Rewilding Earth Podcast

Episode 182: Millions Upon Millions of Acres on the Chopping Block – How to Save the Roadless Rule

Summary Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited and an original architect of the 2001 Roadless Rule, speaks with Rewilding Earth Podcast host Jack Humphrey about the origins of the Roadless Rule and why rescinding it is a problem for trout and salmon. With the imminent threat of deregulation for nearly 45 million acres […] Read full article: Episode 182: Millions Upon Millions of Acres on the Chopping Block – How to Save the Roadless Rule

Episode 181: Doug Peacock on the Survival of Grizzlies and Unbroken Wildlands

Legendary naturalist, author, and veteran grizzly bear defender Doug Peacock joins the podcast from his home in Montana’s Paradise Valley. In this frank, wide-ranging conversation with host Jack Humphrey, Doug cuts through modern anthropocentric environmentalism to refocus on what apex predators and wild country truly require: vast, unbroken, self-willed wilderness. We dig into the persistent […] Read full article: Episode 181: Doug Peacock on the Survival of Grizzlies and Unbroken Wildlands

Episode 180: Activists Take to the Canopy to Defend Centuries-old Cottonwood, Cats, and Connectivity

Summary To make way for double 30-foot, steel border walls in Lochiel, Arizona, federal contractors have clearcut a grove of three 200-year-old Fremont cottonwood trees that reached their boughs across the U.S.-Mexico border in a sign of connectivity, friendship, and anchoring the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River. On the heels of this destruction, grassroots […] Read full article: Episode 180: Activists Take to the Canopy to Defend Centuries-old Cottonwood, Cats, and Connectivity

Episode 179. The ESA Harm Rescission: Ecologically Disastrous and a Trap for Companies Attempting to Destroy the Wild — with Earthjustice’s Ben Levitan

About Ben Levitan is a senior attorney at Earthjustice, the nation’s largest and most active public interest environmental law organization — know for its motto “Because the Earth needs a good lawyer.” As part of Earthjustice’s Biodiversity Defense Program, Ben advocates for the protection of imperiled species and ecosystems and opposes attempts to weaken environmental laws. […] Read full article: Episode 179. The ESA Harm Rescission: Ecologically Disastrous and a Trap for Companies Attempting to Destroy the Wild — with Earthjustice’s Ben Levitan

Episode 178: The High Stakes of State Wildlife Governance and the Fight for Direct Democracy with Michelle Lute

About Michelle Lute is a wildlife scientist and conservation leader with two decades of experience in wildlife conservation, nonprofit leadership, and public policy. As executive director of Wildlife for All, she’s leading the charge to transform state wildlife governance and center justice, compassion, and democracy in conservation. Michelle holds a PhD in wildlife management and […] Read full article: Episode 178: The High Stakes of State Wildlife Governance and the Fight for Direct Democracy with Michelle Lute

Episode 177: Jack Loeffler’s Lifelong Quest to Rewild the Colorado River Watershed and Human Consciousness

Episode Summary In this poignant and historic episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, legendary Southwest author, activist, and audio naturalist Jack Loeffler connects with host Jack Humphrey, just ahead of Loeffler’s 90th birthday. A living thread to the bedrock of the modern conservation movement, Loeffler shares deeply personal stories of running wild rivers and backpacking […] Read full article: Episode 177: Jack Loeffler’s Lifelong Quest to Rewild the Colorado River Watershed and Human Consciousness

Episode 176: Protecting and Restoring the Wild Heart of the Sky Islands with Louise Misztal

Episode Summary Louise Misztal, executive director of Sky Island Alliance (SIA), sits down with Rewilding Earth podcast host Jack Humphrey to explore the unique, biodiverse, and threatened Sky Island Region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They discuss how these isolated mountain ranges rise out of the surrounding valleys to create a biological […] Read full article: Episode 176: Protecting and Restoring the Wild Heart of the Sky Islands with Louise Misztal

Episode 175: How Bedrock Environmental Laws Are Holding the Line in Alaska (For Now) with Cooper Freeman

Episode Summary Cooper Freeman, Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity, returns to the Rewilding Earth podcast and joins host Jack Humphrey for a transparent, gritty, and surprisingly hopeful update from the frontlines of Alaskan conservation. Navigating a relentless onslaught of fast-tracked industrial projects and regulatory procedures gutted under the current administration, Cooper outlines […] Read full article: Episode 175: How Bedrock Environmental Laws Are Holding the Line in Alaska (For Now) with Cooper Freeman

