The Eyes on Conservation Podcast: Recent Episodes
Wild Lens
The Eyes on Conservation Podcast is a weekly interview series featuring conversations with top experts in the fields of conservation, wildlife and environmental justice.
Environmentalism and its sister message of conservation have echoed throughout the ages. The love, fascination, and sublime fear of nature have been as much a part of humankind as any book or historical document can recall. But, it doesn’t mean that we’ve always understood our duty to it, or even been able to comprehend our capacity to permanently change it. In fact, despite our affinity to the outdoors, our respect of Mother Earth has often come second to our ability to dominate it. "A Sense of Wonder" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isoJxPZH1LQ (Here, writer and actress Kaiulani Lee portrays Rachel Carson in the biographical play, “A Sense of Wonder”. The play has been touring the world for nearly a quarter of a century.) RACHEL CARSON SILENT SPRING https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3jAQBqb38 (Taken from American Experience on PBS) 6th Great Mass Extinction https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=cmb5hn2X2ok (From video, produced of Stanford Biology Professor, Paul Ehrlich. Credit: Rob Jordan) What is Climate Change? https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/ipcc-report-climate-change-impacts-forests-emissions/ (From National Geographic, October, 2018) Greta Thurnberg, United Nations, Poland https://www.democracynow.org/2018/12/13/you_are_stealing_our_future_greta (15 year old Greta Thurnberg addresses the United Nations on taking effective action on Climate Change) This has been a production of the Eyes on Conservation podcast, brought to you by Wild Lens. To visit the show notes for this episode and to see a whole host of amazing stories and incredible adventures, start now at www.wildlensinc.org/eoc172. Show intro and outro music by the humidors. Show music by The Humidors. Additional music from Lobo Loco provided by the Freemusicarchive.org under Creative Commons licensing. For a full list of clips and show notes – head over to the website.
Today we are going to learn about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a piece of legislation that the Trump administration is attempting to dismantle 100 years after it was passed. We are presenting for you in today's episode a presentation given by the Chief Network Officer of the National Audubon Society, David Ringer. David highlights the key role played by the Audubon Society in the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 100 years ago, and discusses how Audubon is currently working to ensure that this and other important protections for birds and our environment are maintained. David gave this presentation back in November of 2018 as Audubon was winding down it’s celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act - but this message remains equally critical now, at the start of the new year. While our current political situation can be downright depressing, it’s important to remember that we do have options for making our voices heard.
Kristy Oriol and Paul Bancroft recently co-authored an article on the surprising and unsettling link between climate change and violence against women and their words serve as some of the earliest discussions surrounding this important topic. Oriol and Bancroft work to provide victims of domestic and sexual violence and child abuse with safety, advocacy, support and education services through the non-profit, the Tahoe Safe Alliance. Learn how increasing knowledge of these connections could simultaneously work to dismantle rape culture and remedy the climate crisis.
Most endangered species are easy to see in peril. There simply aren’t very many of them, and we struggle to see them in the areas where they’re from. Others aren’t so clear. Take, for example, the black-tailed prairie dog. It seems like they’re everywhere, and yet, their numbers are some of the lowest they’ve every been. This isn’t just bad news for the prairie dog. It’s bad news for animals like the black footed ferret, and a whole host of other animals who either feed on prairie dogs or rely on their burrows for shelter. Meet Deanna Meyer, the Executive Director of Prairie Protection Colorado, the group working to relocate prairie dogs from certain eradication in places like the City of Castle Rock’s Promenade Shopping Mall in Colorado. While only a fraction of these animals were able to be saved by Deanna and her team, the ones that did make it to the relocation area just outside of Sedalia have no idea how lucky they are. And maybe we don't either. Find out more about Deanna and the whole team of Prairie Protection Colorado at prairieprotectioncolorado.org and prairieprotectioncolorado@gmail.com. Show music by The Humidors. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions via Creative Commons Licensing.
On today’s episode of the show, we are taking you to Sun Valley Idaho where we’ll sit in on a panel discussion featuring the voices of both local and global innovators on the topic of resiliency, innovation and opportunity in the face of climate change. Aimee Christensen is the executive director of Sun Valley Institute for Resilience and lead’s today’s panel discussion. The theme of the discussion revolves around turning risks into opportunities and how economics, policy and natural resources fair in the face of climate change. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently releasing their special report on the effects of a 1.5 degree global temperature increase, and the very real and very urgent implications of those findings, these discussions on mitigating and adjusting our approaches to climate change in these dire times is more timely than ever. To learn more information about Sun Valley Institute or about the Sun Valley Forum on Resilience, visit: sunvalleyinstitute.org.
Bill Ulfelder is the New York Executive Director for the Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy is known throughout the world for purchasing, managing and conserving land to protect and improve wildlife habitat, but in recent decades the focus of the organization has shifted towards finding solutions to the big environmental challenges of our time. No challenge is bigger than that posed by climate change, and Bill sat down with EOC contributor Emma Tyrell to discuss how the Nature Conservancy is approaching this enormous challenge in light of the recently released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
When it comes to fracking regulations on the ballot, there are likely fewer places more concerned than Weld county, Colorado, where I live. Weld county has a lot invested in the outcome, because nearly 12% of its workers are somehow either directly or indirectly tied to its production. Proposition 112 made it on the ballot because for many the debate over how safe this process actually is and how dangerous the wastewater byproduct can be has not been adequately dealt with. While the fight for Proposition 112 in 2018 ended in defeat for organizers, supporters treat the loss like another major milestone in the path to victory. So what would the legislation actually do? Proposed guidelines set by Proposition 112 would create a “setback” for all new oil and gas development a minimum of 2500 feet away from any “vulnerable” area such as homes, hospitals, schools, and highly trafficked or used areas by people. This would include public open spaces, water sources, or playgrounds. Any other areas deemed vulnerable by state or local governments would be added to the list. It would not affect any new oil and gas projects on federal land, and existing projects would be exempt. However, re-entering old wells would be considered new development and would therefore be subject to the new laws. Current restrictions demand wells be 1,000 feet away from high-occupancy buildings: schools, hospitals, and the like. 500 feet away from occupied buildings like homes, and only 350 feet away from playgrounds. I followed Anne Lee Foster, ballot initiative proponent and CO Rising volunteer, from the “yes” campaign’s office to election night to find out what this means for the future of oil and gas in Colorado. Show music by the Humidors. Additional music by Gillicuddy and Scott Holmes via the Free Music Archive through Creative Commons Licensing, and 112 through Fair Use. https://corising.org/ https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoRising/
Today, we're taking you to a remote island off the coast of Alaska, just above the Aleutian Islands and not too far from Russia. Among the bellows of the fur seals and windswept sea cliffs of St. Paul Island, Aquilina Lestenkof, an indigenous Unangan woman and pioneer for her community in revitalizing the Unangan language, is teaching a new generation of youth about where their people have come from, and how far they still have to go in order to protect what she calls the "ingredients" that make up her community and culture.
Earlier this year, I got an email from a listener that stood out. It read, Listening to your podcast in college help me realize I wanted to get into filmmaking rather than field biology because I agree SO much with your viewpoints and the reasons you got into wildlife filmmaking. Holy shit! I thought. We had altered the course of someone’s life with this podcast! His name is Zach Steinhauser, and he had already begun working on his first film by the time he reached out with that email. I responded right away to set up a conversation - there was a sense of responsibility that I had never felt before - I wanted to help ensure that Zach’s project was successful. Now I’ve fielded many calls like this from aspiring filmmakers, but this one was different, and not just because Zach was crediting this podcast as his inspiration. Zach reached out at a time when we were re-assessing the strategic plan for our organization, Wild Lens. You may have heard about this on the episode we released a few months back - episode 153. In a nutshell - we had decided to re-structure the organization as a collective, and to place a heavier focus on creating a network of collaboration and support for people working at the intersection of conservation and media arts. Zach was exactly the type of person we wanted to help - so I asked if I could record our conversation for an episode of the show. Zach's film is about a topic if particular interest to me - purple martin conservation. Purple martins are cavity nesters, like the subjects of my film Bluebird Man, but unlike bluebirds they are completely reliant on man made nesting boxes for their survival throughout most of their range. Zach seeks to explore this relationship between humans and the purple martin in his new film, Purple Haze.
“She was looking for another member of her own kind, and there was never a response.” Meet Mike Phillips, co-founder and Executive Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund and co-founder and adviser to the Turner Biodiversity Division. Mike knows wolves. His work with them began in the 80s where his big break coordinating the Red Wolf Recovery Program. In 1994 he became Project Leader for Yellowstone’s Gray Wolf Restoration. Mike is also an adviser to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project. Oh, and he’s a Montana State Senator While Mike’s experience is rich and impressive, his way of speaking is humble and accessible. Listen to hear how Mike Phillips defines success and appeals to our better senses to embrace our inner ecological senses. Learn more about the work Mike and his colleagues are doing to save endangered species at www.tesf.org and visit the website www.rockymountainwolfproject.org. You can email Mike at Mike.Phillips@tedturner.com.
The chambered nautilus is the only living descendant of a group of ocean creatures that thrived in the seas 500 million years ago when the earth’s continents were still forming. Older than the dinosaurs, these deep sea dwellers are often referred to as the oldest living fossils. But, after withstanding countless challenges, they are being sought after for their beauty and dwindling toward extinction. A young activist and several curious scientists traveled to Fiji recently on an expedition to learn more about this ancient animal and how to save it. Gianna Savoie traveled with them to capture some of the story of this threatened ancient animal and the work being done to rescue it. I spoke with this filmmaker and founder of Ocean Media Institute, a non-profit conservation organization based in Bozeman, MT, to learn more about their adventure and her work as a science storyteller on behalf of the ocean.
