Rewilding Earth Podcast

Summary Jack Humphrey interviews Austin Alvarado, a wildlife filmmaker with Fin & Fur Films, about his work on the documentary “Borderlands Jaguar,” which captures jaguars in Mexico’s Northern Jaguar Reserve. Austin shares his journey from river guide in West Texas to wildlife cinematographer, detailing the intense dedication required for remote camera work, including weeks spent […]

Read full article: Episode 165: Filming the Elusive El Tigre for “Borderlands Jaguar” with Austin Alvarado

About Valerie and Cuenca Los Ojos Valerie Gordon’s conservation work spans more than two decades focused on endangered species, water, rangeland, and wildlife habitat. Most notably, she spearheaded the transition of Cuenca Los Ojos, a family foundation started by her mother, Valer Clark, into a non-profit that promotes land restoration in the U.S. and Mexico. […]

Read full article: Episode 164: Cuenca Los Ojos – A Rewilding Success Story Still Being Written with Valerie Gordon

Dr. Steve Carver is Professor of Rewilding and Wilderness Science in the School of Geography, University of Leeds and Director of the Wildland Research Institute. He has over 30 years of experience in GIS and multi-criteria evaluation, with special interests in wilderness, wildlands, rewilding, landscape evaluation, and public participation. He has worked extensively on the […]

Read full article: Episode 163: Steve Carver on the Challenges of Implementing Rewilding Goals Across Fragmented Geographic, Cultural, and Political Landscapes

Dave is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where from 1990-1999 he led the USFWS’s effort to reintroduce the endangered Mexican gray wolf to the American Southwest. His interests include the ecology and conservation of large carnivores, protection and conservation of biodiversity, and wildlands conservation at scales that fully support ecological and evolutionary […]

Read full article: Episode 162: Inside Dave Parsons’ Battle to Bring Back El Lobo and the Decades of Carnivore Advocacy That Followed

About Danny Giovale Danny Giovale is the founder and president of Kahtoola, an outdoor equipment company he established in 1999. As a native of Flagstaff, Arizona, Giovale was deeply influenced by the area’s local community and environment, which fostered a strong sense of stewardship that guides his work. Kahtoola, which specializes in winter traction products, […]

Read full article: Episode 161: Danny Giovale – The Vision to Innovate, the Passion to Rewild

Summary In this episode, Julius Purcell takes us into the heart of Spain’s Sierra Morena to explore the dramatic recovery of the Iberian Lynx, once the world’s most endangered feline. We follow the story from near-extinction to a conservation success, meet the people behind the restoration project, and examine the complex relationship between rural communities, […]

Read full article: Episode 160: Europe’s Big Three – Wolves, Bears, Lynx. Part 3: Spain’s Missing Lynx Makes A Cautionary Comeback

Episode Summary In this episode, Julius Purcell journeys deep into the Pyrenees to explore the dramatic story of brown bears—once nearly extinct in these mountains, now at the center of a fierce cultural and ecological debate. Through vivid field reporting, interviews with conservationists, shepherds, and locals, we trace the history of Pyrenean brown bear (Ursus […]

Read full article: Episode 159: Europe’s Big Three – Wolves, Bears, Lynx. Part 2: The Brown Bear’s Rocky Return to the Pyrenees

Happy Wolf Awareness Week! Julius Purcell discovered his interest in audio while training as a journalist in the Middle East. He later worked as a deputy editor at National Geographic History magazine, a role that sparked his fascination with environmental history and rewilding. Julius’s audio series for the Rewilding Institute, “WOLF, BEAR, LYNX,” looks at […]

Read full article: Episode 158: Europe’s Big Three – Wolves, Bears, Lynx. Part 1: The Wolf’s Uneasy Return to Germany

A biologist with a lifelong dedication to conservation, Sebastián Di Martino began his involvement with environmental organizations at the age of 13. He earned a degree in Biology in his native Argentina and a Master’s in Natural Protected Areas in Spain before working with the Directorate of Natural Protected Areas of the Province of Neuquén. […]

Read full article: Episode 157: The Jaguar’s Path – Rewilding a Continental Corridor with Sebastian Di Martino

Trevor Ritland spent two years in the cloud forests of Costa Rica before returning to the United States to complete graduate work in documentary studies and science communication. His writing and video projects explore imperiled species, environmental mysteries, and ghost stories. Trevor lives with his wife and daughter (and their dog, Indiana Bones) in Flagstaff, […]

Read full article: Episode 156: The Golden Toad – Hope, Loss, and the Power of Conservation Storytelling

Russ McSpadden works to protect public lands and the wildlife who call them home in Arizona and the rest of the Southwest. Before joining the Center in 2012, Russ engaged in grassroots environmental activism. He holds a master’s degree in environmental history from Florida Atlantic University. Show Notes In this episode of the Rewilding Earth […]

Read full article: Episode 155: Jaguars, Justice, and the Border Wall – Stories from the Frontlines With Russ McSpadden

