Our Wild World

The saga of the Mexican Grey Wolf is about how politics interfere in the efforts of independent scientists to recover an endangered species. With my guest David Parsons, who formerly led the USFWS efforts to reintroduce the Mexican Grey Wolf to the American Southwest in 1990-to 99, we learn how difficult it is to reintroduce a species and save it from extinction when powerful vested interests who control legislators hijack the policy process down to even the scientific modeling results for how many wolves are needed to recover the species. The problem for these wolves is that all of the critical states for reintroduction reject accepting the number of wolves necessary for true recovery. But this lack of political tolerance for wolves in our government is not reflective of the general public and is a result of a subset of society that controls our decision-makers. As David explains, we have a huge political fight ahead to save this iconic animal that once roamed by the thousands.

Today, with Ashwell Glasson, we address deep-seated Wicked Problems as a root cause of civil unrest and social disruptions that are occurring globally, as a result of unrestrained economic growth leading to environmental problems. We gain an understanding that we cannot isolate environmental issues to a specific region as they have far-reaching effects and lead to interconnected series of problems on national and global scales. We must break our cycle of short-term thinking and pushing problems off, as we are only going to see more “day zero’s” with less and fewer resources. These underlying wicked problems permeate the globe and it is time for deep-seated reforms – politically and socially, nationally and internationally, economically and environmentally, and the normalization of the abnormal breakdown of civil society. It’s time to face up to our collective human responsibilities and address these issues.

Today’s conversation with my guest Ashwell Glasson gives provides us with a view of the scale and scope of the challenges we are facing in securing biodiversity. What is being called for is an overhaul of the current models and mindsets driving conservation efforts in global landscapes under multiple pressures, including transnational wildlife crime at unprecedented levels. For the sake of frame of reference, our discussion is focused on rhino conservation as it holds markers of all that is changing and is at stake. The conversation takes multiple twists and turns as we unravel layers and identify the players toward a new world vision that can redefine the benchmark of health and wealth in passing the torch to new generations. Rather than a revision of what doesn’t work; solutions that resonate and engender cross-cultural participation at all levels of society, are augmented with new tool kits and skillsets for a holistic–earth one-health operating system.

Join us today with special guest, investigative journalist Julian Rademeyer as we discuss his book Killing For Profit, which reads like an international thriller, but is a terrifying true story of greed, corruption, and ruthless criminal enterprise centered around the illegal trafficking of rhino horn and wildlife. This is a compelling, meticulous and revelatory account of one the worlds most secretive trades aiding in the decimation of one of our world’s unique endangered species, the Rhino. Since publication, Mr. Rademeyer attended the CITES 2013 in Bangkok, reporting first hand the human folly and convoluted international conservation policies, politics, players and loopholes which undermine the global efforts to save the rhino from extinction.

Rewilding has long been a conservation term for connectivity and creating corridors for wildlife movement. In recent decades, it is the concept finding suitable existing habitats for species on the brink of extinction that may exist outside of where they currently live or are being extirpated. Today there is a new meaning. My guest Marc Bekoff, discusses his book, ‘Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence’. Rewilding in this sense brings us to an understanding if not to undo, at least find ways to fix what we’ve done, to transform and rehabilitate ourselves. From pandemic and covid-19 in 2020 and into another difficult year of 2021, we all can use a reminder and a primer of compassion 101, how to reconnect with ourselves, each other and to embrace compassionate co-existence with our wild world and all its magnificence to turn from policies of tearing apart toward pathways of re-imagination, re-enchantment and redefine what we is possible. We have a lot of work to do to rebuild our connections to each other, find a unity amongst ourselves, and a beneficial place in rewilding our hearts and minds.

Despite the incredible successes in conservation, overall, something isn’t working. We are losing ground. What are the missing links? Delving deeply into this question, we keep butting up against the fundamental conflicts between economic growth and wildlife conservation. With my guest Brian Czech, we tackle this subject head-on., Brian documented the causes of species endangerment for US Fish and Wildlife Services only to have his findings squelched as a taboo subject in any conversation in government where politicians and officials are committed to growth as a policy goal, but also in NGOs and conservation groups. Brian retired from USFW and founded the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE) and published a candid and open letter, “Farewell to FWS – Goodbye to Gag Orders” In today's full world economy” we must instill the public economic policy makers toward a full tilt transition from unsustainable growth to a steady state economy. Rebroadcast from 2018

A Wild Idea: It is easy to think that conservation is something going on in places so far away and exotic that it seems unimaginable that one person could have any significant impact on the greater outcome of a child, a community or even an entire species. This is an encore of our very first episode, the goal to help folks understand and learn about the big picture of what is involved in making conservation happen, and provide a platform to engage listeners to speak up about what is important to you, and how individuals can get involved in making a difference for your life and our future as a whole through a variety of conservation challenges such as climate change, poverty and disease, along with practical tips that you can implement at home in living with and enjoying the wildlife in your back yard. We want you to participate in Our Wild World. Since 2012 this podcast has provided expert outlooks of where we've been, and where we need to be, as we enter into this new year of 2021