Today on the show we are going to learn about how one city is taking responsibility for the trash that it produces, and setting a global example for how to stop plastic waste from entering our oceans. That city is Baltimore, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to chat with one of the key figures behind Baltimore’s campaign to clean up their waterways - Adam Lindquist. Adam works for the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore where he serves as the director of the Healthy Harbor Initiative. Listen in to the episode to learn how Adam and others are using Mr. Trash Wheel, and a variety of other initiatives to clean up Baltimore's harbor and improve the lives of those who live in the city.
On today’s episode of the show, I interview a woman who has inspired me and many people like me to embrace themselves in outdoor spaces and find community even when its not always easy. Her name is Rue Mapp, and she is the CEO and founder of Outdoor Afro, a not-for-profit organization founded in Oakland, California that is at the forefront of celebrating and inspiring African American connections in nature. Outdoor Afro represents a network across 30 states, challenging and changing representation in the outdoors and connecting thousands of people to outdoor experiences.
Last week I took a trip. In the Rocky Mountains, Northwest of Fort Collins, Colorado, just past Bellvue. I wasn’t very equipped. Welcome to Eyes on Conservation. I’m Gregory Haddock. Today you will hear part 1 of a 2-part series on protecting and conserving wolves and their legacy in the Rocky Mountains. W.O.L.F Sanctuary is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and rescuing as many of the large number of wolves and wolf-dogs raised in captivity. These animals were saved from a larger pool of exotic animals in the United States - either given up or euthanized. Michelle Proulx has worked with the W.O.L.F. (Wolves Offered Life and Friendship) Sanctuary most of her adult life. Other than being a hero to animals that would otherwise be headed for much tragic endings, Michelle and the others at the sanctuary consider themselves first and foremost educators. For more information on Michelle and the work she and the rest of the team at W.O.L.F. Sanctuary are doing – you can check out their website and great resources at www.wolfsanctuary.net. You can find out more about the show on the show note’s page at Wildlensinc.org/eoc159. Stay tuned for part II of this story when I speak with Mike Phillips, Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund, former Field Coordinator for the Red Wolf Recovery Program and former Project Leader of Greater Yellowstone’s gray wolf restoration project. Show music is brought to you by The Humidors. If you liked today’s episode, please consider checking out The Majority Villain Podcast – a podcast I host and produce – dedicated to democratizing the planet politically and ecologically. Thanks for listening today to Eyes on Conservation.
For her feature-length film, Sea of Life, the ever-talented Julia Barnes interviewed scientists and activists working to save the ocean and shared an interview with Callum Roberts with Eyes on Conservation. Callum is a marine conservationist, oceanographer, author and researcher based at York University. Julia spoke with Callum about human impacts on the ocean, going back through the history of fishing and looking towards the future of ocean conservation.
Today’s episode is about drones. I spoke with the founders of an organization called Oceans Unmanned about how they are using drones to assist in conducting biological research, as well as how they are working to reduce wildlife disturbance from drones.
To have or not to have children, that is a most vexing question and one I wrestled with personally during my 30s. A career in conservation and, in particular, being steeped in issues of climate change, firmly planted me on the fence on the issue. After all, how could I bring a life into this doomed world? At the same time, I witnessed nature’s resilience first-hand, opening the possibility of hope for the future, so maybe a new life could thrive and contribute to making the world an even better place. Then I hit 40 and was quietly relieved that nature had made the decision for me and that answer was: “No.” That is until it wasn’t anymore. I have no idea what changed, but suddenly my husband and I were expecting. And my world flipped. Matt Podolsky and I chatted about this flip and the curious business of having and raising a conscientious child that makes a positive contribution to the world and how finding answers to these questions lead to the idea for a new podcast.
Today we are welcoming back our guest from episode 92 of the show - Nate Dappen. Nate is a filmmaker focused on telling stories about science and conservation, and he has a new film, just released this week, called “the Passage”.
The Passage is a bit of a departure from Nate’s typical storytelling style - it’s a deeply personal story focused on the importance of family and explores what it’s like for him to watch his parents age.
Summer is often cited as a favorite season, what with long days and favorable weather for outdoor adventures. Living in Montana, however, Summer has gotten shortened by a new, worrisome season: Fire. Months of smoke-filled skies, waking up to a layer of particulate matter covering everything and a worry that seeps into every cell of my being makes it easily my least favorite time of the year. When the impacts of climate change are at my doorstep, the need to get nature on a better trajectory becomes urgent. Rather than utilizing great scientific minds to argue over whether what we all are experiencing in increasingly devastating examples is indeed reality, I have long been a proponent of developing solutions to strengthen ecosystems. This starts with scientists, land managers and advocates working together. I spoke with Jeff Burrell, the recently retired Northern Rockies Program Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society, about the role of science in the long-term preservation of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in light of climate change. He beautifully articulates why using the best available science to choose how and where on-the-ground efforts are most effective has the greatest capacity to build climate change resilience at a landscape-scale.
Today, we take you for a tour of the inside of Wild Lens as the organization starts the difficult process of transforming, growing and differentiating. Following a weekend retreat with collaborators and contributors to the work of Wild Lens, I spoke with Matt Podolsky and Sean Bogle about this process, what it has looked like, how it feels and the circumstances leading up to their recognition for the organization’s need to undergo a metamorphosis. The music for today’s show was recorded live at the retreat and is the talented Greg Willis, who not only provided wisdom and insight that will inform this next iteration of Wild Lens, but contributes his art to the Wild Lens collective that is beginning to form and is mentioned throughout today’s show. Sean kicks this discussion off with an overview of how Wild Lens has grown. Have a listen!
If you’re like me, you are a total sucker for story. The kind that make me lean-in, as if my ears closer to the speaker could possibly offer more, is my favorite. I’ve come to learn that this is, in fact, a nearly universal human trait, emerging spontaneously in childhood, and existing in all cultures studied thus far. Humans have been telling stories for thousands of years, sharing them orally even before the invention of writing. They allow people to see patterns where there is chaos, meaning where there is randomness. Humans are inclined to see narratives where there are none because it can afford meaning to our lives—taking on a form of existential problem-solving. As Spring begins to hint of Summer and outdoor adventures start filling up my calendar, it feels like the season of storytelling; shared on the trail, around the campfire, over beers after some epic Type II fun. Amid all of it, I ache for ways to take more people with me to these places, to engage them in these experiences, to awaken a passion in them for the preservation and protection of nature. When Matt Podolsky interviewed Fitz Cahall, well-known outdoor adventure storyteller, I left the show filled with inspiration on doing just this. In honor of this seasonal transition, I wanted to re-broadcast this show on the off-chance it may prove equally inspirational for others.
Over the past decade, carbon offsetting has become increasingly popular, but it has also become increasingly controversial. While some argue that carbon offset programs allow people to feel absolved of their carbon consuming sins without genuinely changing behaviors, which may very well be true in some instances, we here at the Eyes on Conservation Podcast as part of the larger Wild Lens crew all work to be active participants in a sustainable future. As all of us at Wild Lens prepare to gather from all across the country to discuss the future direction of the organization, we will be participating in a carbon offset program to make this a more sustainable venture. But, as we began researching the options, it was difficult to figure out which programs were genuinely effective. That is, until we discovered ECO2. ECO2 works in Kenya and offers carbon offsets that pay for several programs, including locally produced efficient stoves that reduce wood consumption and help to preserve the unique vegetation and biodiversity of the Kakamega rainforest. These stoves have a cleaner burning process, decreasing indoor air pollution and associated acute respiratory infections in women and children. Moreover, savings in burning unsustainably harvested fuel wood cuts down CO2 emissions. Matt Podolsky spoke with Anton Espira, a founder and principle of ECO2 and Solibrium, that has been overseeing this inspiring project that Wild Lens is excited to contribute to.
As many know, the March for Science is a grassroots, all volunteer-organized event, celebrating science across the nation and it serves as a call to support and safeguard the scientific community. Recent policy suggestions and changes have caused heightened worry among scientists, and the incredible and immediate outpouring of support has made clear that these concerns are also shared by countless people around the world. If you missed one of these recent events near you, but were curious what it’s all about, the fabulous folks from the Majority Villain podcast attended the March for Science-Denver and shared their episode with us to bring to listeners of Eyes on Conservation.
When he launched Conservation International in 1987, Peter Seligmann recognized that the conservation movement had yet to genuinely consider people as an integral part of ecosystems. Along with his team their thinking was on jobs and health and the health of a family, the health of the community and how these are all impacted by the conservation of nature. This seemingly intuitive approach was novel, innovative. They went further to generate science and ideas that were pragmatic, applicable and inclusive and utilizing this to guide decision making. Through hard work, passion, compassion and an openness to learning from mistakes, a strong, highly accomplished organization flourished and continues to today. After 30 years as the CEO, he recently stepped down from that role and handed the reins to a new generation of leaders, remaining on as chairman and exploring new endeavors. Producer Matt Podolsky spoke with Peter about his story, the challenges of being an innovative leader and the phenomenal work of CI during his tenure and moving forward.
Hurricane Maria was the worst storm to hit Puerto Rico in over 80 years, arriving only two weeks after Hurricane Irma passed just north of the island. The effects of these storms on Puerto Rican families — and the island’s infrastructure — will take many years to heal. The effect on the wildlife inhabiting this island was also, not surprisingly, equally devastated. When the Peregrine Fund’s team of biologists surveyed the population of Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned Hawks in 2017, they found 75 birds comprising 16 breeding pairs in four locations on the island. Following hurricanes Irma and Maria, the population was down to just 19 individual birds. Nearly 75 percent of the subspecies was lost. Matt Podolsky sat down with Russel Thurstrom at the Peregrine Fund to learn more about this discovery and the actions being taken to prevent this species from blinking out.
Making a documentary involves learning a lot of information and then condensing it into a very short format. For Sea of Life Julia Barnes, filmmaker and ocean activist, interviewed over 50 experts and only about 20 of them were featured in the movie; sometimes only for a few minutes. With a depth of information sitting on her hard drives, today she shares with listeners some never before heard clips from an interview with Tom Campbell. Tom Campbell is an underwater filmmaker who has witnessed big changes in the ocean over his lifetime.
