About
Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and taking care of the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature, while participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities.
Following her passion for wild nature, Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from Ball State University. She then spent the next several years travelling and has spent time working as a field guide in South Africa, a human-manatee interactions researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Florida, a National Park Service cowgirl in Montana, and a conservation educator in Ohio. And now she is part of the Rewilding Institute and Project Coyote team working on our new rewilding and carnivore coexistence program in the Mississippi River Watershed.
Topics

* Rewilding challenges in states like Iowa
* How farmers view carnivore coexistence
* A 9 million acre rewilding opportunity without disturbing prime farmland operations

Extra Credit
Learn more about Big River Connectivity
BRC project on Project Coyote’s site
About
Kelly Borgmann grew up on a historic farm in rural east-central Indiana. Spending her days playing in the woods and taking care of the land gave her a deep appreciation of nature, while participating in 4-H and FFA taught her how to be a productive member of rural and agricultural communities.
Following her passion for wild nature, Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from Ball State University. She then spent the next several years travelling and has spent time working as a field guide in South Africa, a human-manatee interactions researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Florida, a National Park Service cowgirl in Montana, and a conservation educator in Ohio. And now she is part of the Rewilding Institute and Project Coyote team working on our new rewilding and carnivore coexistence program in the Mississippi River Watershed.
Topics

* Rewilding challenges in states like Iowa
* How farmers view carnivore coexistence
* A 9 million acre rewilding opportunity without disturbing prime farmland operations

Extra Credit
Learn more about Big River Connectivity
BRC project on Project Coyote’s site

Episode 83: Rewilding The Mississippi River Watershed with Kelly Borgmann

The goal of Rewilding Earth podcast is to highlight the work of the people involved in saving nature’s building blocks, whether they be intact wilderness or key corridors and buffers surrounding wilderness, as well as people invested in protecting and reintroducing extirpated species to these areas. You’ll hear from conservation biologists, activists, naturalists, organizers, artists, and authors as we interview key players in the fight to Rewild Planet Earth.

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About
With an academic background in landscape architecture and plant ecology, Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation as an intern in 1996 and today serves as its President and Executive Director. In this role, he headed the $7.5 million campaign to construct and endow the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center and served as the Executive Producer for Green Fire, a documentary film about Leopold’s life & legacy. You can find a link to the documentary in “extra Credit” below.
Buddy serves as a leading voice for the role of ethics in the relationships between humans and nature and has addressed audiences across North America on why and how society must develop an ecological conscience. Today we talk about the 75th anniversary of Sand County Almanac and the 100th Anniversary of the Gila Wilderness along with reflections on what Aldo Leopold’s message means in today’s conservation landscape and the challenges we face.
Show Notes
Celebrating Aldo Leopold’s Legacy: Milestones in Conservation
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Jack Humphrey converses with Buddy Huffaker about the dual significance of 2024, marking the 75th anniversary of ‘A Sand County Almanac’ and the 100th anniversary of the Gila Wilderness Area. We discuss Aldo Leopold’s profound impact on conservation, his visionary yet pragmatic approach, and how his legacy continues to inspire contemporary environmental efforts.
The conversation also touches on the importance of connecting various conservation efforts, from large wilderness areas to urban environments, and the ongoing challenges and opportunities in the field. Buddy emphasizes the need for continued education and engagement with Leopold’s land ethic and highlights the work of the Aldo Leopold Foundation in promoting ecological consciousness and stewardship.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:15 Celebrating Leopold’s Legacy
02:09 Reflections on Leopold’s Vision
03:21 Connecting Conservation Efforts
03:42 Leopold’s Philosophical Impact
04:38 The Gila Wilderness and Beyond
05:26 Leopold’s Pragmatic Approach
06:18 Rewilding and Modern Conservation
12:53 Educational Initiatives and Legacy
16:28 Expanding Conservation Awareness
22:29 Challenges and Opportunities in Conservation
30:52 Conclusion and Call to Action
Extra Credit

