Rewilding Earth Podcast

Episode Summary Jack Humphrey and the Rewilding Earth podcast sit down with the Center for Biological Diversity’s National Public Lands Advocate Laiken Jordahl to discuss the current administration’s plan to extend border wall construction to Big Bend National Park and the West Texas borderlands. This is an immediate, gargantuan threat to one of America’s most […] Read full article: Episode 173: Laiken Jordahl on the Battle for Big Bend

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 Dennis holds a BS from New Mexico State University in Wildlife Science and an MS from the University of Montana in Wildlife Ecology. His 40 years of conservation work experience includes law enforcement, management, education, and research. Dennis is a former President of The Wildlands Project and currently serves as Vice President of the […] Read full article: Episode 61: Dennis Sizemore from Round River Conservation Studies

About Don and Bob Don Waller is a forest ecologist, conservation biologist and evolutionary biologist who taught ecology, evolution, and conservation biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the J.T. Curtis Professor until 2019. His research interests include the causes and consequences of inbreeding, the evolution of mating systems and life histories, rare plant demography […] Read full article: Episode 60: Don Waller and Bob Boucher on the Upper Midwest Superior Bio-Conservancy

About Jean Although Jean Ossorio wasn’t actually raised by wolves, she was taken to the Missouri woods for the first time at age six weeks. Her nature-loving parents met on a field trip. During childhood she accompanied them on annual camping expeditions to New Mexico and southern Colorado, falling in love with the Southwest and […] Read full article: Episode 59: What Jean Ossorio Has Learned (So Far) From 530 Nights In Wolf Country

About Tyus Williams is a Wildlife Ecologist currently working with The University of Nevada Reno as a field ecologist. He went to school at the University of Georgia where he studied fisheries and wildlife science. After performing his undergraduate thesis on jaguars in Belize he is now pursuing graduate school in the interest of carnivore […] Read full article: Episode 58: Tyus Williams On The Role That Diversity, Justice, and Equality Play In Winning The Tough Conservation Battles Ahead

About Paola grew up in South Africa, completed her academic training in the US, and is now based full-time in Mozambique.  She’s an ecologist and conservationist dedicated to the recovery of large carnivores and their co-existence with human communities in the Gorongosa Ecosystem of Central Mozambique. In May of 2012 Paola co-founded Projecto Leões da […] Read full article: Episode 57: The Magic Of Rewilding In Gorongosa National Park With Paola Bouley

About Kathleen Kathleen is a conservation leader recognized for her extensive experience in integrated large landscape conservation and development programs in Africa and North America. Kathleen has lived in Africa for 12 years. She was a senior staff member of the African Wildlife Foundation for 11 years, most recently serving as Vice President for East […] Read full article: Episode 56: Kathleen Fitzgerald on African Wildlife Conservancies and the State of Wildlife Protection Funding During the Pandemic

About Kurt A former archaeologist, Kurt Menke is a geospatial generalist based in Albuquerque. He founded Bird’s Eye View to apply his expertise with GIS technology towards solving the world’s mounting ecological, economic and social issues. His areas of focus are public health, conservation and education. Kurt has a broad skill set. He is a […] Read full article: Episode 55: Kurt Menke On The Importance of GIS Mapping To Successful Rewilding Projects

About Karen is a lifelong environmentalist, naturalist, educator, poet,  author and overpopulation activist. She began her career as a naturalist in 1983 and as the director of the City of Richfield’s Wood Lake Nature Center in 1991. She is passionate about the role nature centers can make in keeping communities thriving. She is a former […] Read full article: Episode 54: Karen Shragg On Having Upstream Conversations About Overpopulation

Host’s Note: Today’s talk with Crista Valentino about next-gen conservation reinforces my sincere belief that our planet is in good hands. “Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright The kids are alright” ~ The Who About Crista Crista co-founded CoalitionWILD in 2013 after an invitation from the WILD Foundation to address the lack […] Read full article: Episode 53: Crista Valentino on the New Generation of Conservation Leaders

About Joe Joseph Bish is Director of Issue Advocacy for Population Media Center An expert on population, family-planning, and other global sustainability issues related to PMC’s mission, Joe ensures Marketing and Communications initiatives include effective and focused advocacy messaging. Monitoring and analyzing new trends in PMC’s focus issue areas, the field of social change communications, […] Read full article: Episode 52: Joseph Bish On Storytelling to Change Attitudes Around Population and Conservation Issues