At 16 years old, Julia Barnes learned that the world's coral reefs, rainforests and fisheries are expected to disappear within her lifetime. For her, action became a necessity and the journey to make a feature-length film to inspire and engage others in these issues began. She bought a couple of cameras, learned to dive, and set out on a mission to expose the biggest threats facing the ocean. After 3 years of exploration of these issues, she released Sea of Life: an extraordinarily beautiful film with a powerful message. I spoke with Julia about the ideas behind her work and discovered an awe-inspiring person with passion and grit fighting for the living world.
Technical outdoor gear can make all the difference in the world when you are traveling in wild places and enduring whatever weather nature tosses out. But, the trade-off is too often, ironically, a negative environmental impact with an excess of non-biodegradable pieces sitting in the land-fill. The outdoor apparel industry, with their history of championing environmental conservation efforts can serve as an industry leader in creating truly sustainable products. As consumers, we can do our part by prolonging the life of our trusty technical garments and repair these rather than replace them. Colleen Tretter, also known as The Green Darner, does just this for the environmentally conscious outdoor junkies of Bozeman, Montana. I stopped into the shop and spoke with Colleen about how she got her start and any ethical shifts she’s seeing in consumer and brand behavior.
Greg Luther is an avid hunter, living in Montana. As a sportsmen and a gun owner, he supports stricter gun control. In a recent op-ed piece published in High Country News, Luther stated: We hunters pride ourselves on self-sufficiency, so let’s work from the ground up. That means looking at the facts, talking about it around the campfire, voting for candidates that aren’t in the NRA’s pocket, and donating dollars to organizations that help protect the things that actually are under threat — like our public lands. Matt Podolsky caught up with Greg Luther to discuss the inspiration behind this powerful piece.
Matt podolsky and Sean Bogle are down in San Felipe filming another installment of the Vaquita story. They take you to the marina, sharing a snippet of the scene at the and provide updates on the project. We'll add updates to the diary as they become available, so stay tuned for more installments.
Hunters have historically been leading conservation efforts, going back to Teddy Roosevelt, who was himself an avid hunter and huge proponent of the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat. This merger of hunting and conservation persists today. Matt Podolsky spoke with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Chief Conservation Officer Blake Henning about the organizations efforts to maintain the North American Wildlife Conservation Model, recognizing that fish and wildlife belong to all Americans, and that they need to be managed in a way such that their populations will be sustained in perpetuity.
Matt Podolsky and Sean Bogle are down in Mexico filming another installment of the Vaquita story and want to take listeners with them to hear what's happening in San Felipe in real time. And, a lot is happening. In this first entry, Matt and Sean tell you more about what they anticipate is in store for this adventure. We'll add updates to the diary as they become available, so stay tuned for more installments.
Lily Raff McCaulou was raised on the East coast as an environmentalist and an animal lover. Although she was a meat-eater, she’d grown up learning that harming animals was wrong. After moving to central Oregon for a reporting job in her early twenties, she began spending weekends fly-fishing and weekdays interviewing hunters for articles and realizing her perception of hunters wasn’t accurate. She met many whose connection to animals and the environment ran deeper than even her own. So, she embarked on a journey learning to hunt and through it she discovered a fascinating and firsthand way to learn about wildlife and the ecosystem in which she lived while bringing home healthy food for her family. As a hunter and a gun owner using guns for an activity she loves, however, she is deeply concerned about the epidemic of gun violence in our country. Matt Podolsky spoke with Lilly about her journey and perspective as a hunter on responsible gun ownership.
Today, we pause for a moment, to talk directly to you, our listeners. Matt podolsky and I are working on developing new shows and new show ideas and these discussions always find their way back to one very basic, but crucially important question: “What do listeners want?” Rather than continue talking among ourselves, we wanted to include you in on these discussions, fill you in on our thinking about the show and figure out ways to connect better with you and to connect our listeners with one another.
Although other states have proposed removing controversial topics, such as climate change, from their state science standards, Idaho is the only state in the country whose legislature has actually voted in favor of such an action. The debate over what kids in Idaho should be taught has been going on for 3 years now and will likely come to a head this week as the Idaho Senate Education Committee is set to make a final decision. Matt Podolsky spoke with Rialin Flores, from Conservation Voters for Idaho, to get a detailed picture of this issue and to learn how she has been fighting to keep climate science in the science standards in Idaho. Following this interview, we include a sample of the public testimony provided last week at the Idaho Senate Education Committee hearing, all of which encourages Senators to vote in favor of keeping climate science in the science standards.
Valentine’s Day. A day where we celebrate love in all its many forms. In keeping with the holiday's theme of romantic love and the art of courtship, complete with candy hearts and flying babies slinging arrows, we take a moment to celebrate a slightly different version of this same story. After all, much of the brilliant beauty in nature exists because attracting another is a critical component to a species survival. It’s the reason birds sing, flowers bloom and, as Matt Podolsky explains, California Condors dance.
Today’s guest is river explorer and conservationist Mike Fiebig, who is the Associate Director of the Northern Rockies Office of American Rivers. The lines of Mike’s personal and professional passion for wild rivers and wild places have blurred and he is about to embark on an adventure in advocacy. He and his wife Jenny are taking a human-powered, source-to-sea river trip on the Green and Colorado, from the crest of the Wind River Range (from the Mammoth Glacier) in WY to the Gulf of California in Mexico. Along the way, they will collect stories of the importance of this river to the people they meet in route. I sat down with Mike to discuss the inspiration behind this bold undertaking.
On today's episode we discuss a truly unique swath of public land - the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. This jewel of the National Conservation Lands system is just south of Boise, and this year it’s celebrating 25 years since it’s designation. We talked with two individuals who are playing crucial roles in the continued management and conservation of the NCA, Amanda Hoffman is the NCA manager for the BLM, and Steve Alsup is the president of the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership.
Amy Martin is the Founder and Producer of Threshold, one of the most binge-worthy podcasts of 2017. In the first season, listeners were taken to the intersection of nature and humanity on the complex issue of re-wilding bison in the West, diving in deep and revealing the issue in entirely new ways. With Season 2 in the works, our producer Matt Podolsky, caught up with Amy to discuss the inspiration behind this captivating show. Have a listen.
We have covered the events of Standing Rock in many ways, interviewing filmmakers, historians rally marchers, and water protectors on the front lines. But today you will hear from a woman who’s music has cemented a moment in history and created a reverberation of action on a global scale. Raye Zaragoza is a young, multi-talented activist at the forefront of the movement for indigenous rights and environmental justice. Her music has redefined the “protest song” and sparked meaningful dialogue around empathy for the earth as well as empathy for each other. Raye’s music has been featured on various outlets like Daytrotter, Jam in the Van, Indian Country Media Network, and most recently by Cyndi Lauper on Spotify. In this episode you will hear clips from some of my favorite tracks as well as Raye’s words on the ties between culture and land, and finding strength in womanhood through the power of song.
Today, our host Matt Podolsky interviews CEO and founder of ReAgency Science Communication, Jayde Lovell. Jayde and her team host the YouTube series, SciQ, where they try and bridge the gap between difficult science and the public by making their content engaging, informative and relatable. Their belief in spreading scientific literacy has led them to a partnership with The Young Turks Network and placed their platform on a wider scope covering politics and hot-button scientific issues.
This week’s guest is Laird Lucas, the executive director for Advocates for the West, a non-profit environmental law firm that has dedicated itself to protecting our most valuable and vulnerable natural resource: Mother Nature. Their team is a roaring voice and strong ally in the environmental movement, and their strides in land and wildlife protections across the country and beyond, have paved the way for improved laws and legislation in favor of conservation efforts.
Vaquita expert Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho shares an update on the vaquita capture effort and filmmaker Sean Bogle chimes in to discuss our vaquita documentary and upcoming shoot in Mexico.
Katelyn Spradley and Kat Cannell recently undertook a fascinating journey - all in the name of protecting endangered salmon.
These two women tracked the path of salmon migration on horseback, traveling from the Pacific coast all the way to the remote mountains of central Idaho.
Today’s guest, Marcus Eriksen, founded an organization tasked with addressing the many pervasive threats that plastics pose to wildlife and ecosystems all around the globe. The issue of plastic pollution in our oceans has been getting more and more attention recently, and the 5 Gyres Institute has been at the forefront of this movement for almost a decade. This unique organization was launched back in 2008 with a research voyage across the Pacific Ocean, which was conducted on a small raft made with over 15,000 plastic bottles and a variety of other re-purposed plastic materials.
Today we are discussing a truly unique and fascinating project that has been implemented in Scotland, called Project Wolf. Now despite the title, this is not an actual wolf re-introduction project. Although the organization managing the project, Trees for Life, is interested in eventually re-introducing wolves in Scotland, they recognize this to be a long-term goal. So in the meantime, they have organized human wolf packs. These are small groups of people tasked with wandering through the Scottish landscape replicating certain aspects of wolf behavior.
Many of our listeners are likely aware that this past Saturday was International Save the Vaquita Day, and we spent a lot of time putting together a very special city-wide event here in Boise, ID where I reside. Our partners for this event included the Mexican Consulate Office here in Boise, the Discovery Center of Idaho, JUMP Boise, the Aquarium of Boise, and local Mexican restaurant El Gallo Giro. We held screenings of our film, Souls of the Vermilion Sea, gave presentations about the vaquita, and held a vaquita march. The vaquita march was perhaps the highest profile component of this city-wide International Save the Vaquita Day event - we had 22 hand painted and creatively designed vaquita banners to represent the approximate number of vaquitas remaining on the planet. We met at the Idaho State capital building, and marched down 8th street in downtown Boise. On Saturdays 8th street hosts the Boise farmer’s market and is open only the pedestrian traffic, so it was an ideal route for our march. We turned a lot of eyes as this strange procession of vaquita advocates marched through the crowded open air market, and hopefully got some people thinking about endangered species conservation. Of course, we weren’t the only ones hosting events for International Save the Vaquita Day this year. There were events taking place across three continents, including several events in China and numerous events in Mexico. This was the 5th annual International Save the Vaquita day, and it was Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky, who actually played a central role in the creation of this annual event back in 2013, which is why we’ve decided to re-broadcast the interview that we recorded with him over a year ago for episode 44 of the show.