* Watch: Green Fire Documentary
* Check out the Aldo Leopold Foundation’s website for all kinds of tools and resources and grab a copy or two of “A Sand County Almanac.”
* Read: Protecting Aldo Leopold’s Great Idea: Help Protect More of the Gila Wilderness

About
With an academic background in landscape architecture and plant ecology, Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation as an intern in 1996 and today serves as its President and Executive Director. In this role, he headed the $7.5 million campaign to construct and endow the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center and served as the Executive Producer for Green Fire, a documentary film about Leopold’s life & legacy. You can find a link to the documentary in “extra Credit” below.
Buddy serves as a leading voice for the role of ethics in the relationships between humans and nature and has addressed audiences across North America on why and how society must develop an ecological conscience. Today we talk about the 75th anniversary of Sand County Almanac and the 100th Anniversary of the G...

Episode 125: Reflections on The 75th Anniversary of ‘A Sand County Almanac’ and the 100th Anniversary of the Gila Wilderness with Buddy Huffaker

About
Rowan Kilduff is a dad, long-time mountain, hawk & wildlife enthusiast, poet, and activist-artist. He has worked on various projects, including with Greenpeace, hands-on forest conservation in the Czech Republic, fixing a roof in Nepal, and photos used by The Irish Seal Sanctuary.

His first writing about rewilding and first poems were published in Rewilding Earth, and his writing & pictures have been printed in Wingspan (from the Raptor Research Foundation), Camas (Montana), Ecozona Spain, and by ZEST Sustainable Literature in Italy; with 2 DIY books available online (see Extra Credit below).

His new book is called Wind to Space: poems & sketches (Sustainable Reading)

Rowan lives in Central Europe, currently up and down between 49 and 52°N.

Topics

* Urban wildlife
* Rewilding with art, reminding people of the wild things all around us
* The role of creative works and poetry in continually “recalibrating” ourselves

Extra Credit

* Check out the images Rowan discusses in this episode on his Flickr page.
* Rowan’s contributions here at rewilding.org.

Additional work:

* Fire Songs, Sky Songs, Mountain Songs
* Sunrise Fire
* Check out Rowan on Soundcloud
* More art here, and here.

About
Rowan Kilduff is a dad, long-time mountain, hawk & wildlife enthusiast, poet, and activist-artist. He has worked on various projects, including with Greenpeace, hands-on forest conservation in the Czech Republic, fixing a roof in Nepal, and photos used by The Irish Seal Sanctuary.

His first writing about rewilding and first poems were published in Rewilding Earth, and his writing & pictures have been printed in Wingspan (from the Raptor Research Foundation), Camas (Montana), Ecozona Spain, and by ZEST Sustainable Literature in Italy; with 2 DIY books available online (see Extra Credit below).

His new book is called Wind to Space: poems & sketches (Sustainable Reading)

Rowan lives in Central Europe, currently up and down between 49 and 52°N.

Topics

* Urban wildlife
* Rewilding with art, reminding people of the wild things all around us
* The role of creative works and poetry in continually “recalibrating” ourselves

Extra Credit

* Check out the images Rowan discusses in this episode on his Flickr page.
* Rowan’s contributions here at rewilding.org.

Additional work:

* Fire Songs, Sky Songs, Mountain Songs
* Sunrise Fire
* Check out Rowan on Soundcloud
* More art here, and <a href="https://www.zestletteraturasostenibile.

