Beth Pratt, head of the National Wildlife Federation for California, attracted national attention recently when the beloved mountain lion, P-22, died in Los Angeles and she arranged for an inspiring funeral ceremony. P-22 became a media sensation when he crossed the 101 and 405 freeways more than 10 years ago to carve out a territory for himself in Griffith Park. She came to Ojai recently to give a lecture about co-existing with wildlife, after several mountain lions encounters and a lion being euthanized, and her friendship with Ojai resident Molly Jordan Koch.

Her conservation work has been featured by the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, BBC World Service, CBS This Morning, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and NPR. She is the author of the novel The Idea of Forever and the official Junior Ranger Handbook for Yosemite, and her new book, When Mountain Lions are Neighbors: People and Wildlife Working It Out In California, was published by Heyday Books in 2016. She has given a TEDx talk about coexisting with wildlife called, “How a Lonely Cougar in Los Angeles Inspired the World,” and is featured in the new documentary, “The Cat that Changed America.”

We talked about her experiences growing up in Massachusetts that set her on present path, wildlife reintroductions in the West, the wandering wolf who made it from Oregon down the coast to Ventura County, and her major project of having a wildlife corridor built over US 101 in Liberty Canyon. We did not talk about barramundi recipes, ancient mariners or comedic stylings of Abbot & Costello.

You can learn more about Beth Pratt and her important work at her website, bethpratt.com, or through the National Wildlife Federation, nwf.org