#StopExtinction Archives

On April 1, 2022 Roxy’s Law—a ban on trapping on New Mexico public lands more than a decade in the making—goes into effect after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed it last year. Nearly 32 million acres of public lands, including state-owned parcels, national forests, and Bureau of Land Management holdings will be free not only of cruel leghold traps, which can amputate and maim, but also from strangulation snares, body-crushing traps, and deadly poisons like sodium cyanide bombs. From the beautiful Latir Peak Wilderness to the incredible Florida Mountains, vast amounts of New Mexico will be safer for people, pups, and wildlife alike.

Along with Roxy’s Law, New Mexico has recently taken other meaningful steps toward protecting wildlife. In 2019, the state banned gruesome coyote-killing contests, events that reward indiscriminate and senseless massacres. Currently, the state is rolling out its plan for projects to protect wildlife from vehicle collisions along heavily used movement and migration corridors.

These are signs of a new era across the Land of Enchantment. An era in which coexistence is the norm, exploitation and cruelty are waning, and native foxes, bobcats, beavers, badgers, and wolves are revered for their ecological roles and honored for their intrinsic value, not persecuted as inconveniences. We are leaving behind nearly two hundred years of primarily viewing wildlife as merely something to slaughter and sell.

Still, New Mexico isn’t yet the beacon of wildlife management that it should be:

A memorial urging the federal government to tackle the biodiversity crisis died without a vote on the state Senate floor last month.
Our Game Commission has been a merry-go-round as the governor appoints and fires commissioners at her whim. Yet she has let a year elapse since the tragic passing of David Soules without appointing anyone to the conservation position on the commission. Without stability on the commission, it’s unclear where needed leadership will come from.
The state is still on record opposing Mexican wolf restoration in the Southern Rockies, where lobos belong and where scientists say they need to live in order to fully recover.

Congress seems poised to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (co-sponsored by New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich), which could provide funding to states to protect nongame wildlife. But our wildlife agency doesn’t even have the authority to manage or protect many species, including the Gunnison’s prairie dog, the Rio Grande sucker, and 23 of New Mexico’s 26 bat species, just to name a few. And they don’t want that responsibility; they want to continue to focus on the fraction of animals that are pursued and killed by sportsmen.

RAWA could be the inflection point New Mexico needs. Bold leadership is required to modernize the Department of Game and Fish. So, let’s remember there’s a lot of work still to do and progress to be made:

We need a comprehensive state wildlife agency more invested in protecting all wildlife, not focused only on game species like elk and nonnative rainbow trout.
We need a wildlife agency that sees all New Mexicans as stakeholders, not one that caters only to the minority of New Mexicans, who, like me, buy hunting and fishing licenses.
We need a wildlife agency with the authority, will, and revenue to manage and protect the many wildlife species in our state.

Roxy’s Law alone is worth celebrating, of course. But it also represents a critical marker on New Mexico’s path to reimagining how we perceive and live with the wildlife that makes this place special. Let’s take the next step and push for a state wildlife agency that serves all the people and wildlife of New Mexico.

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Guardians and the California Wilderness Coalition have intervened in a lawsuit brought by snowmobiling interests that are challenging the Forest Service’s decision to designate over-snow vehicle (OSV) trails and use areas on the Stanislaus National Forest in California’s Sierra Nevada.

We intervened in the lawsuit because the Forest Service hasn’t properly considered the impacts snowmobiling will have on an isolated remnant population of 18 to 39 Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator), which live within the Stanislaus National Forest in the vicinity of Sonora Pass (elevation 9628’).

Despite its name, the Sierra Nevada red fox can have black, gray or tawny fur (the gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus, is a separate species). Its thick, deep winter coat, longer hind feet, and small toe pads completely covered in winter by dense fur make it well-adapted to the cold and deep snows of Sierra Nevada winters. It’s also smaller than the other nine North American subspecies of red fox—males average about 9.5 lbs and females about 7.5 lbs. The smaller stature could be another adaptation that allows it to travel better atop the snow, or it might simply result from the smaller amount of available prey in the subalpine habitat and high-elevation conifer woodlands in which the fox is found. Rodents and snowshoe hare are the fox’s primary food source. With prey limited at this elevation, so is the fox’s population density: 1 fox per 10 square miles.