With a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town, Ryan Olinger is a wildlife biologist as well as an award-winning photographer and videographer. He has dedicated nearly a decade to studying a variety of species and the impact of climate change, with field experience spanning the American Southwest to Africa. Ryan’s […]

Read full article: Episode 154: “The American Southwest” Elevates The Art of Storytelling In Wildlife Films

Renee Seacor is Mighty Earth’s Northeast Rewilding Director, where she oversees the campaign to reintroduce catamounts to the forests of the Northeast. Renee previously served as the Carnivore Conservation Director for Project Coyote, overseeing campaigns aimed at promoting coexistence with North America’s wild carnivore species. She has built a career in environmental advocacy, using litigation […]

Read full article: Episode 153: Preparing For A Catamount Homecoming in the Northeast

Zafeer Ahmed Shaikh is an early-career conservationist from Southern Pakistan, mainly focused on initiatives dedicated to lesser-known wildlife species found in the country. He has a unique passion for the lesser-known wild cats of Pakistan. With the country’s tiger and lion populations gone, his focus shifted to the small, elusive species that still call Pakistan […]

Read full article: Episode 152: Wild Cat Rewilding In Pakistan

Adam Weymouth is a writer and journalist whose work has been widely published, appearing in Granta, The Atlantic, The Observer, and the BBC. Adam’s features have covered subjects as diverse as illegal cedar logging in Malawi, the politics of oil in Alaska, migration in Greece, flooding in Wales, and depopulation on the Outer Hebrides. His […]

Read full article: Episode 151: Tracing The Epic Journey Of Europe’s Most Famous Wolf With Adam Weymouth

The Superior Bio-Conservancy is an ambitious plan to protect and restore the biological integrity and hydrology of the Great Lakes Region and the Laurentian Forest Province throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The conservation plan will create maps and effectively advocate for the creation of protected wildlife corridors to connect large tracts of public (Federal, State […]

Read full article: Episode 150: Democratizing Wildlife Management Data To Protect Biodiversity And Habitat In The Superior Bio-Preserve

Henry has a background in ecology and conservation with a strong focus on quantitative, data-driven science and practice. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology and nearly 15 years’ experience as a wildlife biologist and academic researcher. He is dedicated to gaining ground for prairie […]

Read full article: Episode 149: Rewilding The American Serengeti With Henry Pollock from Southern Plains Land Trust

Bringing together a mix of comedy, ballads and love songs, Dana’s sharp wit and beautiful voice have him performing at concert halls, festivals, conventions, fundraisers and universities across the US and around the world. Dana’s music receives crossover radio play on country, rock, alternative, community, college and oldies radio stations worldwide. “Every movement has its […]

Read full article: Episode 148: The Art of Finding Balance In Choppy Waters With Dana Lyons

With books like the bestselling “The World Without Us,” a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and translated into thirty-four languages, and “Countdown,” winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, environmental journalist Alan Weisman has established himself as one of the most prophetic voices on humanity’s relationship to the Earth. For his […]

Read full article: Episode 147: Alan Weisman On His New Book “Hope Dies Last”

Randy Hayes has been described in the Wall Street Journal as “an environmental pit bull.” He is Executive Director of Foundation Earth, an organization fostering the big rethink from the ground up to help protect the planet’s life support systems. Hayes, a former filmmaker, then founder of Rainforest Action Network, is a veteran of many high-visibility corporate accountability campaigns […]

Read full article: Episode 146: Randy Hayes’ Roadmap for an Ecological Civilization

Gregg founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 based on his passion for exploration, scientific discovery and galvanizing “the choir” to more directly participate in citizen science conservation. National Geographic named Gregg Treinish “Adventurer of the Year” in 2008 when he and a friend completed a 7,800-mile trek along the spine of the Andes mountain range, and […]

Read full article: Episode 145: Calling All Citizen Scientists! How To Make A Big Impact On Your Next Adventure With Adventure Scientists

Cooper Freeman works to protect Alaska’s wildlife, lands and oceans. Before joining the Center for Biological Diversity, he worked with Alaskan Native Tribes and Tribal organizations as a strategic planning facilitator and policy advisor, was program manager and development director at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Northern California, and professionally guided class V […]

Read full article: Episode 144 | Fighting Back: Alaska’s Stand Against Trump’s Environmental Blitzkrieg

Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar specializes in building resilience in diverse communities by enhancing the connections between people, culture, and natural resources. He brings vast experience on the multicultural border region between the US and Mexico, where he has implemented community-based approaches to watershed management, river restoration, geo-tourism, conservation of native peoples, and best practices for the ranching […]

Read full article: Episode 143: Beavering Beyond Boundaries With Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar

Nadia Steinzor is an environmental consultant with 25 years of experience in policy analysis, research, writing, and communications. She has developed and managed projects to investigate the oil and gas industry’s impact on the climate and communities, secure governmental protections for air, water, land, and wildlife, and engage the public in advocacy efforts. Nadia works […]