Already this summer we have experienced record-breaking heat waves. As I prepare this episode for release on our nation’s independence day, it’s over 100 degrees where I live in Boise, Idaho. Of course, every time I see news of record breaking temperatures I’m reminded of our rapidly changing climate - but these days I’m also reminded of something else. The solar panels that were recently installed on my roof. Long hot days mean that those panels are generating more energy - actually more than we can use often. So today we are bringing you a group discussion about rooftop solar. Here in Boise, ID, we have a fantastic campaign going on right now called Solarize the Valley. The campaign is run by the Boise-based non-profit organization Snake River Alliance, and it’s goal is to promote and encourage more people to install solar panels on their roof. So we are joined today by an excellent panel of guests who are involved in this campaign. Liz Paul is the main organizer of the Solarize the Valley Campaign for the Snake River Alliance, Micah Hornback is a technical sales representative with Altenergy, one of the two solar contractors involved in the solarize campaign, and Rick and Rinda Just are participants in the Solarize the Valley campaign who recently installed solar panels on their house.
Today we are digging into our interview archives to explore a particularly bizarre and fascinating question - how can an endangered species recovery program assist in solving a missing-persons case? The interviews that you’ll be hearing in today’s episode were recorded during production for my first film, Scavenger Hunt, an hour long documentary about California condor recovery and the issue of lead poisoning from spent ammunition. In addition to former condor recovery program field manager Eddie Feltes, you’ll also be hearing from condor field biologist Sean Putz, as well as from myself. I spent 4 years working as a condor biologist, and recorded several self-interviews while working on this film project almost a decade ago. Now, most of the time when we discuss the benefits that saving an endangered species might have on human populations, we’re talking about the intrinsic beauty of an animal, or the biological role that animal plays in an ecosystem. Sometimes we might even delve into the topic of ecosystem services - what benefits does an ecosystem as a whole provide to human communities and how does this one species help that ecosystem thrive. But today, we’re talking about how California condors are able to directly assist law enforcement officers in the recovery of the bodies of people who go missing in Grand Canyon National Park.
Today’s guest on the show rode his bike over 2,000 miles from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific coast - carrying a trailer with a life-sized rhino behind him! Matt Meyer is a South African safari guide who was inspired to take action to help protect declining rhino populations - and just this past week he completed what he calls the Rhino Ride!
Today’s guests on the show are working to empower local entrepreneurs and bring solar power to the Buffer Zone communities of Nepal. Moira Hanes is the co-founder and board chair of Empowered by Light, and Anya Cherneff is the co-founder and executive director of Empower Generation. These two organizations have come together to implement a project that will provide solar power to ranger stations within Chitwan National Park in Nepal. These rangers are on the front lines of protecting wildlife from poaching, which is serious problem in this unique National Park. But Empowered by Light and Empower Generation are doing so much more than just assisting park rangers in protecting wildlife - they are empowering local entrepreneurs, and demonstrating the ability of solar power technology to leapfrog fossil fuel infrastructure.
Today’s guest on the show is Monica Bond from the Wild Nature Institute. Monica was one of our first guests on the podcast - she was featured in episode 6 of the show. At that time we had recently completed two short films about the research and conservation work being conducted by the Wild Nature Institute in Tanzania - and we’ll get a quick update on these important conservation projects going on in East Africa before delving into the main topic of today’s conversation - the ecological importance of the hottest, most intense forest fires. In addition to today's podcast episode, we have just released a new short film, produced in partnership with the Wild Nature Institute on this topic of forest fire ecology and research, called A New Message for Smokey.
In today’s show we are exploring and comparing the extinction crises experienced by two very different wildlife species - the California condor, and the vaquita. If you’ve been following the latest news about the vaquita, then you’ve probably already heard a number of comparisons between the situation faced by this small species of porpoise and that faced by the condor in the early 1980s. A lot of folks have been drawing this comparison between these two high profile endangered species issues - but how similar are the situations faced by these two animals really? Having spent six years of my life working very closely with the California condor recovery project - first as a biologist, then as a filmmaker and storyteller, I have been steeped in the natural history and the conservation history of this unique scavenging species. This is in part why I was so interested in getting involved in telling the story behind the vaquita - I saw it as an opportunity to document this species’ extinction crisis as it unfolds. So let’s start with the most obvious similarity that folks have been pointing to - the rate of decline and the low population numbers. The wild population of California condors dropped to 21 individuals in 1981. This is quite similar to the latest population estimate that we’ve gotten for the vaquita - 30 individuals as of fall 2016. Listen in to hear more about these two unique endangered species issues, including interview clips from prominent experts on both the condor and the vaquita.
Today we are bringing you a very special episode from Eyes on Conservation correspondent Kristin Tieche. Some of you may recognize Kristin’s voice from the episode that we did on the March for Science - she was reporting from the San Francisco March for Science event in episode 119 of the show. As many of our listeners are likely aware, the following Saturday after the March for Science was another day of action - the People’s Climate March. Kristin didn't just participate in this march - she volunteered with Rock the Bike, an organization that creates pedal-powered events and activities. This is the story behind what Kristin experienced at the People's Climate March in Oakland, CA.
We’re taking this week off, but thought we’d dig into our archives and re-visit one of our most popular episodes of the show - episode 53 about the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. This interview with the conservation director of the Audubon Society of Portland, Bob Sallinger, was conducted back in January of 2016 while the occupation was still going on. Bob put the situation in context by providing some important historical background on the refuge, which was created back in 1908. Bob also told the fascinating story behind the establishment of a new set of management goals that were recently created for the refuge, and how local residents were included in this decision making process in an unprecedented way. It’s been over a year since the armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Since this episode aired we saw the dramatic conclusion to the standoff, as well as the acquittal of those who participated in the armed occupation. A new Frontline documentary, called American Patriot tells the story behind this armed occupation, as well as the larger movement behind the occupation. The film premiered on PBS just this week, and is available to stream online - follow the link below to check it out.
Today’s guest on the show is Zak Smith from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Zak is a Senior Attorney at NRDC, and has been running the group’s Marine Mammal Protection Project for the past 10 years. Through this work, he has become deeply involved in efforts to save the vaquita from extinction. If you’re wondering what a vaquita is - it’s a small species of porpoise found in the northern Gulf of California, and is considered to be the world’s most endangered marine mammal with fewer than 30 individuals remaining on the planet. If you’re a regular listener of the show - you’re likely very familiar with the vaquita issue since we’ve been covering it extensively here on the show for the past two years, and just released a 30-min documentary about the struggle to save it from extinction. The film, by the way, is called Souls of the Vermilion Sea, and is available for free online streaming if you click here. Zak’s most recent role in the fight to prevent the vaquita’s extinction has been the implementation of a boycott of Mexican shrimp. Although the vast majority of shrimp fishing that goes on in Mexican waters does not impact the vaquita (because it occurs outside the vaquita’s range), Zak hopes that this boycott will put pressure on the Mexican government to step up enforcement of the existing regulations that are designed to protect the vaquita - including the ban on the use of all gillnets in the region.
Today on the podcast we are discussing a particularly interesting viral media story that I’m guessing a bunch of folks out there in the audience may have come across recently. Researchers Evan Buechley and Ethan Frehner recently published a scientific paper about an interesting and previously undocumented behavior of a very common species here in the North American West - the American badger. Evan and Ethan captured time-lapse footage showing a badger bury an entire cow carcass. Now not only did they publish a scientific paper about the discovery of this behavior of badgers, but they also released a clip of the timelapse video footage showing this badger bury the carcass over the course of several days. The video, and the entire story went viral. The original video clip uploaded to the University of Utah’s YouTube channel now has well over 1 million views, and the story has been covered by the New York Times, National Geographic, NPR, Science Magazine, USA Today - and countless other mainstream news outlets. So Evan and Ethan have been busy giving interviews and talking about a species that they didn’t even intend to be the subject of their research! Luckily for us - Evan is a close friend of mine - we worked together as California condor field biologists 10 years ago, and Evan actually joined us for an early episode of the EOC podcast - episode 16 about his research on Egyptian vultures in Ethiopia. So I was able to convince Evan to join us again for today’s episode - but I also wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the reasons why this story went viral. As scientists and science communicators, we’re constantly striving to reach people beyond our inner circle with important research and information about science and conservation, and this story presents an unique example that we can learn from. To aid in this learning process I also invited Dr. Brad Okdie, who studies the psychology behind viral media at Ohio State University.
As many of our listeners are likely aware, we engaged in an experiment this past weekend and sent five EOC correspondents out to cover five different March for Science events all across the US. Today’s episode is the end result of that experiment! The episode starts off in Washington, D.C. - the main event this past Saturday, Earth Day 2017. The Washington, D.C. march was attended by tens of thousands of people, and featured a number of prominent speakers. Although many scientific issues were raised, a common theme throughout the day was climate change. Speakers addressed the need for politicians to recognize the scientific consensus regarding our role in causing this crisis, as well as the role of science in finding ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Our goal with this episode was to create something of a soundscape, allowing listeners to understand what it felt like to participate in one of these March for Science events. In addition to the Washington, D.C. march, you'll hear interviews and audio from marches in San Francisco, San Diego, Portland, OR and Boise, ID. The interviews range from highly prominent scientists and researchers, to curious onlookers experiencing their very first event of this type. In addition to this podcast episode, many of our EOC March for Science correspondents were recording live footage directly to our Eyes on Conservation facebook page, and these videos are still available to view on that page. If you want to share an experience that you had at a March for Science event, we encourage you to either leave a comment at the bottom of this page, or head on over to our EOC podcast facebook group (we keep this group private to protect people's privacy, so you'll have to request access if you want to join the discussion) where we'll be facilitating ongoing conversation about the March for Science and other upcoming events.