Episode 124: Rowan Kilduff On The Poetry Of Coexistence

About Today’s Guests
George Wuerthner (President, Sage Steppe Wild) – George is a professional photographer, writer, and ecologist. He has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 400 wilderness areas, more than 200 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi. George is the author of 38 books on environmental issues and natural history including Welfare Ranching, Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Energy: The Delusion of Endless Growth and Overdevelopment, Thrillcraft, and Keeping the Wild. His most recent publication is Protecting the Wild.
Jonathan Ratner (Director, Sage Steppe Wild) – Jonathan has extensive knowledge of federal land management agency methods and practice, with a specialty in public lands livestock grazing. He has been monitoring and commenting on grazing cases in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado for the last 20 years. Prior to that he studied endangered species such as the grizzly bear, lynx, wolverine, and marten for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, the US Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Topics

* Who funds most conservation and environmental groups and how funders can knock organizations off mission.
* The difficulties of having a no-compromise policy when it comes to mission and funding.
* An old, treasured conservation news source gets a new life.

Extra Credit

* Reading: “The Wildlife News“
* Sage Steppe Wild
* Tons of resources on all things Western public lands conservation and advocacy

About Today’s Guests
George Wuerthner (President, Sage Steppe Wild) – George is a professional photographer, writer, and ecologist. He has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 400 wilderness areas, more than 200 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi. George is the author of 38 books on environmental issues and natural history including Welfare Ranching, Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Energy: The Delusion of Endless Growth and Overdevelopment, Thrillcraft, and Keeping the Wild. His most recent publication is Protecting the Wild.
Jonathan Ratner (Director, Sage Steppe Wild) – Jonathan has extensive knowledge of federal land management agency methods and practice, with a specialty in public lands livestock grazing. He has been monitoring and commenting on grazing cases in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado for the last 20 years. Prior to that he studied endangered species such as the grizzly bear, lynx, wolverine, and marten for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, the US Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Topics

* Who funds most conservation and environmental groups and how funders can knock organizations off mission.
* The difficulties of having a no-compromise policy when it comes to mission and funding.
* An old, treasured conservation news source gets a new life.

Extra Credit

* Reading: “The Wildlife News“
* Sage Steppe Wild
* Tons of resources on all things Western public lands conservation and advocacy


Episode 123: Who Pays for Conservation, Being the Lorax, and Introducing A New Voice For Western Lands Conservation

Note from Randy: Hi everyone thank you for listening. On the podcast I speak about not reporting possible poachers when they talk about jaguar killings. In addition to the fact that information channels would dry up if we were to report those who talk about killing jaguars, there is also the fact that actual poachers with evidence of the crimes are not prosecuted. In the death of Corazon the jaguar and the bear killed in Cumpas there was physical evidence and no charges were brought against the perpetrators. In the case of the bear in Cumpas there was video of the killing and the boasting. In that case, the people reporting it were even threatened.  I know that a conviction would help protect jaguars. But by the same logic another killing not prosecuted damages peoples belief that jaguars are protected. We are woking hard to change peoples views and relationships with jaguars and biodiversity in general. Thank you.
About Randy Young Villegas
As former manager of the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sahuaripa, Sonora, Randy witnessed the environmental destruction from current agricultural systems that leads to jaguar persecution. Randy has experience in landscape restoration, permaculture, water harvesting, and natural building, and completed a diplomado program on agaves and mesquites to regenerate semi-arid zones through the University of Guanajuato. He has been involved in different aspects of community development and is a member of the Committee for Sustainable Rural Development for the municipality of Sahuaripa and the Sembrando Vida program for the Santo Tomás, Sehuadehuachi, and Pónida ejidos (community owned lands).
Topics

* Working with landowners to reconnect with the land through regenerative agriculture and permaculture, natural building techniques
* Recreating a bond with nature that provides more stable income for landowners while providing safe habitat for Jaguars to roam and live
* Winning hearts and minds leading to a respect and even pride in helping large carnivores
* Examples of working with nature, alternatives to monoculture farming, and creating a win-win for people and nature

Extra Credit
Visit La Tierra del Jaguar for more information and to get involved!
Download the transcript for episode 122 (PDF)
 