Read full article: Episode 142: Nadia Steinzor On Northeast Carnivore Recovery and Coexistence Through State Wildlife Agency Plans

Since 1979, Tom Biebighauser has enthusiastically restored wetlands, lakes, streams, and rivers. He has designed over 10,000 wetland projects and successfully supervised the construction of more than 3,000 wetlands and streams in 26 states, three Canadian provinces, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and Taiwan. He has a deep and long-standing concern for the environment and […]

Read full article: Episode 141: Tom Biebighauser Gives A Wetland Rewilding Masterclass

Wade Crowfoot serves as California’s Natural Resources Secretary, leading efforts to conserve California’s environment and natural resources. He has served as Secretary since 2019 and advises Governor Newsom as a member of his cabinet. Secretary Crowfoot oversees an agency of over 25,000 employees spread across 26 departments, commissions, and conservancies. His agency is charged with stewarding […]

Read full article: Episode 140: California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot On Beavers, Rewilding Rivers, and Wildlife Crossings

Welcome to our 2024 recap episode! This year, we’re doing something different. We’ve asked a group of our 2024 guests to come back and give updates on their work since their episodes aired. Thanks to our sponsor, Biohabitats, and to all the individual supporters of the Rewilding Earth Podcast and the Rewilding Institute! In this […]

Read full article: Episode 139: Year-End Recap With 2024 Guest Updates

“It’s obvious to me that Japan [was] seeking revenge for the international humiliation caused by the Whale Wars TV series, reporting our actions against illegal whaling. But my two little boys need me more than Japan needs its revenge” – Paul Watson Special Episode: Finally released from Nuuk, Greenland prison, Paul Watson talks about Japan’s […]

Read full article: Episode 138: No Surrender! Paul Watson Talks About His Latest Victory Over Japan and The Battles Ahead

About Paul Ehrlich Paul Ehrlich is the Bing Professor of Population Studies, Emeritus, and founder of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford. He has carried out field, laboratory, and theoretical research on the dynamics and genetics of insect populations, the evolutionary interactions of plants and herbivores, the behavioral ecology of birds and reef fishes, […]

Read full article: Episode 137: Paul Ehrlich On Saving Nature’s Populations and Ourselves

Leon Kolankiewicz is Scientific Director of NumbersUSA and Vice-President of Scientists and Environmentalists for Population Stabilization. His career as a wildlife/fisheries biologist and environmental scientist spans more than 30 years, 40 states, and three countries.  He has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department Fish and Game, Orange County (California) […]

Read full article: Episode 136: How To Save Greater Yellowstone From Runaway Sprawl

Dr. Todd Bridges is a Professor of Practice in resilient and sustainable systems in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia. Prior to joining UGA in 2023, Bridges served for 17 years as the U.S. Army’s Senior Research Scientist (ST) for Environmental Science, one of 40 Senior Research Scientists in the Department of […]

Read full article: Episode 135: Dr. Todd Bridges on Engineering with Nature

Before he and his wife Lucinda began rewilding work on the Pitchfork Ranch 20 years ago, A Thomas Cole spent thirty-two years as a small-town lawyer in Casa Grande, Arizona, successfully defended two death-penalty murder cases, a dozen homicide cases, co-counseled the largest jury verdict in Arizona history, Chaired the Casa Grande Town Hall, Arizona […]

Read full article: Episode 134: Rewilding Pitchfork Ranch – On The Ground With AT Cole

“Whoever you are, wherever your interest lies, whatever you’ve fallen in love with, get out of bed every morning and do something. Act, step into the fray—fight for a human society in balance with the natural world.” —Kristine McDivitt Tompkins Kris Tompkins is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, an American conservationist, and former […]

Read full article: Episode 133 | Beyond National Parks: Kris Tompkins’ Ambitious Vision For Continental-Scale Rewilding

About Dr. Jessica Hardesty Norris is a biologist with over 20 years of experience in ecological planning and research, program development, strategic planning and community outreach for natural resource conservation. She has demonstrated success in proposal writing, partnership building, and project management. Her recent project work includes park planning for Charleston County and leading Biohabitats’ […]

Read full article: Episode 132: Rewilding Our World – Big Ideas for Landscapes Large & Small

About Michael Kellett, the co-founder and Executive Director of RESTORE: The North Woods, has over 35 years of experience in the land conservation movement. In 1994, he wrote the first white paper proposing a 3.2 million-acre Maine Woods National Park & Preserve, and has been actively involved in efforts to restore the endangered wildlife such […]

Read full article: Episode 131: The Growing Movement Toward 100 New US National Parks

About Emily Burns Emily joined the Sky Island Alliance in 2019 after practicing conservation science and restoration for nearly a decade in the redwood forests of California at Save the Redwoods League. She leads the team running all programs, including the Border Wildlife Study, the Trinational Internship Program, Sky Island FotoFauna, Spring Seeker, their stewardship […]