Today we are bringing you a special Earth Day bonus episode of the show! We have a lot going on this Earth Day - today marks the online release of our newest documentary film, Souls of the Vermilion Sea - about the struggle to save the vaquita from extinction. We’re super excited to be releasing this new 30-min doc for free online streaming! Click here to watch the film, or go to vaquitafilm.com. We are celebrating this online release with today’s bonus episode of the show, in which we are featuring an interview with California state Assembly member Todd Gloria, who recently introduced a new bill to the California state legislature that would restrict the import of certain seafood products in an attempt to help protect the vaquita. Before we jump into today’s interview however, I have to mention our exciting collaborative project to cover the March for Science. As many of our listeners likely are aware, Earth Day 2017 is a day of action for scientists all around the globe, who will be marching in over 400 cities to send a message to our government and the Trump administration that we will not stand idyl as science is de-funded and scientific truths are outright denied. We have seven Eyes on Conservation correspondents covering seven different March for Science events all across the US, from Washington, D.C. to Hawaii, and we’ll be using the audio and video that is captured to put together a very special episode of this podcast. We will also be live streaming from a number of March for Science events directly to our Eyes on Conservation Facebook page - so if you’re not able to attend a march, or if you want to see what some of the other events in places like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco look like - you can tune into our EOC Facebook page to get live updates. And when you get back home from participating in the March for Science, you can settle in with a good movie - our film Souls of the Vermilion Sea about the struggle to save the vaquita from extinction.
Today’s guest on the show is Rosalyn LePier. Rosalyn is an environmental historian, ethnobotanist, and indigenous writer. She is a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, a research associate an the National Museum of Natural History, and is currently a visiting professor of Women’s studies, Environmental Studies and Native American religion at the Harvard Divinity School at Harvard University. She is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe and also identifies as Métis. Rosalyn is also on the steering committee for the March for Science, and has been involved in the March for Science since the birth of this concept shortly after the Women’s March and President Trump’s inauguration. The March for Science will be taking place this coming Saturday, April 22nd - Earth Day - and although the main event will be taking place in Washington D.C., there are hundreds of satellite events happening all around the globe, providing ample opportunity for folks to participate. We are actually launching a new experiment here at the Eyes on Conservation podcast that is connected to the upcoming March for Science - we will be covering the March from a variety of perspectives this coming Saturday. We have seven Wild Lens correspondents involved in this little experiment - and each of them will be attending a different March for Science event. These correspondents will be capturing audio to use for an upcoming episode of the podcast, as well as video footage for a potential short film. A select few will also be streaming live video from the Marches directly to our Eyes on Conservation Facebook page. So if you’re not able to attend a March for Science event - or if you want to get a feel for what some of the larger events in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco look like - stay tuned to our Eyes on Conservation Facebook feed to get live updates. In the meantime - we hope that you will enjoy today’s conversation with Rosalyn LaPier, in which we’ll explore some of the connections between science, Native American religion, and the environmental movement.
Today’s guest on the show is Annette Berkovits, an author and educator focused on wildlife conservation who has written the new book, Confessions of an Accidental Zoo Curator. We talked with Annette about her path towards becoming a key architect of what has now become a worldwide standard for wildlife and conservation education programs. Annette worked for three decades with the Wildlife Conservation Society, and took a unique approach towards designing conservation education programs - an approach that has been hugely successful in reaching students and zoo visitors all across the globe.
Today's guest on the show is Beth Pratt, who is the California Director for the National Wildlife Federation. Beth has spearheaded the #SaveLACougars campaign, and has helped raise a lot of awareness for mountain lion research. We are particularly interested in hearing about the new proposed wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon in Southern California, which Beth has been involved with.
Today's guest on the show is writer and activist Kimberly Fanshier. Kimberly seeks to use writing and critical reading as community building, anti-oppressive tools. Her research interests revolve around place-based rhetorics: Kimberly writes about wolves in Oregon, pop country radio, internet comment sections, and frontier violence to unpack the discourses of belonging, home, identity, and borders.
Today we are revisiting the issue of lead poisoning in wildlife. This is a topic that I’ve spent quite a bit of time investigating, as it was central to the story behind my first film, Scavenger Hunt - which was about the connections between California condor conservation efforts and the issue of lead poisoning from spent ammunition. This issue has been in the headlines recently - the Obama administration in its final weeks in office issued an order to phase our lead-based ammunition and fishing tackle from all lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - these areas included all National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges. The response to this action was predictable - it was applauded by many conservation groups, and provoked lead ammo industry lobbyists to repeat their claims that there’s no proof of lead’s negative impact on wildlife populations. Once Donald Trump became our president - his new head of the Department of the Interoir Ryan Zinke moved to overturn this plan to phase out the use of lead ammo on these federally managed lands - again, a predictable move. Today we are sharing with you an archival interview, recorded while we were working on our film Scavenger Hunt, with the founding director of the USGS Wildlife Health Center, Milton Friend. Milton worked for decades to get lead shot banned from use in waterfowl hunting, and is therefore intricately familiar with the type of political maneuvering that we’re seeing right now in regard to the lead ammunition issue. He points out many similarities between his fight to end the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting and the current incarnation of this fight against the use of lead based ammunition for hunting generally. Just to be clear - the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting was officially banned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1991 - although there were complications with the implementation of this ban as you’ll hear Milton discuss. Although this interview was recorded back in 2012 - it remains extremely relevant to our current situation with the lead ammunition issue.
This week we are bringing you a very special episode of the Eyes on Conservation podcast - this is about as close to a live show as we've gotten. Today's episode was recorded just a few hours before being released - and we recorded it on location in San Felipe, Mexico where fellow EOC co-host Sean Bogle and I are engaged in a series of community screenings of our new film Souls of the Vermilion Sea. These community screenings of our film were organized in collaboration with today's guest on the show, Samantha Young from San Diego Zoo Global. Samantha has been working down here in San Felipe for several years, with the goal of building community support for the conservation. While the vaquita is certainly a central focus of this project, Samantha's goals are much broader than simply saving the vaquita from extinction. We had a wonderful conversation with Samantha that ultimately delved into a comparison of the conservation challenges faced by the California condor to those faced by the vaquita. Enjoy!
I am extremely excited to announce that we have added a fresh component to the EOC marque that embraces all art forms in how these diverse creative mediums can convey conservation information. All of us respond differently to a variety of media. Some us connect with video and radio, while others may connect to paintings, song, or dance. It is important that the issues, actions, and efforts that concern the natural world of our planet are received by as many people as possible. So we introduced the Eyes on Conservation Art Scene! The Eyes on Conservation Art Scene (EOCAS) is a community where artists can fuse together, share ideas and show case their individual works that focus on conservation. The mission of the EOC Art Scene is a place of unity and raising awareness about wildlife issues, not to mention a place where cool art is created! Recently, we launched the first EOC Art Scene exhibit at the Les Bois Film Festival, which we co-host with the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley in Boise, Idaho. Our first amazing collaborators to premiere this exhibit are the SWELL Artist Collective and the Endangered Species print project. The exhibit is currently on display at the SWELL Artist Collective gallery, which we attended on it's opening night this past Thursday - and this takes us into today’s show. The goal of the exhibit is to raise awareness of species in the Idaho and Pacific Northwest region and as well as international species and how these species share commonalities as well as our connections to all species. SWELL artists produced 35 original works of art of these species and the Endangered Species Print Project presented 5 art pieces coupled with a map showing their migrations. These two organizations are wonderful examples of an artistic community with a shared love and appreciation for wildlife while inspiring others.
Today’s guest on the show is Fitz Cahall. Fitz is a podcaster, filmmaker and storyteller at Duct Tape Then Beer. He is the producer and host of the Dirtbag Diaries, one of the most popular podcast series focused on outdoor adventure, and he’s also the director of the new film, Paul’s Boots. I had a lot of fun talking with Fitz - there aren’t too many other people out there that share my same passions for both filmmaking and podcasting! I was particularly interested to hear about Fitz’s approach towards producing and directing his film, Paul’s Boots. Paul’s Boots is about a unique journey across the Appalachian Trail - any anyone who follows this podcast series knows that that Appalachian Trail holds a very special place in my heart. I produced my own film about a trip across the Long Trail in Vermont - the trail that inspired the creation of the Appalachian Trail. Beyond my own fascination with long distance hiking however, I’m also excited about this conversation with Fitz because we are actually screening his film Paul’s Boots as a part of Les Bois Film Festival, the local Boise film fest that we co-host with the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley. So our listeners in Boise will actually have the opportunity to see this film up on the big screen at the Egyptian Theatre this coming Saturday.
Today we are bringing you a panel discussion focused on conservation oriented filmmaking in Idaho. We put together a panel of Boise-based filmmakers who are screening films at this year’s Les Bois Film Festival - an event that Wild Lens actually helped found. This is the second year that we are co-hosting Les Bois Film Festival alongside the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley, and we’re extremely excited about this year’s event. We’re screening 20 short films across three separate screening blocks all at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown Boise on Saturday, March 4th. One of the aspects of this festival that we’re most proud of is the emphasis on locally produced films, and this is why I’m so excited about today’s panel discussion. We brought together all of the Boise-based filmmakers that are screening films at Les Bois this year for a conversation about the intersection between filmmaking and conservation here in Idaho. In addition to being aired on this podcast series, this conversation will also air on our community radio station here in boise (Radio Boise, KRBX 89.9), in collaboration with our favorite local radio show, Building a Greener Idaho. I was joined in the studio by today’s co-hosts, Remington Buyer from Building a Greener Idaho, and Julia Rundberg, who is the new development and communications manager at the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley.
