Our Wild Lives

Our winter 2026 issue of The Wildlife Professional featured a special focus on the mental health of wildlifers with articles discussing burnout, rehumanizing the workplace, imposter systems and more. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” TWS digital content manager Katie Perkins is joined by TWS member and special focus contributing author Michelle Doerr. Together they explore Doerr’s path from urban deer biologist to conservation wellness and culture consultant. Along the way, she shares actionable tips for wildlifers looking to prioritise their mental health.

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett, of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Further reading:

About Michelle - https://anavahconsulting.com/about-us/

Michelle’s business: https://anavahconsulting.com/

Read The Wildlife Professional - https://wildlife.org/the-wildlife-professional/

About her book, “Grapevine” - https://store.bookbaby.com/book/grapevine?srsltid=AfmBOoqz0mrkuo-3pry83_H7oiX_zslC3wo7FEysjssAHt6skFnYii7X

The Voice of the Earth by Theodore Roszak - https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Voice_of_the_Earth.html?id=RnyxQgAACAAJ

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold - https://www.aldoleopold.org/products/a-sand-county-almanac

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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With nearly 60% of the United States under private ownership and management, private landscapes are a significant opportunity for large-scale wildlife conservation.

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” TWS member Joe Roy, private lands wildlife biologist at Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Erik Glenn, CEO at Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust explain how easements, incentives and other science-based management tools keep working lands intact while improving and protecting wildlife habitat.

Erik Glenn's work: https://ccalt.org/meet-our-team/

Joe Roy's work: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/beginning-with-habitat/about/index.html

Bird Friendly Maple: https://www.audubon.org/our-work/grasslands-aridlands-forests/bird-friendly-maple

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

After nearly 60 years of the National Environmental Policy Act, proposed changes could threaten the strength of this cornerstone conservation legislation.  

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” TWS members Natalie Jacewicz, assistant professor of law at the University of San Diego and Cameron Kovach, Juris Doctor and TWS Chief Program Officer, break down the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and discuss what proposed changes could mean for the future of environmental review.  

Tune in to learn more about what NEPA is and is not, the difference between procedural and substantive laws and what it all means for wildlife professionals.  

Learn more: 

About Natalie - https://www.sandiego.edu/law/about/biography.php?profile_id=16111

TWS Conservation Affairs Network - https://wildlife.org/conservation-affairs-network/

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wildlife-society/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

Publishing peer-reviewed research in journals like the Journal of Wildlife Management shapes the wildlife profession every day, but where did it start and why does it continue?   

The Wildlife Society’s Journal Manager, Anna Knipps, and Content Editor, Allison Cox, shed light on the scientific publishing industry and the role TWS journals play.  

They share tips for first-time authors, discuss the importance of peer review, the benefits of choosing a non-profit journal and the challenges of working in a shifting publishing landscape. 

Learn more: 

About TWS Publications: https://wildlife.org/publications/

Submit to TWS Journals: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

After an unexpected early retirement from her 36-year-long career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, TWS member John Ann Shearer looks back on a career rooted in collaboration and resiliency in this episode of the “Our Wild Lives” podcast.

Through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, Shearer guided private landowners to restore thousands of acres of habitat across the U.S. Southeast. 

Throughout the conversation, she relays a message of hope for the future of the profession and the next generation despite the challenges ahead.

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

Wildlife vehicle collisions are responsible for more than $10 billion in damage in the United States each year. They also kill or injure a massive number of wild species. Management tools such as overpasses, underpasses, and more help reduce these conflicts around the world.   

In this episode of Our Wild Lives, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett of The Wildlife Society are joined by TWS members, Patty Cramer, Founder of the Wildlife Connectivity Institute, and Renee Callahan, Executive Director at ARC Solutions, to learn more about the science of wildlife transportation ecology.  

Cramer and Callahan discuss how data-driven designs, policy, and collaboration are removing the barriers for wildlife around the world.  

