giving us a view of the state of biodiversity at home and across the world, mapping digital data is a critical new skill for students.
This article from Psychology Today frames the importance of Biodiversity and Conservation themes in education
This partial list of Half-Earth Project educational resources shows examples of some of the material that teachers are discussing and using with their students as part of the Half-Earth Educator Ambassador community. We offer in-depth lesson sequences such as the Half-Earth Map Design Challenge, but also NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
This major new multi-lesson unit guides students in their own biodiversity inquiries using some of the best digital resources available and focuses on hummingbirds because they are familiar, beautiful, and diverse.
This recent blogpost shows how we organize our educational materials by themes that can be refreshed and updated continuously. Here, we emphasize videos that introduce teachers and students to the amazing biodiversity in Alabama, the environmentally challenged home state of E.O. Wilson.
Everyone is welcome, but we particularly hope for educators to sign up to be a Half-Earth Project Ambassador. You can become as involved as works best for you. At the very least, keep up with us by getting our mostly bi-monthly newsletter.
Half-Earth Facebook group
Consider taking the Half-Earth Pledge
Visit the Foundation website to learn more about biodiversity and the ideas of E.O. Wilson.
About Dennis
About Dr. Kinka
Dr. Daniel Kinka is American Prairie Reserve's Wildlife Restoration Manager. His primary responsibilities include restoring and monitoring wildlife on the Reserve and managing the wildlife-friendly ranching program "Wild Sky." He also acts as a liaison to scientists conducting research at American Prairie, other non-governmental organizations, agencies, and other external entities. He joined American Prairie in 2018, shortly after completing his doctoral degree in ecology at Utah State University. In graduate school, he studied the use of livestock guardian dogs to promote coexistence between large North American carnivores and ranchers. Originally from Florida and the Washington DC area, Daniel has enjoyed living “out west” since 2010. In addition to restoration ecology and applied science, Daniel harbors a deep passion for science communication, having worked as a science reporter for Utah Public Radio, publishing in High Country News, and serving as a National Geographic Society Fellow.
Topics
- What is the American Prairie Reserve?
- Scope of the project (current size and planned)
- Wildlands restoration on the Northern Great Plains
- Wildlife of the American Prairie Reserve
- Working on a human landscape to restore and protect wild nature
Extra Credit
Visit: American Prairie Reserve
Article: Tribes Begin Five-Year Swift Fox Reintroduction at Fort Belknap
Watch: "This Is American Prairie Reserve"
About
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance's Terri Martin, Intermountain West Organizer, Clayton Daughenbaugh, Organizing Director & Midwest Field Organizer, and Rewilding's Wildlands Coordinator Kim Crumbo discuss the opportunity to make a huge impact in the 30×30 effort by finally passing America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
New peer reviewed research shows that America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change. Protecting these wild landscapes would keep a significant amount of fossil fuels in the ground, accounting for 5.7 percent of the carbon mitigation needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, scientists estimate that the lands proposed for protection currently sequester and store 247 million metric tons of organic carbon in plants and soils. Designating these lands as wilderness would even help preserve flows in the Colorado River (the lifeblood of the arid Southwest) by preventing surface-disturbing activities that cause windborne dust to coat Colorado snowpack, melting it faster and earlier.
All lands proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act are owned by the American public and administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bill is supported by SUWA, Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wasatch Mountain Club, and more than 200 other national and regional conservation organizations belonging to the Utah Wilderness Coalition.
Topics
- Mitigating climate crisis by protecting lands and keeping fossil fuels in Southern Utah in the ground
- The impact that such a large wilderness bill can have on 30×30 and protecting biodiversity in North America
- What you can do to ensure the passage of America's Red Rock Wilderness Act
Extra Credit
Take action and let your congressperson know how important America's Red Rock Wilderness Act is to you!
Read: America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act: Moving America Closer to 30×30 and Enhancing Wildlife Connectivity
About
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance's Terri Martin, Intermountain West Organizer, Clayton Daughenbaugh, Organizing Director & Midwest Field Organizer, and Rewilding's Wildlands Coordinator Kim Crumbo discuss the opportunity to make a huge impact in the 30×30 effort by finally passing America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
New peer reviewed research shows that America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change. Protecting these wild landscapes would keep a significant amount of fossil fuels in the ground, accounting for 5.7 percent of the carbon mitigation needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, scientists estimate that the lands proposed for protection currently sequester and store 247 million metric tons of organic carbon in plants and soils. Designating these lands as wilderness would even help preserve flows in the Colorado River (the lifeblood of the arid Southwest) by preventing surface-disturbing activities that cause windborne dust to coat Colorado snowpack, melting it faster and earlier.
All lands proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act are owned by the American public and administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bill is supported by SUWA, Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wasatch Mountain Club, and more than 200 other national and regional conservation organizations belonging to the Utah Wilderness Coalition.
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 ...
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.
JUST – Just is a nutrition label for socially just and equitable organizations.
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?
- 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: "An Activist Life" by Christine Milne
Watch: 1971 – A Last Look At Lake Pedder Before Flooding
Rewilding Tasmania's 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: "An Activist Life" by Christine Milne
Watch: 1971 – A Last Look At Lake Pedder Before Flooding
Rewilding Tasmania's 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 "Overpopulation A Real Concern" Daily Lobo, Nov. 1988
About
Leon Kolankiewicz is scientific director of NumbersUSA and vice-president of
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
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
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
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
"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 we call them) of Great Old Broads, covers the region of NW Oregon and SW Washingt...
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
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
"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
- Read the book "A Planet of 3 Billion"
- Visit American Geographical Society
"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
- Read the book "A Planet of 3 Billion"
- Visit American Geographical Society
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, and a Ph.D.
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
- Counterculture, beat generation,
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