Read full article: Episode 130: Conservation Challenges and Successes Amidst Increased Border Militarization In The Sky Islands

About As the United States Policy Director for Wildlands Network, Erin Sito researches, develops and promotes laws and policies geared towards supporting habitat connectivity and biodiversity at the local, state, and federal level. Erin’s work also focuses on state agency reform and funding, and outreach to promote Wildlands Network’s policy initiatives nationwide. Episode 129 Rewilding […]

Read full article: Episode 129: Advancing Wildlife Connectivity with Erin Sito of Wildlands Network

About Eric Trefney grew up in Michigan in the metro-Detroit area, where he often camped and canoed with his family and friends. After finishing graduate school in 2015, Eric joined the Peace Corps, where he was assigned to Senegal, Africa, in the Sahel desert region. Eric practiced and trained in agroforestry techniques with local Senegalese […]

Read full article: Episode 128: A Howl of Hope – Eric Trefney’s Inspiring Campaign to Protect the Critically Endangered Red Wolf

Ruskin Hartley champions equitable access to dark skies and quality lighting for all through DarkSky’s award-winning programs. He works closely with volunteer leaders and donors to secure increased support for our priorities around the world. Ruskin believes that experiencing a dark sky, and appreciating quality lighting, are essential to DarkSky’s mission. Before this position, Ruskin directed […]

Read full article: Episode 127: How Rewilding The Night Skies Can Provide Major Benefits To Migratory Birds And Other Species

About Myles Traphagen coordinates Wildlands Network’s borderlands program, focusing on channeling collaborative efforts to maintain and restore habitat for species like jaguar, black bear, and Sonoran pronghorn. He oversees strategic partnerships, communications, and projects to advance large-landscape conservation goals in Mexico and the United States. Learn more about Myles here. Show Notes In this episode […]

Read full article: Episode 126: Borderlands Connectivity – Conservation Challenges And Victories on the U.S.-Mexico Border

About With an academic background in landscape architecture and plant ecology, Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation as an intern in 1996 and today serves as its President and Executive Director. In this role, he headed the $7.5 million campaign to construct and endow the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center and served as the Executive […]

Read full article: Episode 125: Reflections on The 75th Anniversary of ‘A Sand County Almanac’ and the 100th Anniversary of the Gila Wilderness with Buddy Huffaker

About Rowan Kilduff is a dad, long-time mountain, hawk & wildlife enthusiast, poet, and activist-artist. He has worked on various projects, including with Greenpeace, hands-on forest conservation in the Czech Republic, fixing a roof in Nepal, and photos used by The Irish Seal Sanctuary. His first writing about rewilding and first poems were published in Rewilding […]

Read full article: Episode 124: Rowan Kilduff On The Poetry Of Coexistence

About Today’s Guests George Wuerthner (President, Sage Steppe Wild) – George is a professional photographer, writer, and ecologist. He has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 400 wilderness areas, more than 200 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi. George is the author of 38 books on […]

Read full article: Episode 123: Who Pays for Conservation, Being the Lorax, and Introducing A New Voice For Western Lands Conservation

Note from Randy: Hi everyone thank you for listening. On the podcast I speak about not reporting possible poachers when they talk about jaguar killings. In addition to the fact that information channels would dry up if we were to report those who talk about killing jaguars, there is also the fact that actual poachers […]

Read full article: Episode 122: Seeds of Hope in the Land of the Jaguar – Rejuvenating Habitat in Sonora Mexico

About Before joining The Rewilding Institute, Megan “Turtle” Southern was the coordinator of the Northern Jaguar Project, where she helped to establish and grow the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora, Mexico, organized scientific research projects and conservation education among youth, and worked extensively with ranchers to promote coexistence. It has been 15 years since the […]

Read full article: Episode 121: Beyond Borders – Jaguar Recovery In The United States

About Paula MacKay has studied wild carnivores for the past two decades and is currently a carnivore conservation specialist with Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Also dedicated to communications on behalf of her wild kin, Paula earned an MFA in creative writing from Pacific Lutheran University in 2015. She was managing editor for Noninvasive Survey Methods for Carnivores (Island Press, 2008), and […]

Read full article: Episode 120: Carnivore Conservation in the Pacific Northwest With Paula MacKay and Robert Long

About Lauren Strohacker is an eco-political artist whose work emphasizes the non-human in an increasingly human-centric world. She received a BFA (2006) from The Ohio State University and an MFA (2011) from Arizona State University. Strohacker’s co-creative and site-responsive practice routinely collaborates with both local and national wildlife conservation organizations to conceptualize animals who have […]

Read full article: Episode 119: The Art Of Rewilding With Lauren Strohacker

About In the early 1980s, an outdoorsy, nature-loving undergrad named Keith Bowers had an epiphany. Keith had been studying landscape architecture at the University of Virginia when he met Ed Garbisch, a pioneering practitioner of marsh restoration along the Chesapeake Bay. “Wait a minute,” thought Keith. “I can apply my education to restoring the places […]