Today’s guest on the show is Dr. Frances Gulland, senior scientist at the Marine Mammal Center, and a member of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita. This committee is composed of the world’s top vaquita experts, and they just released a new report which contains some shocking revelations. Before we jump into our interview with Frances however, I’m going to check in with EOC producer Sean Bogle to get an update on our vaquita documentary project, Souls of the Vermilion Sea. We have a new half hour film associated with this project that we are about to release, and Sean’s here to explain the inspiration behind this new release as well as our outreach goals moving forward.
On today’s show we are joined by Sarah Kaizar, an amazing artist out of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Sarah’s work first caught my attention when I was browsing the internet for Christmas gifts, and I stumbled upon a series of recycled notebooks featuring endangered toads. Toads being among some of my favorite animals, I had to check out more of her work and was so glad I did. The series we will focus on today is her body of work titled Endangered Species, which features intricate pen and ink portraits of species on the US Endangered species list. This series calls into question many ideas of vulnerability, environmental ignorance, and what it means to be human in an ever-changing world, and our conversation tackles big picture questions about the future of the environment, our interactions with the natural world and as Sarah says “chipping away” at the greater conversation to make environmental dialogue more relatable and meaningful to a broader audience.
Today’s guest on the show is Deia Schlosberg. Deia is an extremely talented filmmaker, who was unexpectedly arrested after documenting a civil disobedience action in Northern North Dakota back in October of 2016. There was a wave of arrests of journalists working to document pipeline protests in the fall of 2016, but Deia’s arrest really shook the filmmaking world because she was charged with three counts of conspiracy and was facing a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison, without having actually committed a crime. I was one of the many filmmakers and journalists impacted by this spate of arrests - it was Deia's story that, in part, inspired me to travel to Standing Rock and get involved in covering these types of issues here on the podcast. So I am extremely excited to have Deia on as our guest for today’s show - in addition to her recent work covering issues related to oil pipelines and civil disobedience, she was a producer on Josh Fox’s most recent film How to Let Go of the World and Love all the Things Climate Can’t Change - which in my opinion is one of the most powerful climate change films to be released in recent years.
Todays guest on the show is Rob Gay - a paleontologist, biologist, educator, and author. Rob and I worked together as condor field biologists in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah almost 10 years ago now, and when I found out that Rob had played an important role in the recent designation of Bears Ears National Monument, I reached out to see if he’d be willing to share his story. I’m super excited to have a paleontologist on the show for the very first time - in part because this is a subject that I’ve long been fascinated with, but also because this conversation with Rob highlights just how interconnected the field of paleontology is with conservation and advocacy.
Today’s guests on the show are Ari Herman and Liz George. Ari and Liz both spent extended periods of time living at Standing Rock, North Dakota and participating in various ways in the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Liz has a background in wildlife filmmaking, while Ari - who contributed to our last podcast episode about Standing Rock - is a writer and an aspiring journalist. Both of them were living at the camps at Standing Rock during what was probably the most tumultuous period of the movement thus far - from mid-November through early December. We talked with Liz and Ari about their personal experiences at Standing Rock, from the moment that they decided to go there, to the moment that they left after the Army Corp of Engineers denied the easement for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River.
Today we are once again delving into the Wild Lens archives to share with you an interview that was recorded for our film project Bluebird Man. One of our first shoots for this film project took place in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Fellow producer Neil Paprocki and myself spent about a week in Canada shooting with the then-president of the North American Bluebird Society, Sherry Linn. While visiting with Sherry, we were able to also connect with PhD student Catherine Dale from Queens University, who was in the Okanagan Valley studying bluebird migration! Neil and I were lucky enough to spend a day out with Catherine at one of her field sites and get some footage of her banding adult male bluebirds. After a long day out in the field, we sat down with Catherine for at interview, which we are sharing with you today for the very first time! In addition to her research on bluebirds, Catherine is also one of the creators of Dispatches from the Field - a blog site focused on stories about field work from all around the globe. A few of us Wild Lens folks have contributed to her site, and we’re all really big fans of the work Catherine and her collaborators are doing with the blog.
Today’s interview was conducted by one of our newest contributors to the show, Courtney Rae. Courtney brings a very different perspective on wildlife and conservation issues to the show, and I’m super excited to have her on board. Courtney is deeply embedded in the conservation and environmental community in Portland and beyond through her work as a community organizer with Bark as well as other environmental groups, and she’ll be continuing to explore the intersection between conservation and social justice in future episodes of the show. For this first episode of 2017, Courtney talked with Esther Forbyn, who is the creator of a unique conservation outreach project called 30 Birds to Know in Portland. Courtney and Esther had a wide ranging conversation focused on the connections between birding, conservation, and social justice.
Today’s guest on the show is Tom Jefferson, a marine mammal researcher and the director of Viva Vaquita, an NGO dedicated to the conservation of the vaquita. jg5ps89q Here at Wild Lens, we’ve been actively involved in vaquita conservation for a year and a half through our work producing the documentary, Souls of the Vermilion Sea. 2016 was a milestone year for vaquita conservation - efforts to save the species from extinction were ramped up considerably and the species received more mainstream media coverage than ever before. Despite this, the vaquita population in the upper gulf of California has continued its precipitous rate of decline, with the increased conservation efforts having no measurable impact. This culminated just a few weeks ago when the Mexican Minister of the Environment, Rafael Pacchiano, announced that Mexico would take steps in 2017 to launch a captive breeding program for the vaquita. Although vaquita experts have been discussing this option for a number of years, it was always viewed as a last ditch effort - something only worth attempting if all other options had been expended. Well - it is now clear that we have reached that point. EOC producer Sean Bogle and I got Tom on the line to do a year in review for the vaquita, as well as to answer some of our burning questions about the what a captive breeding program for the vaquita may look like.
Today’s guest on the show is Carole Dean, a veteran of the film industry and an expert on how to fund film projects. Carole’s path through the world of filmmaking is absolutely fascinating - she’s been working to help independent filmmakers get their films made for decades, but her approach towards achieving this goal has been constantly evolving. Today she runs a filmmaker grant program, manages fiscal sponsorships, and provides mentorships for independent filmmakers. She is the author of the seminal book, The Art of Film Funding and the host of a podcast series of the same name (which I would highly recommend for anyone interested in filmmaking). Although Carole is not focused specifically on films that address conservation issues, the advice that she has to share is highly relevant to anyone looking to fund a conservation project - whether it’s a documentary film, a conservation outreach project, or scientific research.
It’s been two years since we launched this podcast, and it’s amazing to me that we have already released close to 100 interviews. This show began as an experiment, but it has moved well beyond that to become a central hub of the internet for folks who are interested in conservation. We’ve interviewed biologists, researchers, filmmakers, activists, artists, politicians, musicians, authors, educators, chefs, entrepreneurs - all of whom are involved with conservation in some way. Today’s show is special - not just because we are celebrated 100 episodes - but because we are introducing two new contributors to the show! Sarinah Simons and Courtney Rae will be helping us expand the scope of Eyes on Conservation. No longer will you be hearing solely my voice here on the show, but the voices of Courtney and Sarinah, as well as EOC producer Sean Bogle. In today’s discussion we’ll be talking about the future direction of this show, and sharing our perspectives on the current state of the conservation movement.
Episode Summary: On today’s show we have a follow-up conservation with one of our most well-received guests on the show – Nathaniel Stinnett from the Environmental Voter Project. Nathaniel... Read more » The post EOC 099: Post-Election Breakdown with Nathaniel Stinnett from the Environmental Voter Project appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is Jake Kheel. Jake is the co-director and producer of the new documentary film, Death by a Thousand Cuts – which is about... Read more » The post EOC 098: Documenting the Illegal Charcoal Trade in the Dominican Republic with Jake Kheel appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the podcast we are talking about a conservation issue that has been getting lot’s of mainstream media coverage over the past several months – the fight... Read more » The post EOC 097: Inside the Fight Against the Dakota Access Pipeline appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest in Roxanne Beltran, a PhD student at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and an expert on the Weddel Seal – a species found in relative... Read more » The post EOC 096: Weddell Seal Research in Antarctica with Roxanne Beltran appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: We thought that it would be appropriate on the day after this historic presidential election to bring you an episode focused on science, reason, and the importance of... Read more » The post EOC 095: The Science Communicators – How to be a Skeptic with Brian Dunning appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Back in March of this year I put together a quick bonus episode of the podcast after participating in the largest presidential caucus in US political history. Despite... Read more » The post EOC bonus episode: Voting for Conservation, part 2 appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Todays guests on the show are “Wildman” Steve Brill along with his daughter Violet Brill. “Wildman” Steve and his daughter Violet are expert foragers – they lead... Read more » The post EOC 094: Eat the Weeds with “Wildman” Steve Brill and his Daughter Violet appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guests on today’s show are the co-founders of a group called, Conceivable Future – Meghan Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli. Conceivable Future is a woman-led network of... Read more » The post EOC 093: Conceivable Future – How Climate Change Threatens Reproductive Rights appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is science filmmaker Nate Dappen. Like many of the folks that we choose to profile on this show, Nate has a background... Read more » The post EOC 092: The Science Communicators – Nate Dappen’s Path to Becoming a Science Filmmaker appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the show is Brad Brooks who is the Idaho deputy regional director at the Wilderness Society. Brad and his collegues at the Wilderness Society... Read more » The post EOC 091: Public Lands – How They Became Publicly Owned, and Why They Should Stay That Way appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the show is Clare Perry from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Clare has been working for EIA for 17 years, and she is the director... Read more » The post EOC 090: Collateral Damage – How the Environmental Investigation Agency Exposes Environmental Crime appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the show is the director of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (Muestra de Cine Medioambiental Dominicana), Natasha Despotovic. I was fortunate enough to... Read more » The post EOC 089: Inside the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival with Natasha Despotovic appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the show in Gena Bentall, who has been working with and studying Sea Otters for over a decade and is the program coordinator for a... Read more » The post EOC 088: Gena Bentall Explains the Importance of Sharing Space with Sea Otters appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are bringing you another example of art and conservation coming together. Our guests Chad Harmon, Phillip Lacinak, and Heidi Kniesl are the... Read more » The post EOC 087: Rhino Art 50 Ways with the Horns and Heroes Project appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today we have another episode focused on politics. As general election day approaches here in the US after a truly bizarre presidential election season in which each... Read more » The post EOC 086: The Struggles of the Green Party in the 2016 Presidential Election appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today we are delving into the Wild Lens interview archives to bring you a conversation that I had with Dr. Mark Pokras back in 2011. This interview... Read more » The post EOC 085: Loons and Lead Poisoning with Dr. Mark Pokras appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the show is the founder of the Environmental Voter Project, Nathaniel Stinnett. Nathaniel has an extremely powerful message to share with us about the... Read more » The post EOC 084: Nathaniel Stinnett Explains Why Voting is the Highest Form of Environmental Citizenship appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is Crawford Allan, who is a senior director at Traffic, which is a wildlife trade network created through a collaboration between the World... Read more » The post EOC 083: Finding Solutions to Wildlife Crime Issues with Crawford Allan appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are featuring segments from an event that we participated in this past weekend called, Wildlife Awakening, which was presented as a part... Read more » The post EOC 082: Wildlife Awakening at the Sausalito Film Series at Cavallo Point appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is Rosana Francescato, who is the Director of Communications for MyDomino. MyDomino is a concierge service that is helping people switch to 100%... Read more » The post EOC 081: Startup MyDomino Makes Clean Energy Decisions Easy appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the show is Phil Johnston, who is a wildlife tracker and a field biologist working with the elusive pacific fisher. Phil and I had... Read more » The post EOC 080: Tracking the Elusive Pacific Fisher with Phil Johnston appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s episode of the show is about the history of a truly unique National Conservation Area here in Idaho. The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds Of Prey National... Read more » The post EOC 079: The History of a Unique National Conservation Area with Mike Kochert appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are revisiting a project that was discussed back in one of our earliest episodes of the show – the New Roots program. ... Read more » The post EOC 078: Connecting Refugee Kids with their Local Environment appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with Brendan Cummings, who is Senior Counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. Brendan has been working at the Center for... Read more » The post EOC 077: Using the Legal System to Save Endangered Species with Brendan Cummings appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are digging into the Wild Lens archives to bring you an interview with one of the central figures in the historic recovery... Read more » The post EOC 076: How the California Condor Came Back from the Brink of Extinction with Lloyd Kiff appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s episode of the podcast will feature an interview with one of the most unlikely guests we’ve had on the show thus far. Pat Butler is a real... Read more » The post EOC 075: Could a Sport Fishery for Totoaba Help Save the Vaquita? appeared first on Wild Lens.