Are conserving wildlife and protecting animals the same thing? Award winning environmental reporter, Glen Martin, guides us as this question applies to Africa's mega fauna. Conservation planning of large landscapes and species survival includes the cascades of biodiversity that depend upon them. Animal rights, animal activists, and animal welfare consider each individual life as critical, and that none should die because of us. Animal rights restrictions present a challenging paradox for making long-term species survival and large landscape conservation, workable. Through one-on-one conversations with legendary figures throughout Africa’s game management history in wildlife rich range states from E Africa to S.West Africa, Glen's book “Game Changer” originally aired here in 2014 vividly demonstrates, even 6 years on, how our world's last great populations of wildlife are hostages in the battle between those who love them, those who kill them and those who want to save them.

Botswana Predator Conservation Trust is one of the longest running conservation research projects in Africa, and one of a handful of its caliber worldwide. Founded in 1989 as the Botswana Wild Dog Research Project, today it covers all the large carnivore species in Botswana. The goal of BPCT is to preserve Africa's large predators-African wild dog, cheetah, leopard, lion and spotted hyena-and their habitats by using scientific inquiry to better understand the behaviors and communication systems of these animals. Strengthening the links between conservation and environmental issues to decision-making processes - the Government of Botswana acknowledges that appropriate and necessary resource management must have accurate information about its natural resources, and has entrusted BPCT with the task of leading northern Botswana’s conservation and research initiatives on all large carnivores and their associated habitats.

With cougar biologist John Laundré, today we discuss the matter of who owns wildlife. More and more we must consider the public costs of wildlife mismanagement in the United States, with increasing conflicts and polarization between hunting and anti-hunting, animal rights and animal welfare groups. From hunting groups invoking the European mindset of colonizers they contend the right to hunt is undeniable and essential to sound management of wildlife. Anti-hunting groups contend the ‘need’ to kill wildlife is unjustified and barbaric. However, the vast majority of citizens- wildlife watchers- are without influence and left completely out of the management decision making processes. As a result, the financial interests in ‘game species’ have disproportionate influence on our bureaucratic decisions, with severe consequences that fail to consider the public good and the intrinsic value of all wildlife, non-game species and the critical role of predators in our landscapes and ecosystems.

During a time when most wild animals are experiencing decline in the face of development and climate change, the intrepid mountain lion—also known as a puma, a cougar, “ghost cat,” and by many other names—has experienced reinvigoration as well as expansion of territory. In Path of the Puma: The Remarkable Resilience of the Mountain Lion (Patagonia Books, October 9, 2018), wildlife biologist Jim Williams celebrates wildlife research and conservation of ghost cats from Canada’s southern Yukon Territory to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and Chile, exploring what makes this cat, the fourth carnivore in the food chain—just ahead of humans—so resilient and resourceful. Williams writes, “They are beating the odds, and their success provides a remarkable opportunity for wild nature to regain a toehold and to shape possibilities for the persistence of natural systems. They are hope for those of us who believe our future will depend, in large part, on finding the wild.”

With my guest, author and wildlife advocate, Rick Lamplugh, we walk down the path of how deeply important the immersive aspect is to protecting our wilds and our perceptions of it, and our human need in knowing there are wild places and wild animals who thrive there. Wildness fills an essential part of our spirit, our soul, we’ve evolved with it and our ancient psyche needs it. Author of 3 award winning books, including ‘In the Temple of Wolves’, Rick takes us on a journey of what it means to step away from our comfortable lives, how important adventure and advocacy of wildness is for our humanity, and that in settling into the pace and nuances of living in the wild can bring us in sync to our inner nature and the resonance of the natural world around us. Sharing his own experience of living in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley for three winters and transformation into an activist for wolves, Rick guides us how to advocate for wildlife in ways that are both respectful and effective.

As Coloradans face this 2020 election, we must consider the role of wolves in our western states. My guest Mike Phillips is one of the world?s foremost experts on why wolf restoration is critical to balancing western ecosystems and the reality of co-existing with wolves is far from the perpetuated livestock industry?s fear-based myths. At issue is diffusing the grossly misunderstood myths of people, livestock and wolves co-existing, that this challenge can and has been mitigated with a variety of reasonable measures. The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project seeks to re-establish wolves in Western Colorado, creating a connectivity corridor for North American wolf population all the way from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan through Canada and Alaska, and down the Rocky Mountains into Mexico. It would be difficult to overestimate the biological and conservation value of this achievement and benefits in habitat restoration.