About Kim Kim Vacariu is the former Western Director for Wildlands Network (1998-2017) where he organized and led the 25 conservation organizations making up the Western Wildway Network in its efforts to connect wildlife habitat corridors from Alaska to Mexico. Kim has been instrumental in elevating the recognition of habitat connectivity threats posed by the […] Read full article: Episode 51: Kim Vacariu On Changing Our Message To Win Way More Conservation Battles

About Howie Wolke Howie Wolke is a nationally-known advocate for protecting wilderness and was a co-founder of the original Earth First! He is the author of Wilderness On the Rocks and co-authored The Big Outside, a historic inventory of America’s remaining wilderness lands, with our own Dave Foreman. He has served as the President of […] Read full article: Episode 50: Howie Wolke’s Uncompromising Brand of Wilderness Advocacy

About Allison Allison Jones received her B.A in Environmental Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz under the guidance of her mentor and advisor, Michael Soule.  She then completed her M.S in Conservation Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1996.  Her Masters study analyzed the effects of cattle grazing on small […] Read full article: Episode 49: Allison Jones on the Science Behind Protecting Utah’s Wildlands

About Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land, a history of indigenous American nations, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Greenpeace: The Inside Story, a finalist for the BC Book Award and the Shaughnessy-Cohen Award for Political Writing; and The Jesus Sayings, a deconstruction of first century history, a […] Read full article: Episode 48: Rex Weyler On The Double Bind Of The Pandemic

About Laiken Laiken Jordahl, Borderlands Campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity, works to protect wildlife and communities across the U.S.-Mexico borderlands from border wall construction and militarization. Before joining the Center, Laiken worked with the National Park Service researching threats to wilderness character at five National Park Service wilderness areas. He studied the impacts […] Read full article: Episode 47: Laiken Jordahl Documenting The Destruction Of The Borderlands

About Carl Ecologist and author Carl Safina explores how humans are changing the living world, and what those changes mean for wild places and for human and other beings. His work connects broad scientific understanding with a moral call to action. His writing has won the MacArthur “genius” prize; Pew and Guggenheim Fellowships; book awards […] Read full article: Episode 46: Carl Safina on Animal Cultures, Pandemics, and Humanity’s Rocky Relationship With The Wild World

About Shelby Perry is the Stewardship Director at Northeast Wilderness Trust, whose mission is to conserve forever-wild landscapes for nature and people. She received her master’s degree from the University of Vermont’s field naturalist program, and holds a bachelors in environmental engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A Vermont native, she has also lived and worked […] Read full article: Episode 45: Shelby Perry on Wildlands Philanthropy In The Northeastern United States

About For over 40 years Dr. John Laundré has studied predators and their prey in the western U.S. and northern Mexico. He has conducted one of the longest studies of cougar ecology and behavior to date and has published over 80 scientific articles on his scientific work. He is the originator of the concept of […] Read full article: Episode 44: John Laundré on Eastern Cougar Rewilding

About Gary Gary Wockner, Ph.D., has been active in environmental protection most of his adult life. Over the past 15 years, Gary has spearheaded the protection and restoration of his local watershed in Fort Collins, CO, as the co-founder, Executive Director, and Waterkeeper for Cache la Poudre River. Since 2010, Gary has played an increasing […] Read full article: Episode 43: Gary Wockner – Life As A River Warrior

About Greta Greta has an M.A. in geography from the University of Arizona and a Water Policy Certificate from the same institution. She has a B.A. in environmental studies from Prescott College, and a certificate of clinical herbalism from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine. Topics Thinking about conservation at the watershed level Old growth […] Read full article: Episode 42: Greta Anderson Western Watersheds Project

About Chance Chance Cutrano directs Fish in the Fields and Restore Point Reyes, and oversees the development of The Forces of Nature and sponsored programs at Resource Renewal Institute. An award-winning environmentalist, Chance brings a variety of skills from public, private, and nonprofit sustainability experiences. Prior to RRI, Chance was researching food, water, and energy […] Read full article: Episode 41: Chance Cutrano On Correcting The Mismanagement of Point Reyes National Seashore

About Amy Amy Lewis is Vice President of Policy & Communications for Wild Foundation and works closely with the organization Nature Needs Half. Amy has spent the last 15 years researching the building blocks of collective action. She has brought this knowledge to bear in her own work as an award-winning nonprofit leader and as […] Read full article: Episode 40: Amy Lewis Protecting 50% of The Planet by 2030