Because the Sierra Nevada red fox is solitary, nocturnal and lives at in inhospitable elevation, confirmed sightings are extremely rare. As far back as the 1950s, there were only about two confirmed sightings per year. From 1991 until 2010 there were no confirmed sightings, leading some biologists to believe the fox had gone extinct. In 2015, a Sierra Nevada red fox was seen in Yosemite National Park for the first time in almost a century. With so few sightings, recent studies of the fox have relied on scat and hair samples to estimate its population and range, and much of its presumed behavior is taken from other subspecies.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes the isolated population around Sonora Pass as the Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the Sierra Nevada red fox, and in August of 2021 designated the DPS as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The ESA provides protection to imperiled species, but also extends protections to subspecies and “distinct population segments”—a population or group of populations that are both discrete from other populations and significant to the species as a whole. The Sonora Pass population is one of only two populations known to exist, and the only population to still inhabit its historical range in the Sierra Nevada mountains. These last few foxes are genetically distinct from another larger DPS found in the southern Cascades of far northern California and southern Oregon. Click here for an interactive map, which shows in green just how small of an area the Sierra Nevada red fox DPS inhabits.

When it listed the Sierra Nevada DPS as endangered, the Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the risk of extinction posed by the population’s small size, and hybridization with nonnative foxes. Additionally, the Fish and Wildlife Service noted the risk posed by coyotes, which Sierra Nevada red foxes generally try to avoid by occupying snowier, higher-elevation habitats.

The Forest Service’s OSV designations will exacerbate the threats to the fox. The Forest Service’s decision included designating a 411-acre off-trail over-snow vehicle “play area” at Sonora Pass, despite evidence snowmobiles and their loud noise can displace wildlife from normal winter habitat, causing the animals to use limited energy reserves to move to other areas that may have less food and shelter. Snowmobile use can also limit the availability of foxes’ rodent prey in two ways. First, snowmobile traffic compacts snow, thereby reducing temperature and available oxygen in the spaces between the ground and the bottom of the snowpack, restricting rodents from those areas or lowering their survival. Second, snowmobile trails provide coyotes easier access into areas that would otherwise be difficult to access due to deep snow, allowing coyotes to prey on rodents that would otherwise be available as prey for the fox. Coyotes also kill foxes.

Snowmobile advocates claim the Forest Service’s OSV designations are too restrictive. We’ve intervened in their lawsuit for the opposite reason: because the Forest Service made its area and trail designations without considering the harmful effects of snowmobiles on the few remaining Sierra Nevada red foxes on Sonora Pass.

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A federal court has just restored Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf after they were eliminated by the Trump administration in 2020.

I want you to be one of the first people to hear about this great news for wolves. If you’d like more details—including a copy of the judge’s ruling—check out our press release. This victory belongs to you and all Guardians who have stood together in defense of wolves!

The February 10 decision not only provides a stay of execution for wolves in Wisconsin and other Great Lakes states, but it also means that pioneering wolves migrating to new habitats in Colorado, Nevada, California, and beyond can’t be shot or trapped by trophy hunters.

While the decision immediately redesignates the gray wolf as a species threatened with extinction in the lower 48 states, it unfortunately doesn’t apply to the Northern Rockies wolf population, for which federal protections were removed by Congress in 2011.

As our Wildlife Program Director Lindsay Larris told the press today, “While we are thankful for this ruling, we also call on Secretary Deb Haaland to issue emergency relisting protections for the Northern Rockies wolf population to halt the senseless slaughter taking place.”

The fact is while today’s ruling is a great victory for many wolves, it does nothing to stop the war on wolves in the Northern Rockies, where over 20 percent of all Yellowstone National Park wolves have been killed in just a few months and Montana and Idaho are on pace to eliminate the majority of wolves within their borders this year.

To put it bluntly, this is a slaughter of wolves the likes of which America hasn’t witnessed in 100 years. That’s why we need everyone in this fight.

The job of wolf recovery will not be finished until the sound of a howling wolf can be heard in every landscape across this great nation. We must stay vigilant and we must remain relentless in our defense of wolves until they are not just surviving, but thriving.

So with that in mind, I want you to celebrate this victory by transforming your joy into renewed determination to protect Yellowstone’s wolves and all wolves across Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Please write the Biden administration and demand that they immediately restore Endangered Species Act protections to wolves in the Northern Rockies.

Then, if you are able, please make a special donation to our Wolf Defense Fund so that we have the resources needed to keep fighting—and winning—for wolves.