Episode 174: How Fiction Moves the Needle on Real-World Conservation

About the Author Julie Carrick Dalton is a novelist, former journalist, and farmer whose work explores the deep, often complicated relationship between humanity and the natural world. With decades of experience telling stories rooted in fact and reality as a reporter, Julie later turned to working the land, a pivot that ultimately unlocked her passion […] Read full article: Episode 174: How Fiction Moves the Needle on Real-World Conservation

Episode 173: Laiken Jordahl on the Battle for Big Bend

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

Episode 172: “Homesick for a World Unknown: The Life of George B. Schaller” with Miriam Horn

Summary In 1959, George Schaller entered the Virunga Mountains with nothing but a notebook and a folding chair. At a time when the world viewed the mountain gorilla as a savage, cinematic monster, George saw something else: a peaceful, social being whose world we were only just beginning to understand. By sitting lower than the […] Read full article: Episode 172: “Homesick for a World Unknown: The Life of George B. Schaller” with Miriam Horn

Episode 171: The Hidden Universe of Springs with Larry Stevens

Dr. Larry Stevens is the curator of ecology at the Museum of Northern Arizona and the director of Springs Stewardship Institute (SSI). He received his Ph.D in zoology from Northern Arizona University in 1989, and served as the ecologist for Grand Canyon National Park from 1989 to 1994. Well-respected in the field of ecology, Dr. […] Read full article: Episode 171: The Hidden Universe of Springs with Larry Stevens

Episode 170: Paul Watson Defending the Southern Ocean with Operation Krill Wars

Paul Watson, Founder & Director, Paul Watson Foundation Captain Paul Watson is a marine wildlife conservation and environmental activist, renowned speaker, accomplished author, and master mariner. Watson was one of the founding members and directors of Greenpeace. In 1977, he left Greenpeace and founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In 2022, he founded the Captain […] Read full article: Episode 170: Paul Watson Defending the Southern Ocean with Operation Krill Wars

Episode 169: Reba Elliott on the Strategic Power of Older Women in Defense of Public Lands

Reba Elliott Reba Elliott is the Executive Director of Great Old Broads for Wilderness, the only national environmental network for older women. Reba also serves on the Advisory Circle of Daughters for Earth, coordinates the Movement Building Committee of the National Wilderness Coalition, and is a fellow of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. […] Read full article: Episode 169: Reba Elliott on the Strategic Power of Older Women in Defense of Public Lands

Episode 168: American Prairie’s Sean Gerrity on the Art of Thinking Bigger to Rewild the Planet

Show Notes Sean Gerrity – Author of Wild on Purpose: The American Prairie Story and the Art of Thinking Bigger Sean Gerrity, founder and former CEO of American Prairie, discusses building the largest wildlife reserve in the Lower 48 states — bigger than Yellowstone and Glacier Parks combined. He shares how an “interim CEO” role […] Read full article: Episode 168: American Prairie’s Sean Gerrity on the Art of Thinking Bigger to Rewild the Planet

Episode 167: Paul Lister on Rewilding Scotland’s Highlands at Alladale Wilderness Reserve

Paul Lister, founder of the European Nature Trust and owner of Alladale Wilderness Reserve in Scotland, has spent 20 years restoring 23,000 acres through reforestation, peatland restoration, and deer management. He advocates for reducing meat consumption, addressing population growth, and redirecting wealth toward nature restoration, demonstrating through tourism and immersive experiences that rewilding degraded landscapes […] Read full article: Episode 167: Paul Lister on Rewilding Scotland’s Highlands at Alladale Wilderness Reserve

Episode 166: Coral Reef Restoration with Sam Teicher of Coral Vita

In this episode, we explore the frontlines of coral reef rewilding with Sam Teicher, co-founder of Coral Vita. While coral reefs cover a mere fraction of the ocean floor, they are the essential architects of marine life, providing the structural foundation for a quarter of all species in the ocean. We discuss the urgent shift […] Read full article: Episode 166: Coral Reef Restoration with Sam Teicher of Coral Vita

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

Episode summary Jack Humphrey interviews filmmaker Austin Alvarado about his work on the new Fin & Fur Films documentary “Borderlands Jaguar,” which documents jaguars at the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora, Mexico. Austin shares his journey from river guide in West Texas to wildlife cinematographer, detailing the intense dedication required for remote camera work — […] Read full article: Episode 165: Filming the Elusive El Tigre for “Borderlands Jaguar” with Austin Alvarado

• Transcript

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

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

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

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

• Transcript