Read full article: Episode 118: Keith Bowers Shows How Giving Nature A Seat At The Table Is Just Good Business

About Christina Selby is a conservation photographer, filmmaker, and science writer, who uses multimedia storytelling as a powerful tool to share the beauty of the planet and motivate others to act on behalf of nature. She uses use aerial, macro, landscape, underwater, remote camera, photojournalism, and any other technique required to tell engaging stories that […]

Read full article: Episode 117: Learning About The Vital Importance Of The Springs of the Southwest with Christina Selby

About A native of New Jersey, Jamie discovered his passion for Wild Nature surrounded by meadows and forests near his home and on a family outing in an old growth forest in the Quebec wilderness. In 1986 he bought a log cabin in northern New Hampshire where he still lives. In 1985 Jamie became involved […]

Read full article: Episode 116: A Lifetime of Advocacy for the Protection and Restoration America’s Wild Northeastern Forests

About Duncan is the Founder and Managing Director of Journeys With Purpose.  Journeys With Purpose is a member of 1% for the Planet, The Long Run, and a Certified B Corp, and as B Corp’s highest-scoring travel company it’s been awarded “Best for the World: Environment 2022”.  Our Vision is for A World Where All Life Thrives.     Duncan passionately believes in […]

Read full article: Episode 115: Spreading Rewilding Awareness And Advocacy Via Journeys With Purpose

About Rachel Conn As Deputy Director of Amigos Bravos, Rachel advocates for strong and environmentally just local, state, and federal water policy. She provides hands-on support to New Mexico communities and groups working to protect their watersheds. She is a leader in the ongoing campaigns to hold Los Alamos National Lab accountable for pollution, designate […]

Read full article: Episode 114: Rachel Conn On Re-Watering, Re-Ottering, and Rewilding Watersheds In New Mexico

About Peter Alagona Peter is a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He’s an environmental historian, historian of science, conservation scientist, and nature-culture geographer. His work explores what happens when humans share space and resources (their habitats) with other species: how we interact with non-human creatures, how we make sense […]

Read full article: Episode 113: A Fascinating Talk With Peter Alagona About Grizzlies And Their Future Return To California

About Chris Hawkins leads the Colorado Chapter of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Cities program where he spends his time focusing on improving regional habitat connectivity and access to nature; creating a more equitable and climate resilient urban forest; and ensuring there is funding and support for helping the region achieve more sustainable outcomes at the […]

Read full article: Episode 112: The Importance Of Rethinking Urban Design To Rewilding Projects Everywhere

About Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jon Rezendes had a lifelong obsession with wilderness and big cats interrupted by the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. Jon was a high school freshman and watched the first responder jets fly overhead from the now-defunct Otis Air Force Base en route to New York City and felt […]

Read full article: Episode 111: Combat Vet Jon Rezendes on Large Carnivore Coexistence and a Habitat Protection Victory in El Paso’s Franklin Mountains

About Erin English Erin leads Biohabitats’ visionary Integrated Water Strategies planning & engineering efforts. She applies her background in chemical and environmental engineering with her passion for water and ecology to help clients advance innovation in One Water and nature-based infrastructure. She has led constructed wetlands, wastewater, rainwater, and water reuse engineering for award-winning projects […]

Read full article: Episode 110: Deploying Nature-Based Water Solutions – The Future Of Water Use In The Southwest

About Chris Chris is a practice leader with Biohabitats, leading the firm’s research and development effort called Bioworks. He is an ecological engineer with 20 years of experience in restoration and regenerative design. Combining engineering and ecological design through a biomimicry lens, he approaches every project as an opportunity to create and restore functional life […]

Read full article: Episode 109: Rewilding Anywhere At Any Scale Relies Greatly On How We Restore And Reimagine Our Urban Environments

About Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and caring for the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature. Participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities. Following her passion for wild […]

Read full article: Episode 108: Kelly Borgman on Rewilding the Enormous Mississippi River Watershed

About Suzanne Suzanne Fouty has been exploring the issues of water and the return of wolves in the West for over 30 years, the contributions made by beaver to ecosystems for over 25 years, and the synergy between beavers and wolves in restoring stream systems for over 10 years. Her work on wolves began in […]

Read full article: Episode 107: Toward An Executive Order Protecting Beaver on Federally Managed Public Lands

About Carter, author of Justice as a Fair Start in Life, began his career as an Honors Program appointee to the U.S. Department of Justice. He later served as a legal adviser to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the national security law division. He wrote his thesis reformulating the right to have children […]

Read full article: Episode 106: On Humanity’s Evolution To An Ecocentric View of Nature’s Value

About Rick Steiner is a conservation biologist in Anchorage, Alaska, and founder of Oasis Earth. He has been involved in the global conservation movement for over 40 years. From 1980-2010 he was a marine conservation professor with the University of Alaska, stationed in the Arctic, Prince William Sound, and Anchorage, specializing in marine conservation, and […]