When we follow our hearts, band together, and do what’s necessary and just—even against great odds—we can both create safe spaces for wolves and also fulfill the essential role holding our government accountable to its obligations to uphold the law.

Howl with me to celebrate this critical victory for wolves, then join us to finish the job.

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Speak up for Wolves: Sign the Petition!

The Mexican gray wolf, or lobo, is one of the most endangered carnivores in the world. After lobos were nearly wiped out, reintroduction began in 1998 in remote areas of New Mexico and Arizona. Since then, recovery has been slow and turbulent. In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decided that the only wild population of Mexican gray wolves in the U.S. was not essential to the recovery of Mexican gray wolves as a species. Guardians and our allies sued, and in 2018, a U.S. district judge told USFWS to go back to the drawing board to write a new management rule for the lobo. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently seeking comments on that new Mexican wolf management rule. This is our last chance to make sure the agency gets recovery right, so please submit your comment!

Tweet for Lobos!

We’ve assembled eight ready-to-go tweets, complete with inspiring images and a link to the petition. All you have to do is “grab-n-go” to help raise awareness and make a big difference in the defense of the lobos! P.S. These work great on Facebook, too!

Tweet #1
#Wolves keep the Gila wild! Celebrate the 97th anniversary of the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico by urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Gila’s most iconic resident—the critically endangered Mexican #wolf: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos #KeepItWild #StopExtinction

Tweet #2

Lobos are essential! Mexican gray #wolves are critical ecosystem influencers in the desert Southwest. They keep prey populations healthy and in balance, protect riparian and aquatic resources, and indicate the health of entire ecosystems. Take action: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

Tweet #3

Humans are the largest obstacle to recovering Mexican #wolves. Along with illegal trapping, poaching and vehicular mortalities, politically motivated ‘recovery’ plans have put lobos in a precarious position. Take action to help get #wolf recovery right: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

Tweet #4

Real recovery for Mexican #wolves would include three distinct, but connected populations. Along with lobos‘ current range in the Greater Gila Bioregion, the Grand Canyon area and the Southern Rockies are identified as prime habitat. Help make it happen: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

Tweet #5

Mexican #wolves in the wild are, on average, as related as brothers and sisters. Though lobos numbers are slowly increasing, the greatest indicator of a successful #wolf recovery effort is the genetic health of the wild population. Support real recovery: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

Tweet #6

To truly recover Mexican gray #wolves a new management rule should be based on the best available science and prioritize enhancing the genetic diversity of the wild lobo population. Raise your voice to make sure Mexican #wolf recovery is done right: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

Tweet #7

Did you know that the Mexican gray wolf, or lobo, is the most endangered gray #wolf in North America and one of the most endangered carnivores in the world? Tell the @USFWS we need a new management rule that will actually recover Mexican #wolves: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

Tweet #8

Almost a century after Aldo Leopold shot a Mexican #wolf in the Gila, only 186 of these wolves exist in the wild. The fierce green fire he saw in the wolf’s eyes still flickers in the #wolves who roam the Greater Gila today. Help support full recovery: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

Amplify YOUR Voice for Wolves: Write a Letter to the Editor

Letters to the editor (LTE) are a great way to share your perspective and encourage others to speak up for lobos. It’s easy, fast, and effective—all you have to do is write your short perspective on why wolves deserve more protections and why the southwest needs more wolves. Be sure to mention that U.S. Fish and Wildlife is taking public comments on wolf management right now and comments can be submitted here: https://guardiansaction.org/lobos

You can submit your letter to your local outlet, or if you are not from the region, submit it to a statewide outlet. Here are direct links to submission forms, note that different papers have different word count limits.

New Mexico

Arizona

LTE Talking Points: Here are key elements of a new lobo management rule that will help truly recover and restore Mexican wolves to their historic range. Please use these talking points as a guideline for drafting your individual LTE, but what’s most important is that your voice and your reason for wanting lobo recovery come through. So, please speak in your own words, but make sure to emphasis the fact that a new Mexican wolf management rule must:

Rescue Mexican wolves from a genetic bottleneck

A real genetic rescue entails releasing adult wolf pairs with pups until the wild population of lobos demonstrates adequate genetic diversity improvements. Releasing a set, limited number of wolves into the wild is not a real genetic objective—very few wolves who reach breeding age actually contribute their genes to the wild population.

Allow lobos to roam throughout their historic range

Preventing wolves from crossing arbitrary political boundaries like Interstate 40 is unacceptable. In order to truly recover, Mexican wolves need access to suitable habitat in the southern Rockies and the Grand Canyon region.