About Kenneth Brower is an American environmental writer. He has written a number of books about the environment, national parks, and natural places. He authored the series The Earth’s Wild Places, which was published by the Friends of the Earth in the 1970s. His most widely read book, on Yosemite, is in over 1,200 WorldCat […] Read full article: Episode 39: Kenneth Brower on Saving Point Reyes National Seashore

About Dr. Jan van Boeckel is a Dutch anthropologist, visual artist, art teacher and filmmaker. One of Jan’s areas of interest and concern are the worldviews and environmental philosophies of indigenous peoples. Together with filmmaking group ReRun Productions, he produced a series of documentaries on this subject, as well as films on philosophers such as […] Read full article: Episode 38: Jan Van Boeckel Art, Deep Ecology, and Open Air Philosophy

About Kirk Kirk Robinson is the founder and executive director of the Western Wildlife Conservancy. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to founding Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk earned a Ph.D. in philosophy and taught courses at universities in Montana and Utah for 15 years. His favorite activities are exploring the wildlands of the […] Read full article: Episode 37: Kirk Robinson on State Wildlife Governance and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

About Michael Michael Kellett has been executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, since co-founding the organization in 1992. In 1994, he developed the original proposal for a 3.2-million-acre Maine Woods National Park, which laid the groundwork for the 2016 designation of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument by President Obama. He has helped in […] Read full article: Episode 36: Michael Kellett on Establishing Hundreds of New National Parks

About Bruce Anderson retired from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in July 2017. During his four years with the DNR he was Assistant Wildlife Manager and wildlife planner where he was involved wildlife surveys, planning, wildlife damage management, habitat assessments, invasive species management and Interdisciplinary support to timber management. Prior to this, Bruce had […] Read full article: Episode 35: Bruce Anderson Mapping 50 Years Of Wildlands Decline

About Kenyon Fields Kenyon Fields is one of the main founders of the Western Landowners Alliance. His background is in conservation biology and landscape scale conservation planning. It is this background that led him to convene the first meetings of what later became the WLA, as he and fellow conservation biologists realized the critical role […] Read full article: Episode 34: Kenyon Fields – Western Landowners Alliance

About Jason Jason Mark is the editor of Sierra and the author of Satellites in the High Country: Searching for the Wild in the Age of Man. Jason recently returned from Patagonia to report on the official transfer of Tompkins Conservation lands to the Chilean government to create a combined 9 million acres of fully […] Read full article: Episode 33: Jason Mark On Patagonia’s 9 Million Acre Gift

About Andrew Thoms Andrew grew up in rural Upstate New York. After studying Environmental Sciences, he worked for 10 years in Latin America as an environmental specialist in international development projects. Most of his projects focused on the interface between the sustainable use of natural resources and the conservation of tropical biodiversity. One of his […] Read full article: Episode 32: Andrew Thoms and Tongass National Forest

About Stuart Pimm is the Founder and President of Saving Nature and the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation at Duke University. His books include “The Balance of Nature,” and the acclaimed “World According to Pimm: a Scientist Audits the Earth.” He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the recipient of […] Read full article: Episode 31: Stuart Pimm Putting Conservation Back On The Offensive

About Dan Dan Imhoff is a researcher, author, and independent publisher who has concentrated for over 20 years on issues related to farming, the environment, and design. He is the author of numerous articles, essays, and books including Farming with the Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity on Farms and Ranches; and Building with Vision: Optimizing and Finding […] Read full article: Episode 30: Dan Imhoff on Making Farming More Creaturely

Kim Crumbo leads Wildlands Network’s efforts to restore native carnivores to their rightful place on landscapes across the West. He works closely with diverse conservation partners and regional coalitions to engage scientists, communities, and elected leaders in the effort to secure species recovery and public support for wolves, bears, lynx, cougars, and other native carnivores. […] Read full article: Episode 29: Kim Crumbo on Wolves, War, and Optimism

Christopher Ketcham has written for dozens of publications, including Harper’s, National Geographic, and The New Republic. He has reported from the American West for more than a decade. This book is a product of those years in the last wild places. He currently lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York. About “This Land” “A hard-hitting look at the […] Read full article: Episode 28: Christopher Ketcham “This Land”

About David David Johns teaches courses at the School of Government, Portland State University on US constitutional law and politics, politics and the environment, and politics and film. He has also taught at Oregon State University and the Institute for Policy Studies. He was an International Fellow at Columbia University, served in the Carter Administration […] Read full article: Episode 27: David Johns Conservation Politics

