Compassionate Conservation with Renee Seacor

This week I was excited to speak with Chris Smith, the Southwest Wildlife Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. Chris shared several stories from his experience discovering and developing his career as a wildlife advocate including an exciting story securing the final votes for a bill to pass the New Mexico State Senate! We discussed several of the projects Chris is working on including developing a beaver restoration plan for the State of New Mexico. Chris also had great advice for those looking to take their first steps into wildlife advocacy! If you would like to learn more about WildEarth Guardians and the work Chris is doing, please follow the links below: Website: https://wildearthguardians.org/ Donate: https://donate.wildearthguardians.org/page/57452/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=w38tklhi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildearthguardians/ Quick Note: I want to make a quick announcement that after this episode I will be stepping away from this podcast for the foreseeable future, though I do hope to restart the podcast soon!

This week I was excited to speak with Dr. John Kominoski, Professor of Biological Sciences at Florida International University. I really enjoyed hearing about John’s journey, entering his Master’s program uncertain of what he wanted to do before discovering freshwater ecology. We discussed several of the research projects John has worked on including his role as the Lead Principal Investigator for the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research Program, collecting data on the impacts of rising sea level and saltwater intrusion on coastal wetlands. I was really excited that John wanted to use our time together not just to emphasize his research, but also to discuss the importance of being an educator in his role as a professor. One of the points John emphasizes is the importance of supporting early career researchers and vulnerable scientists that are part of his lab, as undergraduate and graduate students. For links to the research John is doing both at his lab at FIU and as the lead principal investigator of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research Program: John’s Ecosystem Ecology Lab at FIU:  kominoskilab.com FIU’s Institute of Environment: www.https://environment.fiu.edu Florida Coastal Everglade’s Long Term Ecological Research Program Instagram and Twitter: @fcelter; @fce_studentgroup

This week I was excited to speak with Matt Lindenberg, Founder and Executive Director of the Global Conservation Corps. I was fascinated to talk with Matt about combination of luck and perseverance it can take to find your way in the field of conservation, as he worked his way from a volunteer at the Southern African Wildlife College to a position training Safari Guides for the college. We then dove into his Master’s research studying the reintroduction of seven captive-raised cheetah into the wild and the results Matt found. Finally, we discussed the Global Conservation Corps, focusing on the future ranger’s program which educates and connects local youth with conservation opportunities and the training needed to succeed in those roles. If you would like to donate or learn more about the global conservation corps, you can visit the links below: To make a donation: https://globalconservationcorps.org/donate  website: https://globalconservationcorps.org/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/theglobalconservationcorps/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gccngo/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-conservation-corps/

This week I was excited to speak with Dr. Michelle Lute, Vice President of the Board of the Rewilding Institute and Co-Executive Director of Wildlife for All. I was fascinated to talk with Michelle, discussing how growing up on a farm led her into a career advocating for wildlife, and the many research projects and advocacy campaigns that help shape her work today. Michelle discusses the goals of Wildlife for All and the work they are doing to change wildlife management at the state level. We then dive into current events, primarily the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado. If you are interested in learning more about Wildlife for All, please visit wildlifeforall.us or @wildlife.for.all on Instagram.

This week I was excited to speak with Brittany Bartlett, Ph.D. student at Oxford and the Co-Founder and President of the non-profit, The Next Swell. I really enjoyed my conversation with Brittany, focusing on her marine biology dreams, both those that are fulfilled and those still in progress. Brittany then dove into her pandemic project, The Next Swell, and the impact she has been able to make through scholarships in marine sciences. We then discuss her next step as a Ph.D. student and the research she will be working on. One quick note, Brittany and I used NGO and non-profit interchangeably, however for legal reasons The Next Swell is considered a non-profit, but not an NGO. If you are interested in learning more about The Next Swell please visit nextswell.org or @thenextswell on Instagram. Two quick notes: We do apologize for the sirens outside of Brittany's place throughout the episode. Next week there will be no new episode, please tune back in on January 3rd!

This week I was excited to speak with Renee Seacor, Carnivore Conservation Manager for Project Coyote. Renee is a licensed lawyer and took the chance to explain the importance of using her law background to advocate for compassionate conservation. I had an amazing time talking with Renee, learning how a love of horses led to a career in conservation, the importance of exploring wild spaces, and how a law degree can help with wildlife advocacy. We then explored the work Renee is doing at project coyote, promoting wolf reintroduction in the north east and working to ban wildlife killing contests.

Today I interviewed the Education and Outreach Manager for Project Coyote and a member of the Rewildling Leadership Council for the rewilding institute, Kelly Borgmann. I had an amazing time talking with Kelly, diving behind the scenes as a safari guide in Africa, protecting manatees in central Florida, and discussing why she chose to return to school for not one, but two Masters. We then explored the work Kelly is doing at project coyote, managing the Keeping it Wild Youth Education Program, the Coyote Friendly Communities Program, and the Ranching and Farming with Wildlife program. I had an amazing time hearing first hand some of the strategies Kelly has implemented to connect with the public to grow the impact of each of these conservation programs. If you owuld like to learn more about Project Coyote or The Rewildling Institute, follow the links below: Project Coyote Rewilding Institute

Today I spoke with Rachel Hutchens, Executive Director of the Bluff Lake Nature Center in Denver, Colorado. Bluff Lake Nature Center is both Denver’s largest open space managed for native habitat and the only nonprofit nature center in Denver. We discussed Rachel’s unique path into conservation, starting as an educator at the Missouri History Museum before finding her way into conservation over time. We then talk about the opportunities Bluff Lake offers its local community, the human wildlife challenges that arise from running an urban refuge, and how visitation to Bluff Lake has increased drastically since Covid. If you would like to learn more about Bluff Lake Nature Center you can visit www.blufflake.org

Welcome back to The Missing Stone Podcast! Today I was joined by the Program Manager of the Sharks and Rays Conservation Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Dana Tricarico. Dana and I spoke about the shark dive we met on outside of Jupiter, Florida, and Dana's memorable experience completing her Master's Degree at the University of Miami and her work with invasive lion fish. We then Dive into her work with the Sharks and Rays Conservation Program discussing the process of building new relationships globally and the difficulties of working to protect a group of species that are considered controversial.

Today I spoke with childrens book author and the founder and director of the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund (KACF), Dave Johnson. We talked about how conducting mountain lion research as a teenager led him on the path of wildlife biology and conservation, the summer of grizzly bear research in Alaska that changed his career trajectory, and the ability to make a difference by mentoring teenagers in the Denver Community as a zoo keeper at the Denver Zoo for the last 25 years. We then dove into the work he is doing with the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, supporting community level conservation efforts across 24 countries around the world. At the time this episode is released, Dave is currently visiting a wildlife veterinary hospital built on the grounds of the National Trust for Nature Conservation in the Chitwan National Park of Nepal which the KACF helped raise funds to build. If you would like to learn more about the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund you can visit: The Katie Adamson Conservation Fund Follow @Katieadamsonconservation fund on Instagram Follow them on Facebook Follow them on LinkedIn