Designate lobos as “essential”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated the only wild population of Mexican wolves in the U.S. as “non-essential” to the recovery of the species in the wild. Designating this population as “essential” is common sense and crucial to recovery.

Reduce wolf-livestock conflict

Wolves are native carnivores highly adapted to the desert southwest. They should not bear the burden of livestock-wildlife conflict when non-native cows are grazing on public lands without protection.

Despite receiving thousands of letters of opposition from many of you, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has so far ignored our call to withdraw a right-of-way across public lands in southwest Utah.

The right-of-way had been granted by the Trump administration, just before it left office, through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area outside St. George—a rapidly sprawling city. Trump’s BLM did this despite clear instruction from Congress in 2009 that Red Cliffs was designated to conserve and protect the plants and wildlife, including the threatened Mojave desert tortoise, that live where the Mojave Desert, Great Basin, and Colorado Plateau converge.

This past June, Guardians and our partners sued BLM for failing to uphold its responsibilities to manage the Red Cliffs. Construction hasn’t started on the four-lane highway—yet—so the Biden administration still has an opportunity to correct this terrible decision by its predecessors.

To get the Biden administration’s attention, Guardians and allies have created a shared website asking the public to join together to voice its opposition to this destructive and unnecessary highway across fragile desert habitat.

The overall goal is 80,000 signatures. With the help of Guardians’ great supporters, I’m confident we can reach that goal.

Please take action and tell the BLM that the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is too valuable to destroy with a highway.

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On the December 21 winter solstice —the darkest day of the year—Montana wildlife officials opened additional areas to wolf trapping across the state, including in wilderness areas and public lands bordering Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park.

This decision is sickening, and yet it doesn’t even begin to describe the whole horrific situation that imperiled wolves and grizzly bears have faced all year in Montana. And the stakes are only getting more dangerous as a long, cold winter descends.

This year’s start of the wolf trapping season was delayed in parts of western Montana to give grizzly bears more time to safely reach their dens. Despite this, threatened species like grizzlies were not spared from the brutality of indiscriminate trapping.

Earlier this fall, a family of grizzly bears living near Glacier National Park stumbled upon two traps—baited with a dead fox—that a trapper set to kill coyotes. The traps snapped shut, gripping tightly around the feet of two bears. Wildlife managers were able to dart and release one bear, but it’s believed the other trap may remain on the second grizzly bear’s foot. Trapping is a disgusting practice—using a dead fox to bait a trap just makes it more atrocious.

Grizzly bears and wolves need our help, otherwise more and more will suffer this same fate.

By New Year’s Eve, wolf trapping will be opened statewide to satisfy the bloodlust of Montana’s Republican governor and state legislators, who are intent on brutally slaughtering up to 450 wolves—40 percent of the state’s wolf population—in just six months. Forty percent!

Thankfully, most grizzly bears should be denned up by then. Grizzly Bear 399—the world’s most famous mama bear, pictured above—recently made it safely into her Greater Yellowstone den with her four cubs. Sadly, a den is no refuge for some of Yellowstone’s most famous wolf packs. Fifteen Yellowstone wolves have already been slaughtered this year, including seven from the Junction Butte pack, the most-watched wolf pack in the park.

Winter is a time for nesting, denning, and reflecting. The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year, but it also marks a return of the light.

At WildEarth Guardians, we want to end the year focusing on gratitude and all the successes we accomplished together for wildlife and wild places. But we can’t shy away from telling the dark stories that continue to happen. We are standing up against these injustices and for the beauty and wildness that still remain.

Above all, nature is cyclical and we know that our fight to protect the natural world will contain both moments of despair and darkness and moments of exhilaration and exuberance. Just as the winter descends, spring will also rise.

In a few months, Grizzly Bear 399 and her four cubs will emerge from their den. Let’s do everything in our power to ensure that the world they walk out into is one that values coexistence and reveres the cycle of life.

Photo “Almost Home” by Thomas D. Mangelsen.

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When you think of America’s congressionally designated wilderness areas, what comes to mind?

Intact ecosystems teeming with native wildlife and wild places, where people can find solace and solitude in an increasingly fast-paced world? Or aerial gunning, poisoning, and trapping of native wildlife?