Cover image: A black bear uses a wildlife underpass on Colorado State Highway 9. Credit: Colorado DOT/Colorado Parks & Wildlife/Eco-resolutions/P. Cramer

Learn more: 

Patty Cramer and the Wildlife Connectivity Institute: https://www.wildlifeconnectivity.org/

Renee Callahan and ARC Solutions: https://arc-solutions.org/

Wildlife Crossings Program: https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/wildlife-crossings

Zinke and Beyers Bipartisan Bill to Codify Successful Wildlife Crossing Program:  https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases/zinke-introduces-bipartisan-bill-codify-successful-wildlife-crossing-program

Advocate for Wildlife Crossings: https://youtu.be/D-1W7oRxg-I?si=PgjJJmcLpTsnR50U

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewildlifesociety/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wildlife-society/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

What started as an op-ed in The Wildlife Professional has turned into a society-wide, member-led initiative to illuminating and elevating (LGBTQIA+) wildlifers.  

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” co-organizers of Out in the Field (OiTF), Silas Fischer and Adam Janke, join hosts Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett to discuss how OiTF is helping to make the wildlife profession more open, visible, and inclusive. 

Fischer and Janke recount their personal experiences as wildlife professionals, unpack the mission behind this TWS member-led effort, and explore how allies can meaningfully support the work of OiTF. 

Learn more: 

Out in The Field - https://wildlife.org/out-in-the-field/

Join Out In The Field's newsletter

Original article starting the initiative, I am one of you

More about their socials and work in this article

Join OiTF Discord

Follow OiTF on Instagram

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

Connect with us on

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewildlifesociety/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wildlife-society/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

Cliff Bampton’s career in wildlife management traces the origin of the profession. From graduate school dropout to chief of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's Division of Game, Bampton helped define modern wildlife management.  

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” host Katie Perkins sits down with long-time TWS member, Cliff Bampton. The conversation spans from his early adulthood experiences trapping black bears (Ursus americanus) in the Adirondack Mountains to his decades of experience at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and Ducks Unlimited.  

Despite the challenges he faced, such as trouble in school, color blindness, office politics, and more, Bampton leaves a legacy rooted in hard work, compromise, and cooperation.  

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have proposed four rule changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  

This episode of “Our Wild Lives” unpacks the four-rule proposal that could narrow ESA consultations, limit critical habitat, remove automatic protections for threatened species, and elevate economic considerations.  

TWS staff members , Cameron Kovach, Kaylyn Zipp and Kelly O’Connor explain why these changes are happening, how they affect wildlife professionals and communities , and how to submit substantive public comments, which can be submitted until December 22, 2025.  

Learn more: 

Proposed Rules: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/21/2025-20549/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-listing-endangered-and-threatened-species-and

TWS ESA News Article: https://wildlife.org/endangered-species-rules-rollback-to-2019/

TWS Position Statement on the ESA: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/TWS_IssueStatement_USEndangeredSpeciesAct_FINAL_2023.11.pdf

Submit comments about the proposed rules: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0039-0001

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

A century ago, black bears in North Carolina were on the brink. Today, they’re thriving in mountains, coastal swamps, and even neighborhoods.

In this episode, we sit down with Colleen Olfenbuttel, TWS member, longtime bear biologist and the NCWRC game mammals and survey unit supervisor, to unpack how science-based management helped the once-rare species rebound. They also talk about how wildlife managers are tackling coexistence in a quickly urbanizing state. 

Colleen takes us inside the state’s pivotal moves in the 1970s—mandatory harvest reporting, protections for females and cubs, and the creation of bear management areas that seeded recovery across the landscape. We dig into human-bear conflict, why unsecured attractants and intentional feeding sit at the root, and how BearWise communities, feeding bans, and bear-resistant trash cans cut problems at the source.

Colleen shares practical safety advice for black bear encounters, explains why relocating “problem bears” fails, and demystifies dens and hibernation.

Learn more: 

About Colleen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-olfenbuttel/

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/

BearWise: https://bearwise.org/

Bear cub rehabilitation program: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/wildlife-habitat/species/black-bear/what-happens-orphaned-black-bear-cubs-north-carolina

Become a Certified Wildlife Biologist - https://wildlife.org/certification-programs/

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

Connect with us on

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewildlifesociety/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildlifesociety

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wildlife-society/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society