Read full article: Episode 105: Changing The Future Of Wildlife Management On Public Lands

About Bill Ryerson is Founder and President of Population Media Center (PMC), an organization that strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies. He also serves as Chair of The Population Institute in Washington, DC, which works in partnership with Population Media Center. PMC creates […]

Read full article: Episode 104: Bill Ryerson On A Novel Approach To Population Education That Actually Works

About Matt Koozer As Senior Restoration Ecologist & Construction Mgr. for Biohabitats, Matt has 24 years of experience leading design-build teams in water resources management and habitat restorations. He has managed all phases of river, estuary, wetland and riparian restoration and management projects, with a focus on habitat restoration construction. Matt has been involved in […]

Read full article: Episode 103: On The Construction Side Of Restoration Ecology With Matt Koozer

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

Read full article: Episode 102: What We Learned In 2022 – The Rewilding Earth Podcast Year In Review

About Kate Kate McFarland holds a BS in Mathematics, MS in Statistics and PhD in Philosophy (with a focus on pragmatics and philosophy of language) from Ohio State University, which she completed just for fun before leaving academia to spend a few years as a freelance writer. She now works as the Center Associate for […]

Read full article: Episode 101: A Philosophical Chat About Original Rewilding and It’s Different Uses Around the World with Kate McFarland

  About Stephen Pyne became interested in fire as a result of 15 seasons on a fire crew, the North Rim Longshots, at Grand Canyon National Park.  He has written a gamut of fire-themed books, among them national fire histories for America, Australia, Canada, Europe (including Russia), Mexico (pending), and the Earth overall, culminating in The […]

Read full article: Episode 99: Stephen Pyne On Humanity’s Evolving Relationship With Fire

About Deborah Landau is the Director of Ecological Management at the Maryland/DC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, where she has worked since 2001. Her work focuses on restoration at more than 30 Conservancy preserves across Maryland and DC. She works with staff and partners to restore natural communities across the state, ensuring they are healthy […]

Read full article: Episode 98: The Story Of Fire and Ecological Restoration with Deborah Landau

About Ben Ben Goldfarb (@ben_a_goldfarb) is an award-winning environmental writer whose journalism has appeared in Mother Jones, Science, The Guardian, Orion Magazine, High Country News, Outside, Audubon Magazine, Pacific Standard, Hakai Magazine, VICE News, Yale Environment 360, and many other publications. His fiction has appeared in the Bellevue Literary Review, Motherboard, and The Hopper. He […]

Read full article: Episode 97: On Re-watering The West With Beavers And Decommissioning Forest Service Roads With Ben Goldfarb

To support the continuation of Dave’s work at The Rewilding Institute, please sign up for our newsletter here and consider donating here. Thanks to everyone who has sent messages, songs, poems, and condolences in the past week. They have been a great comfort to your friends here at TRI and to Dave’s family. Bart Kohler’s […]

Read full article: Episode 96: Saying Goodbye To Dave Foreman And Keeping His Fight For Nature Alive

About Dr. Liz Hillard is a Senior Wildlife Biologist for Wildlands Network and helped lead and manage the study design, implementation, analysis, and report writing for road ecology research focused on the important Pigeon River Gorge/Interstate 40 corridor near Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. In addition, she works to build partnerships […]

Read full article: Episode 95: Liz Hillard On Wildlife Connectivity In The Pigeon River Gorge – Interstate 40 corridor

About George Wuerthner is an ecologist, former river ranger for the Alaska BLM and backcountry ranger in the Gates of the Arctic NP in Alaska. He has visited more than 400 designated Wilderness Areas and approximately 200 National Park units. A prolific author, he has published 38 books including such titles as California Wilderness Areas, Alaska […]

Read full article: Episode 94: George Wuerthner On The Proposed Western Rewilding Network

Note: This interview was recorded before the Supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade. Nonetheless, Nandita and Carter present a deep look into the driving cultural and political forces behind it. About Nandita Bajaj, Executive Director, Population Balance A Humane Educator and a passionate advocate for planetary health, Nandita’s area of interest is on […]

Read full article: Episode 93: An Eye-Opening Discussion On Practical Solutions To Human Overpopulation

About Kevin Kevin is founder and executive director of the Southwest Environmental Center. He received a BS in Biology from Dartmouth College, and a MS in Natural Resources Policy at the University of Michigan. After decades of advocating for wildlife, he realized that as long as the people who viewed wild animals as soulless resources […]

Read full article: Episode 92: Wrestling Wildlife Governance Reform From The Tight Grip Of The Hunting, Fishing, and Gun Industries

About Renee Renee Seacor is an interdisciplinary environmental advocate with a background in wildlife ecology and environmental law and policy who has dedicated her professional career to using science-based advocacy to guide and develop policy solutions to challenging conservation issues. She currently serves as the Carnivore Conservation Advocate for Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute, where she […]

Read full article: Episode 91: Renee Seacor Advocates For Mexican Wolves To Infinity and Beyond I-40!