About Jo Ann Jo Ann is the Executive Director of the Wild Farm Alliance. She is the author of many publications on the intersection between biodiversity conservation and agriculture, including beneficial birds, the conservation mandates within the National Organic Program regulations, and the co-management of food safety and conservation. Before joining WFA in 2001, she […] Read full article: Episode 26: Jo Ann Baumgartner Farming With The Wild

About Roland Kays Roland is a zoologist with a broad interest in ecology and conservation, especially of mammals.  He studies research questions that are scientifically interesting but also have real-world relevance through educational or conservation value. An expert in using new technologies to study free-ranging animals, especially to track their movement with GPS tags and […] Read full article: Episode 25: Roland Kays On Eastern Coyote And High-Tech Tracking

For over three decades, Keith Bowers has been at the forefront of applied ecology, land conservation and sustainable design.  Founder and president of Biohabitats, Keith has built a multidisciplinary organization focused on conservation planning, ecological restoration and regenerative design.  His work has spanned the scale from site-specific ecosystem restoration projects involving wetland, river, woodland and […] Read full article: Episode 24: Keith Bowers On The Front Lines Of Restoration and Rewilding

About Terry Spahr Environmentalist and activist Terry Spahr left the corporate world to research, write and produce 8 Billion Angels, a documentary feature which exposes overpopulation as the upstream cause of all our environmental emergencies. Terry is the Founder and Executive Director of Earth Overshoot, a non-profit designed to promote public and private action to […] Read full article: Episode 23: Terry Spahr Executive Producer of 8 Billion Angels

What’s it like to have called for the end of industrial civilization as we knew it in the 1970’s, in order to prevent what is happening today, only to live through decades of more of the same? For Randy Hayes, its meant founding organizations, sitting on several boards, and doing the hard work of educating […] Read full article: Episode 22: Randy Hayes The “Environmental Pitbull”

About Ed Friedman Ed has been a resident of Bowdoinham near the shore of Merrymeeting Bay for over 35 years where he operates helicopter, welding, kayaking and farming businesses. His broad based background in the natural sciences includes over 45 years as an outdoor educator, some of that as a mountaineering instructor for the National […] Read full article: Episode 21: Ed Friedman Migratory Fish Restoration in Merrymeeting Bay

George Wuerthner is a professional photographer, writer and ecologist. He has written more than two dozen books on natural history and other environmental topics. He is currently the ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Wuerthner has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 380 wilderness areas, more than 180 […] Read full article: Episode 20: Public Lands Grazing with George Wuerthner

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a win like the one that is expected to be signed by the President soon. The conservation community is buzzing about the Charles Dingell Jr. Conservation Management and Recreation Act, and rightly so. The legislation permanently continues the federal Land Water Conservation Fund, which helps pay for […] Read full article: Episode 19: John Miles On The New Wilderness Bill

Topics: The fantastic biodiversity of southern Ohio Wildlands Philanthropy: protecting key areas by buying them Black bears and high population and industrial centers Bugs, fireflies, and miracles Native American heritage sites: earth works Nancy Stranahan serves as the Director of the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, and was one of the non-profit’s founders in 1995. […] Read full article: Episode 18: Nancy Stranahan Rewilding Southern Ohio

A biochemist by training, Mark Fisher has worked in the pharmaceutical industry and in pure science. In a change of direction, he qualified as a Permaculture Designer, and did work in landscape design. Mark launched a manifesto for rewilding Britain in 2003 having been inspired by hiking the National Parks and open spaces of Canada […] Read full article: Episode 17: Mark Fisher on Rewilding Drift in Europe

Tyler Socash is the Adirondack Mountain Club's Outdoor Skills Coordinator. The day after completing his master's degree at the University of Rochester, Tyler embarked on a 7,000-mile thru-hiking immersion into wilderness. Read full article: Episode 16: Tyler Socash Adirondack Wilderness and Thru-Hiking Adventures

Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D. helped found the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT) in 1998 and has served as its Executive Director since 2011. In her work for SPLT, she is striving to create large shortgrass prairie wildlife refuges that emulate the “American Serengeti” that once occurred in the Great Plains. Read full article: Episode 15: Nicole Rosmarino on Rewilding The American Serengeti

It's not often, especially these days, that we get to hear about a really big Rewilding  victory. Today is one of those days. Read full article: Episode 14: A Rewilding Success Story on the Elwha River