Today we are talking with Marc McDonald, who is the founder of the International Coalition of Rhino Protection (ICORP), an organization committed to saving rhino populations in Southern Africa. Marc... Read more » The post EOC 074: How to Win the War Against Rhino Poaching with Marc McDonald appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we have two very special guests from a truly unique band – the Whizpops! The Whizpops make music for kids, but they are so... Read more » The post EOC 073: The Whizpops Know that Extinction Really Stinks! appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with wildlife filmmaker Jake Willers. Jake’s path to becoming a wildlife filmmaker is really unique, and he has a lot... Read more » The post EOC 072: Master Wildlife Filmmaking with Jake Willers appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is Sarah Chinn, a master’s student at Sonoma State University who is studying one of our most charismatic marine mammal species – the... Read more » The post EOC 071: New Research on the Southern Sea Otter with Sarah Chinn appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are featuring a conversation with Alex Olivera from the Center for Biological Diversity. Alex has been doing research on several of the government... Read more » The post EOC 070: Alex Olivera Explains How Government Corruption is Stalling Efforts to Save the Vaquita appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with Ph.D. candidate from the University of Utah, Mark Chynoweth. Mark is conducting fascinating research on large carnivores in Eastern Turkey,... Read more » The post EOC 069: Studying Large Carnivores in Eastern Turkey with Mark Chynoweth appeared first on Wild Lens.
Today on the show we are sharing an interview with Chef Rob Ruiz. Rob is the Chef and Owner of the Land and Water Company, an award-winning restaurant in Carlsbad,... Read more » The post EOC 068: Eating Our Way Out of the Seafood Crisis with Chef Rob Ruiz appeared first on Wild Lens.
Today on the show we are airing a panel discussion that I moderated at this year’s International Wildlife Film Festival (IWFF) in Missoula, Montana! This was the third straight year that I... Read more » The post EOC 067: IWFF Filmmaker Panel with Jon Betz, Taggart Siegel, Roshan Patel and Eric Bendick appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are visited by Wild Lens producer Sean Bogle for an update on our current documentary project, Souls of the Vermilion Sea. Now... Read more » The post EOC 066: The Crisis Facing the Vaquita appeared first on Wild Lens.
Today on the show I am extremely excited to be bringing back someone who was a regular guest on the show early on – Ben Mirin. Ben was the... Read more » The post EOC 065: Making Music from Nature with Ben Mirin (AKA DJ Ecotone) appeared first on Wild Lens.
Today on the show we have a very special interview to share with the captain of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Operation Milagro, Oona Isabelle Layolle. This interview is... Read more » The post EOC 064: On the Front Lines of Vaquita Conservation with Oona Isabelle Layolle appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with the authors of a new children’s book about the Vaquita called, Vinny the Vaquita. Jen Gabler wrote this story with... Read more » The post EOC 063: A New Children’s Book about the Vaquita with Jen and Sander Gabler appeared first on Wild Lens.
Voting for Conservation My Tuesday evenings are usually spent editing podcast interviews in preparation for our Wednesday Eyes on Conservation podcast release. Last night was different – I was participating... Read more » The post Voting for Conservation (EOC BONUS episode) appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show I am bringing you another edition of our ongoing series, From Field Biologist to Filmmaker, in which I share personal stories and lessons... Read more » The post EOC 062: From Field Biologist to Filmmaker – Part Six: Hosting a Screening Event! appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking about conservation travel in South Africa. African Conservation Experience pioneered this idea about connecting conservation-minded tourists with wildlife researchers,... Read more » The post EOC 061: Conservation Travel in South Africa with Ellen Sziede and Martin Bornman appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: For the past month or so on the podcast we have been focusing on the distribution end of wildlife and conservation filmmaking, with interviews highlighting film festivals... Read more » The post EOC 060: The First Wildlife Film Festival on the Planet with Mike Steinberg appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with former National Geographic staff writer and editor Alan Mairson. Alan worked for the National Geographic Society for over 20 years... Read more » The post EOC 059: The Downfall of the National Geographic Society with Alan Mairson appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are continuing with our theme of environmentally-focused film festivals and the potential that these types of events have to impact conservation... Read more » The post EOC 058: Inside the D.C. Environmental Film Fest with Brad Forder appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are discussing a new project that we have undertaken here at Wild Lens – the creation of a new environmental and outdoor-themed film... Read more » The post EOC 057: A New Outdoor and Nature Themed Film Festival in Boise, Idaho appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with raptor expert Jerry Liguori. Jerry works as a educator with HawkWatch International, a non-profit group dedicated to raptor research and... Read more » The post EOC 056: Raptor Identification in the 21st Century with Jerry Liguori appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with Chloe Carothers-Liske along with her father, Andrew Carothers-Liske. Chloe and Andrew worked together on our newest Eyes on Conservation film,... Read more » The post EOC 055: Teaching Youth about Marine Mammal Conservation with Chloe and Andrew Carothers-Liske appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we are talking with children’s book author Matt Bergles. Matt’s new picture book Larry Saves the Prairie tells the true story of Larry Haverfield, a rancher... Read more » The post EOC 054: Matt Bergles is Teaching Kids about Prairie Ecosystem Conservation appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is Bob Sallinger, the conservation director for the Audubon Society of Portland, a group whose history is intertwined with that of... Read more » The post EOC 053: The REAL Story behind Malheur National Wildlife Refuge with Bob Sallinger appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is Lisa “Cali” Crampton, an expert on the forest birds of Kaua’i, the fourth largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. Cali’s work as the... Read more » The post EOC 052: The Forest Birds of Kaua’i with Lisa “Cali” Crampton appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: This is a very special BONUS episode of the podcast! We have been given permission by the Vermont Historical Society to air an archival interview with Catherine Robbins... Read more » The post EOC 051: The Three Musketeers on the Long Trail in 1927 appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the podcast is Cara Clifford Nelson – the granddaughter of Catherine Robbins Clifford, who was one of the first women to hike the Long Trail... Read more » The post EOC 050: Musketeers Too – A Family Legacy on the Long Trail appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today marks the first time that we’ve had a professional athlete as a guest on the show! Nikki Kimball is a distance runner specializing in the ultra-marathon, and she... Read more » The post EOC 049: Chasing the Fastest Known Time on the Long Trail with Nikki Kimball appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s guest on the show is the Executive Director of the Green Mountain Club (GMC), Mike DeBonis. The Green Mountain Club is the non-profit organization responsible for managing... Read more » The post EOC 048: The Mission of the Green Mountain Club with Mike DeBonis appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s episode of the podcast is my mom, Candy Podolsky. A couple of years back my mom and I hiked 273 miles through the state... Read more » The post EOC 047: Thru-hiking Vermont’s Long Trail with Candy Podolsky appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s episode of the podcast is biologist and filmmaker Erin Strasser. Erin has been a Wild Lens board member for serval years now, during which... Read more » The post EOC 046: Grassland Songbird Research and Conservation in Mexico with Erin Strasser appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today we have another installment of our series From Field Biologist to Filmmaker, in which I share lessons learned through the process of becoming a wildlife filmmaker. This is... Read more » The post EOC 045: From Field Biologist to Filmmaker – Part Five: Capturing Wildlife Footage! appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In this week’s show we are taking a fresh look at vaquita recovery efforts with teenaged author Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky. Aidan first learned about the plight of the vaquita in... Read more » The post EOC 044: Vaquita Outreach for a Younger Audience with Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: On today’s episode of the EOC podcast we’re talking with the co-creators of the Endangered Species Print Project (ESPP), an ongoing print series focused on raising both awareness... Read more » The post EOC 043: The Endangered Species Print Project with Jenny Kendler and Molly Schafer appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the podcast we have the fourth installment of our ongoing series, From Field Biologist to Filmmaker, in which I share personal stories about lessons that I’ve learned... Read more » The post EOC 042: From Field Biologist to Filmmaker – Part Four: The International Shoot appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking with Boise State University professor and kestrel researcher Julie Heath. Julie manages one of the largest and longest running kestrel research projects... Read more » The post EOC 041: Kestrel Research in Idaho’s Treasure Valley with Julie Heath appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is the Senior Scientist for HawkWatch International, a Utah-based non-profit that has been studying raptor migration for almost three decades. Recently, Dave has... Read more » The post EOC 040: Kestrel Migration with Dave Oleyar of HawkWatch International appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking with the Director of the American Kestrel Partnership, Chris McClure. This collaborative project was initiated by the Peregrine Fund in 2012, and... Read more » The post EOC 039: The American Kestrel Partnership with Chris McClure appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking with Kristen Ruegg, a professor at UCLA who’s been studying the genetics of migratory birds. Kristen and her collaborators have developed a... Read more » The post EOC 038: The Bird Genoscape Project with Kristen Ruegg appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: On today’s show we’re bringing noise pollution researchers Jesse Barber and Heidi Ware back into the studio to talk about their newly published scientific paper. This is the... Read more » The post EOC 037: Phantom Road Part Two – The Invisible Source of Habitat Degradation appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our guest on today’s show is filmmaker and conservationist Ben Masters. Ben is the mastermind behind the new feature length documentary Unbranded – a story about a 3,000 mile-long... Read more » The post EOC 036: Wild Horses in the American West with Ben Masters appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking with music composer Cody Westheimer. Cody has been composing and recording music scores for film and television for more than 10 years,... Read more » The post EOC 035: Scoring the Wildlife Doc with Cody Westheimer appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we have another chapter in our ongoing series From Field Biologist to Filmmaker. Part three of this series is focused on the interview. Conducting interviews... Read more » The post EOC 034: From Field Biologist to Filmmaker – Part Three: the Interview appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking with Mike Marshall from the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources. Mike spent five years working with the endangered Golden-cheeked warbler... Read more » The post EOC 033: The Golden-cheeked Warbler with Mike Marshall appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: We’re revisiting the Phantom Road this month on the show, and I’m very excited to have Dr. Jesse Barber and Heidi Ware joining me for this discussion about... Read more » The post EOC 032: Revisiting the Phantom Road – Birds and Road Noise with Jesse Barber and Heidi Ware appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Yesterday I went out on the bluebird trail with Al. I accompanied him on a trip to the Jordan Valley bluebird trail – this trail is up in... Read more » The post EOC 031: A Conversation with “Bluebird Man” Al Larson appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking with Dr. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho who is the head of marine mammal conservation and research for the National Institute of Ecology and Climate... Read more » The post EOC 030: Vaquita Conservation in Mexico with “Mr. Vaquita” Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the podcast we’re talking with Jamey Stegmaier, the co-founder of Stonemaier Games, a board game design company. Jamey has run kickstarter campaigns for each of the... Read more » The post EOC 029: A Kickstarter Training Session with Jamey Stegmaier appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Dr. Barbara Taylor is on a life-long mission to save the vaquita from extinction. She has been working with this critically endangered porpoise for over 30 years, and... Read more » The post EOC 028: Barbara Taylor’s Mission to Save the Vaquita appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s conversation topic on the show is one of particular interest to me as a fan of science fiction. Lucas Martell is a filmmaker and an animator who... Read more » The post EOC 027: Environmental Messaging in Science Fiction Storytelling with Lucas Martell appeared first on Wild Lens.
Click on the photo above to jump to our kickstarter campaign for the film! Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking about vaquita conservation and a new Wild Lens... Read more » The post EOC 026: A New Film about the Struggle to Save the Vaquita with Sean Bogle appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the show we’re talking about the trade in illicit ivory. This is the focus of a new episode of the series, “Earth Focus” which airs on... Read more » The post EOC 025: The Illicit Ivory Trade with Raisa Scriabine, Kim Spencer and Miles Benson appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s episode of the podcast features an interview with wildlife researcher Aditya Gangadharan from the University of Alberta. Aditya has years of experience conducting wildlife research in India... Read more » The post EOC 024: Establishing Wildlife Corridors in Southern India with Aditya Gangadharan appeared first on Wild Lens.
Today on the podcast we are talking with Jason Goldman, a science communicator who found his passion for science writing and sharing stories while working on his PhD research in... Read more » The post EOC 023: The Science Communicators: Jason Goldman appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s episode of the podcast is about seabird monitoring in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. This is a long term research and monitoring effort that has been going... Read more » The post EOC 022: Monitoring Seabirds in Extreme Isolation with Mikaela Howie appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: We have a very special episode of the podcast for you today – instead of one expert interview we have a series of interviews with a wide variety... Read more » The post EOC 021: Filmmaker Interviews at the International Wildlife Film Festival appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today on the EOC podcast we’re talking with Texas Tech University professor Robin Verble-Pearson. Robin was featured in our latest EOC film about the Texas Horned Lizard –... Read more » The post EOC 020: Fire Ecology and the Harvester Ant with Robin Verble-Pearson appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer write and record music inspired by wildlife and the natural world. Their new album, Maritime was intentionally written to evoke a strong sense... Read more » The post EOC 019: Music Inspired by the Natural World with Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In today’s episode of the podcast we’ll hear from Texas Horned Lizard expert Rachel Granberg. Rachel shares with us her vast knowledge of this fascinating little animal, and... Read more » The post EOC 018: Texas Horned Lizard Research with Rachel Granberg appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In part two of our ongoing series, From Field Biologist to Filmmaker, I talk about the next stage of my transition into a full-time filmmaker. One of the most... Read more » The post EOC 017: From Field Biologist to Filmmaker – Part Two: the Shooting Guide appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s episode of the podcast is a continuation of this month’s theme of vulture conservation across the globe. Our guest is PhD candidate at the University of Utah,... Read more » The post EOC 016: Studying the Egyptian Vulture in Ethiopia and the Middle East with Evan Buechley appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: We are continuing this month’s theme of vulture conservation around the world with an interview with Yula Kapetanakos. Yula’s doctoral research involved the use of a unique method for... Read more » The post EOC 015: The Vultures of Southeast Asia with Yula Kapetanakos appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s episode of the show is all about vultures. Our guest is Corinne Kendall, whose doctoral research on vultures in East Africa has played a critical role in... Read more » The post EOC 014: Vulture Research and Conservation in East Africa with Corinne Kendall appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Today’s episode is our second show produced in collaboration with the radio show, Building a Greener Idaho, which airs on Radio Boise each Tuesday at 3pm. Our interview... Read more » The post EOC 013: A Conservation Education Program for Refugee Kids with Liz Urban and Megan Jones appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: We have a brand new segment on today’s episode! The Birds and the Beats will be an ongoing current events segment hosted by the newest member of the EOC... Read more » The post EOC 012: Boise, Idaho’s Unique Science Education Program with Carolyn Volk and Karen Viscupic appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: Our second episode about sage-grouse conservation presents a very positive message about the work being done in an effort to reverse the declines faced by this species. Jeremy... Read more » The post EOC 011: The Plan to Save the Sage Grouse with Jeremy Maestas appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: We have dedicated the month of January here at the Eyes on Conservation podcast to Greater Sage-grouse conservation. We are releasing a brand new short documentary today, Greater... Read more » The post EOC 010: Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation and Research with Jen Forbey appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: This is our first episode in what will become an ongoing segment on the podcast – From Field Biologist to Filmmaker. In this new podcast segment, I’ll be... Read more » The post EOC 009: From Field Biologist to Filmmaker – Part One: the Story Outline appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In this episode of the podcast we’re talking with the Executive Director of the Intermountain Bird Observatory, Greg Kaltenecker. The Intermountain Bird Observatory was our very first partner... Read more » The post EOC 008: Bird Migration Research with Greg Kaltenecker appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In this episode of the podcast we’re talking with the Executive Director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Julian Fennessy. Julian has been studying wild giraffe populations in Africa... Read more » The post EOC 007: Giraffe Conservation with Julian Fennessy appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In this episode of the podcast we talk with the principal scientist and co-founder of the Wild Nature Institute (WNI), Monica Bond. Monica, along with WNI co-founder Derek... Read more » The post EOC 006: Conservation of Giraffes and other ungulates in Tanzania with Monica Bond appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: We’re sticking with the theme of marine mammal conservation for the month of October – today’s conversation is with Tamyra Thomas, a volunteer from the Marine Mammal Center... Read more » The post EOC 005: The Importance of Volunteer Effort in Marine Mammal Conservation appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In this episode of the podcast we talk with Guest Experience Manager at the Marine Mammal Center (TMMC), Adam Ratner. Adam oversees all of the education and outreach... Read more » The post EOC 004: Marine Mammal Conservation with Adam Ratner appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Eyes on Conservation podcast we’re talking with Lauren Meads. Lauren works with the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of British Columbia (BOCSBC) where she... Read more » The post EOC 003: The Reintroduction of Burrowing Owls to British Columbia with Lauren Meads appeared first on Wild Lens.
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Eyes on Conservation Podcast we talked with the three researchers responsible for setting up what they call the Phantom Road study. Boise State... Read more » The post EOC 002: The Phantom Road – Noise Pollution and it’s Effect on Wildlife with Jesse Barber, Chris McClure and Heidi Ware appeared first on Wild Lens.