Both reviled and loved, our history with the wolf is complex and emotional and the stuff of legends. Today, we have an opportunity to learn from one of the most knowledgeable wolf biologists around, Carter Niemeyer, author of “Wolfer” which should be prerequisite reading for everyone involved in the back and forth of the wolf debate! We’ll get into the politics and policies that surround wolf management to human interaction and conflict, to public perceptions vs. those of ranchers and the vested interests of those who want to see all wolves dead. From our earliest history to now we continue to wage war against the wolf, and it ‘s taken more than 100 years for science to catch up to understand the ecological cascade of consequences in the wake of their absence and what their presence means for our future- the wolf issue a parable and a symbol of the very soul of wildness. Rebroadcast from 2014.

Wild, Incisive, Fearless, the Revelator. With John Platt, editor of the independent online environmental news and ideas initiative of the Center for Biological Diversity, we delve into and question some of the top conservation headlines: From the Extinction Countdown, to ways to ward off despair, to the state of our world and the positive trends in science conservation communication. The Revelator is an incredibly rich online resource for the public turn to learn what the critical issues are today, from the ongoing challenges of the pandemic to meaningful actions we can take every day, from wherever we are, to do something whenever we can, and that social networking allows for meaningful conversations and activism vs. clickavism. This encore is relevant for today's challenges in staving off despair while we remain safer at home and headlines are hijacked by so much we cannot control. Today we provide a wide base of other news to remind us there is a whole wild wide world out there.

It Doesn’t Challenge You, It Can’t Change You. This fast-paced and richly stitched documentary, employing mesmerizing visuals driven by Keith David’s commanding narration, and fueled by dozens of engaging experts. Five years in the making and filmed across 9 countries, the feature-length documentary depicts the dire threats facing African wildlife. Survival hangs in the balance. This powerful cinematic call to action demonstrates the dire challenges facing species who depend on biodiversity, including our own. Through interviews with dozens of conservation experts ranging from Dr. Jane Goodall, to wildlife trophy hunters, filmmaker and director Phyllis Stuart, Co-Produced by Eli Weiss, Wild DaZe explores the relationship between international crime cartels, colluding government officials, animal poaching, the illegal ivory trade, cattle barons and human beings, as she examines how rampant corruption complicates the fight to save species nearing extinction. Tickets on sale Now!

With special guest Professor Emeritus Marc Bekoff, we will discuss that increasing our compassionate footprint will improve our overall relationship to animals and our earth, thus also improve conservation outcomes. As our species causes deep and enduring pain all over our amazing planet, there is growing evidence that we need to ask ourselves how other animals feel about the loss of their homes. Solid science now tells us they suffer as we do without a safe and peaceful place to live, thrive, and survive. Compassionate conservation is concerned with the humane treatment and welfare of animals within the framework of traditional conservation biology, finding a way through polarization between those interested in animal protection and those interested in conservation. Compassion for animals should be fundamental for conservation as poor conservation outcomes are often consistent with the mistreatment of animals.

Transferring data and knowledge gained through research into a journal that sits on a shelf won’t carry us through to creating the interdisciplinary and collaborative results we in the real world- from research and science in the field and the lab into the hands and households of the communities where it is needed to best take advantage of all dimensions and perspectives for an inclusive understanding and creative solutions of the challenges that real people and real communities face on a daily basis, at the crossroads of human, wildlife and environmental needs of tomorrow. This is the goal of Dr. Kathy Alexander PhD, Professor at Virginia Tech, Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation at the College of Natural Resources and co-founder of the CARACAL Biodiversity Center of the Chobe Research Institute in Botswana: amplifying partnerships and integrated systems benefits that will provide tomorrow’s solutions today.

As we continue to infringe upon bear territory, Karelian Bear Dogs have become a way to get the attention of local communities living with bears and educate them of their responsibility to live in partnership with our wildlife. Today with my guest Nils Pedersen, of the Wind River Bear Institute and their Karelien Bear Dogs, we discuss this wholly different non-lethal approach to human-bear conflict than the standard response of removing bears from the landscape - one that addresses the root problems of conflicts in human communities and leaves the bears alive and in their habitat. Using the concept of “Bear Shepherding” the Karelian Bear Dogs simultaneously teach humans to prevent conflicts and teach problem bears behaviorally based lessons that create boundary awareness and avoidance of human-occupied space. Taking on the role of conservationist, the highly adaptable “Wildlife K-9” has proven to be a perfect partner for wildlife managers and an ambassador for educating the public.

The urban wilderness: The bear, raccoon, beaver or the lion in your yard, patrolling your neighborhoods and nearby recreation areas, and rising numbers of risky and close encounters with the wild animals in our backyards, and those when we’re in what we have designated as 'their space.' These rising encounters signify changes both environmentally and culturally, of our rapidly growing human footprint causing fuzzy boundaries of our understanding and attitudes toward wildlife, and those between what belongs to whom–– is it our back yard or their living room? We are provided with many opportunities for increased awareness about human and non-human communities as to how to interact with each other while living side by side, and, sometimes in the same places at the same time. Today we'll explore some of the facets around these issues and what can happen when we forget there really are wild things out there.