About Bethanie Walder joined the Society for Ecological Restoration as Executive Director in September 2015 and has more than 20 years’ experience in environmental conservation, restoration and education. Prior to joining the SER, Bethanie served as the Executive Director of Wildlands CPR, where she oversaw several highly successful conservation and restoration campaigns. Today she is […]

Read full article: Episode 90: Bethanie Walder On The Importance Of Ecological Restoration At All Scales

About Fran is an interdisciplinary researcher and nature advocate with over a decade’s experience in conservation and animal science, ethics and policy issues. He is the Big River Connectivity Science and Conservation Manager for Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute, where he helps promote compassion and respect for wild carnivores and nature, their protection, and […]

Read full article: Episode 89: Francisco Santiago-Avila On Rewilding And Coexistence In The Heartland

Welcome to a special Earth Day episode of the Rewilding Earth Podcast! About Cara Nelson is a Professor of Restoration Ecology and the Chair of the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at the University of Montana’s W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and a leader of the Restoration Thematic Group of the IUCN’s Commission on […]

Read full article: Episode 88: Cara Nelson On The United Nations Decade On Ecosystem Restoration

About Brad Meiklejohn is a member of the Rewilding Institute Leadership Council, and he is currently Senior Alaska Representative for The Conservation Fund, where he has worked since 1994. Brad has directed hundreds of conservation projects protecting over 500,000 acres of wild land in Alaska, and he recently completed a major dam removal project on […]

Read full article: Episode 87: Lessons From Alaska – Winning The Conservation Battles Ahead While Keeping Your Fire Alive With Brad Meiklejohn

Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D. co-founded the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT) in 1998 and has served as its Executive Director since 2011. In her work for SPLT, she is striving to create large shortgrass prairie wildlife refuges that emulate the “American Serengeti” that once occurred in the Great Plains. Dr. Daniel Kinka is American Prairie Reserve’s Wildlife Restoration […]

Read full article: Episode 86: Rewilding The Great Plains – America’s Serengeti

About Chad Hanson co-founded the John Muir Project in 1996. He first became involved in national forest protection after hiking the 2,700-mile length of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada with his older brother in 1989. During this hike he witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by rampant commercial logging on our National Forests […]

Read full article: Episode 85: Chad Hanson – Time To Fully Protect Our Public Forests From Commercial Logging

About John Davis is executive director of The Rewilding Institute and editor of Rewilding Earth. For Rewilding, he serves as a wildways scout, editor, interviewer, and writer. He rounds out his living with conservation field work, particularly within New York’s Adirondack Park, where he lives. John serves on boards of RESTORE: The North Woods, Eddy […]

Read full article: Episode 84: John Davis Introduces the Mogollon Wildlife Corridor Campaign

About Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and taking care of the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature, while participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities. Following her passion […]

Read full article: Episode 83: Rewilding The Mississippi River Watershed with Kelly Borgmann

About Zach Zach is a Wildlife Science MS student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. After reading a book as a teenager featuring species profiles and illustrations of recent, human-caused extinctions (including Stellar’s sea cow, moa, great auk, and more), he developed a passion to restore nature and prevent any further species loss. Since […]

Read full article: Episode 82: The Science Of Reintroducing Important Species To An Indiana Tallgrass Prairie with Zach Finn

About Rick Steiner is a conservation biologist in Anchorage, Alaska, and founder of Oasis Earth. He has been involved in the global conservation movement for over 40 years. From 1980-2010 he was a marine conservation professor with the University of Alaska, stationed in the Arctic, Prince William Sound, and Anchorage, specializing in marine conservation, and […]

Read full article: Episode 81: Proposed Solution To State Wildlife Mismanagement With Rick Steiner

Ignacio Jiménez (1969, Spain) has extensive international experience in conservation. He has coordinated research and management projects with manatees in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and with golden-crowned sifakas in Madagascar, worked on wetlands and protected areas in El Salvador, and coordinated and published a national assessment of the Spanish experience in endangered species recovery. He has a […]

Read full article: Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 80: Ignacio Jimenez on Institutional Ecology and Rewilding Spain

About Laura Wildman Laura Wildmand is Practice Area Lead at Biohabitats. She is a practicing fisheries and water resource specializing in ecological restoration consulting for aquatic systems.  Her expertise and passion, centers on the restoration of rivers through the reestablishment of natural functions and aquatic connectivity. She is considered one of the foremost nation U.S. […]

Read full article: Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 79: Dam Removal and River Restoration with Laura Wildman

About Mark is a leader in BeWildReWild and its Big River Connectivity project. He was raised a self-described military brat, a nomad bouncing back and forth across the oceans searching for a home. After college, his Thoreau experiment of living in a shack with no running water by the river continued for 17 years. He […]