Note from Randy: Hi everyone thank you for listening. On the podcast I speak about not reporting possible poachers when they talk about jaguar killings. In addition to the fact that information channels would dry up if we were to report those who talk about killing jaguars, there is also the fact that actual poachers with evidence of the crimes are not prosecuted. In the death of Corazon the jaguar and the bear killed in Cumpas there was physical evidence and no charges were brought against the perpetrators. In the case of the bear in Cumpas there was video of the killing and the boasting. In that case, the people reporting it were even threatened.  I know that a conviction would help protect jaguars. But by the same logic another killing not prosecuted damages peoples belief that jaguars are protected. We are woking hard to change peoples views and relationships with jaguars and biodiversity in general. Thank you.
About Randy Young Villegas
As former manager of the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sahuaripa, Sonora, Randy witnessed the environmental destruction from current agricultural systems that leads to jaguar persecution. Randy has experience in landscape restoration, permaculture, water harvesting, and natural building, and completed a diplomado program on agaves and mesquites to regenerate semi-arid zones through the University of Guanajuato. He has been involved in different aspects of community development and is a member of the Committee for Sustainable Rural Development f...

Episode 122: Seeds of Hope in the Land of the Jaguar – Rejuvenating Habitat in Sonora Mexico

About
Before joining The Rewilding Institute, Megan “Turtle” Southern was the coordinator of the Northern Jaguar Project, where she helped to establish and grow the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora, Mexico, organized scientific research projects and conservation education among youth, and worked extensively with ranchers to promote coexistence.
It has been 15 years since the jaguar known as Macho B died. That is an entire lifetime for a jaguar. It has been eight years since El Jefe was last seen in Arizona, having since moved south into Sonora, Mexico. The newest U.S. jaguar, confirmed earlier this year, follows in their footsteps – a trail that leads through Arizona and New Mexico to vast areas of wild, rugged habitat and abundant prey.
What this new jaguar shows us: Arizona is still wild, we still have our apex predator here, and the border is still porous enough that wild jaguars can cross it. Jaguars are telling us with their movements that they need access to both sides of the border, and that we need to keep linkages open between core areas.
Large portions of Arizona and New Mexico have been identified as potential jaguar habitat, based on historical observations, vegetation type, prey availability, and proximity to water. With Arizona and New Mexico in the mix, the northern population of jaguars could double in number from the cats found in Sonora, habitat options would be expanded, genetic integrity improved, and overall, there would be a more positive outlook for the future.
We know that 20 years ago, the jaguar population in Sonora was believed to be in decline. The idea of setting up what is now the Northern Jaguar Reserve was seen by some as an impractical dream. Today, this core area is protected, a priority for conservation, and essential to jaguar survival and recovery.
Being in places where jaguars roam, like on the reserve, provides countless opportunities for inspiration for what the next 20 years of conservation efforts will bring for jaguars in their northern range. Jaguars belong in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, historically and still today. This is their home. 
Topics

Field guide to get to know the jaguar
Jaguars in the United States – historically
Jaguars in the United States – modern times
One place northern jaguars live: Northern Jaguar Reserve
Finding understanding, inspiration, and story from jaguars in the U.S. and Mexico
Corridors, connectivity, threats, the border wall
Hints at future plans, how carnivores prompt us to think big… stay tuned for more.
Storytelling is key to advancing conservation; science alone doesn’t lead to action, and imaginative empathy is key, as discussed recently with Paula MacKay and Robert Long in Episode 120.

Extra Credit

* Northern Jaguar Reserve
* Embattled Borderlands, Krista Schlyer / Borderlands Project StoryMap
* The Border Wall in Arizona and New Mexico, Wildlands Network StoryMap
* Where Jaguars Roam, Forktailed Media
* Read the book “Borderland Jaguars“
* Related podcasts: – Laiken Jordahl and Lauren Strohacker’s Rewilding Earth ep...

Episode 83: Rewilding The Mississippi River Watershed with Kelly Borgmann

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