Read full article: Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 78: Iowa Rewilding and Big River Connectivity With Mark Edwards

About Dennis A nationally recognized expert in science education, Dennis directed the production of educational media at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for 20 years before joining the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation in 2019 as Vice President of Education. He works with scientists, educators, graphic designers, animators, filmmakers, and students to design experiences to have […]

Read full article: Episode 77: Prepping The Next Generation For The Challenge To Rewild Half The Planet

About Dr. Kinka Dr. Daniel Kinka is American Prairie Reserve’s Wildlife Restoration Manager. His primary responsibilities include restoring and monitoring wildlife on the Reserve and managing the wildlife-friendly ranching program “Wild Sky.” He also acts as a liaison to scientists conducting research at American Prairie, other non-governmental organizations, agencies, and other external entities. He joined […]

Read full article: Episode 76: American Prairie Reserve – Big Rewilding On America’s Northern Great Plains

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

Read full article: Episode 75: Passing America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act

About Keith In the early 1980s, an outdoorsy, nature-loving undergrad named Keith Bowers had an epiphany. Keith had been studying landscape architecture at the University of Virginia when he met Ed Garbisch, a pioneering practitioner of marsh restoration along the Chesapeake Bay. “Wait a minute,” thought Keith. “I can apply my education to restoring the […]

Read full article: Episode 74: The Role of B Corporations In Conservation And Communities With Keith Bowers

About Carey Peterson is a professional writer, editor and conservationist. She is co-author, with friend and former husband Robert Glenn Ketchum, of The Tongass: Alaska’s Vanishing Rainforest, published by Aperture. In addition to many local conservation initiatives in the various places she has lived, including New York, Hawaii, California, and Washington State, she served as development director […]

Read full article: Episode 73: Rewilding In Namibia with Carey Peterson

About Former Vice President of IUCN, former leader of the Australian Green Party and current Global Greens Ambassador, Christine Milne took up the role of Co-Convenor of the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee in the lead up the United Nations Decade of Ecological Restoration (2021-2030) to campaign for an agreement (by the summer of 2021-22) to […]

Read full article: Episode 72: Rewilding Tasmania’s Lake Pedder with Christine Milne

About Leon Kolankiewicz is scientific director of NumbersUSA and vice-president of Scientists and Environmentalists for Population Stabilization (SEPS).  He is also a consulting environmental scientist and natural resources planner. He has managed many Environmental Impact Statements (EIS’s) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on proposed projects ranging from dams and reservoirs to flood control […]

Read full article: Episode 71: Population Stabilization And Biodiversity With Leon Kolankiewicz

Intro music: Native American Flute “Welcome Song” by Robert TallTree Outro Music: “Healing Song” by Robert TallTree About Robert and Terri TallTree Robert and Terri TallTree are spiritual leaders to a great many people around the world. Robert is a direct lineal descendent of Black Elk of the Swan Creek Black River Band of Chippewa […]

Read full article: Episode 70: Robert and Terri TallTree On Finding Balance For Conservationists Living In Challenging Times

About Aimee joined the Trust in 2009 as the California Program Manager. Her experience includes serving as executive director of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy. Previously, she was a founder of Friends of the Sacramento River Greenway. She worked with the American Institute of Architects as Director of Governmental Relations, and served as legislative advocate for […]

Read full article: Episode 69: Keeping The Promise Of Wilderness With The Wilderness Land Trust

About Gary Gary joined SJCA in April 2020 and was a board member for several years prior to that. Gary worked for the Colorado Division of Wildlife for 23 years. Throughout his professional career, Gary focused on threatened and endangered species management and spearheaded the agency’s efforts on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. He has […]

Read full article: Episode 68: The Lowdown On Colorado Wolf Reintroduction With Gary Skiba

“For decades, eight lower Snake and Columbia river dams and reservoirs have hampered, harmed, killed, and rendered threatened and endangered four anadromous fish species. The lack of Snake River chinook salmon, a primary food source for the Salish Seas’ southern resident orcas, has concurrently brought these orcas to the brink of extinction.” ~Great Old Broads […]

Read full article: Episode 67: The Case For Removing 4 Dams On The Lower Snake River

In this episode Rewilding’s Wildlands Coordinator Kim Crumbo clarifies how the conservation community must lean into the 30×30 campaign. He reminds us, while we have a friendly administration, we still have much work to do. And The Rewilding Institute is ready to provide the on-the-ground plan for protecting at least 30% land and water by […]

Read full article: Episode 66: We Elected A President, Not A Fairy Godmother

“Women – educated, empowered, integrated in to the workforce, and with access to family planning technologies – hold the key to our ecological salvation.” -Chris Tucker About Dr. Christopher Tucker is chairman of the American Geographical Society, and serves on the boards of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and the Open Geospatial Consortium. He […]

Read full article: Episode 65: How To Have A More Constructive Conversation About Human Population Issues