The answer should be clear. But unfortunately, the federal wildlife-killing program known as Wildlife Services uses our tax dollars to deploy neck snares, foothold traps, “cyanide bombs,” and sharpshooters in helicopters to kill hundreds of thousands of native animals on public lands—even in protected wilderness areas.

We have waged a relentless battle to end this war on wildlife. Over the last five years, litigation against the USDA Wildlife Services by WildEarth Guardians and our allies has resulted in legal victories in Idaho, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Washington—each of them curbing the program’s slaughter of native wildlife and increasing its accountability to the public.

But we aren’t resting until we end this rogue program’s war on wildlife once and for all.

Earlier this month, Guardians and Western Watersheds Project launched a lawsuit challenging Wildlife Services’ expansion of aerial gunning, poisoning, trapping, and shooting of bobcats, foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, beavers, and other wildlife on public lands across Nevada, including the potential for killing wildlife on over six million acres of wilderness and wilderness study areas.

With your help and your support, we will have the financial resources we need in 2022 and beyond to defend vulnerable wildlife and ensure that public lands are a refuge for native animals. Can I count on your donation today? As an added bonus, your donation will be matched by another generous supporter.

While society has evolved to understand the importance of native species as a key part of ecosystems and the need for coexistence with wildlife, Wildlife Services continues to rely on antiquated practices from a bygone era when many animals were pushed to the brink of extinction. We demand better from the federal government.

Public lands across the American West are critical for preserving biodiversity and enabling native ecosystems to thrive—they are meant to be wildlife havens, not slaughtering grounds. We must not let the federal government use our tax dollars to slaughter the very creatures that epitomize the wildness of these landscapes.

With your help, we will achieve even more in 2022 to stop Wildlife Services in its tracks! Help fuel our continued fight for coexistence in the new year by making a MATCHED gift of $50, $100, $250 or more to Guardians today.

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As we approach the end of the year, I am reflecting on the nature of resilience and in particular the resilient nature of the Joshua tree. Born of the Pleistocene epoch, this humble desert plant has outlasted mass extinction events that even the fabled woolly mammoth and the saber-toothed tiger could not survive. Knowing that, it is almost inconceivable to grapple with the reality facing the Joshua tree—after some 2.5 million years on Earth, scientists are warning that Joshua trees face extinction by the end of this century.

The average lifespan of a Joshua tree is 150 years, so to put this crisis into perspective, consider this: in the time that it takes for one single Joshua tree to become middle-aged, the entire species could vanish, largely due to climate change.

That is, of course, unless we act.

Right now, we are in a critical window of opportunity where the public—you—can actually make a difference in whether or not Joshua trees survive. This September, we won a groundbreaking legal victory when a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the law when it failed to list the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act. Now, the agency must reconsider that decision, and it is critical that the Biden administration hears from as many people as possible before the end of the year.

Please take a moment to urge the Biden administration to reverse course and grant the Joshua tree the federal protections it needs to survive.

There are even more ways to help the Joshua tree. If each of you who opens this email shares the call to action with just three of your friends or family members, the ripple effect will be huge.

Finally, if you’re able, you can help fund our work to save the Joshua tree and other endangered species across the country. Every donation goes a long way and we couldn’t do this work without your support.

In closing my meditation on the meaning of resilience, I was struck by the word’s appearance in the Oxford English Dictionary in the 1600s—defined as the “act of rebounding or springing back,” and its Latin root in the verb salire, meaning “to leap.”

Whether we are springing back or leaping forward, we can’t do it alone. True resilience requires collective action and that is what the Joshua tree needs from all of us.

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Grizzlies, the iconic but imperiled bears of the American West, need places like Wyoming’s Gros Ventre Wilderness. Pronounced “gruh vahnt,” these rugged mountains east of Jackson Hole provide the expansive, undeveloped habitat necessary for grizzly bears to thrive, and for grizzly populations to recover to sustainable levels. But the U.S. Forest Service is on track to introduce a new threat to grizzly bears on what has become their home turf, and we need you to help stop them.

Part of what makes the Gros Ventre Wilderness and surrounding lands—an area known as the Elk Ridge Complex—such a stronghold for grizzlies is the absence of cattle grazing. Every year, grizzlies in Wyoming and other western states are killed to protect the domestic cows and sheep roaming loose in their habitat. But in the Elk Ridge Complex, conservation groups reached voluntary “buyout” agreements with ranchers holding permits to federal grazing allotments. As a result, allotments in the Elk Ridge Complex have been vacant for five years and these public lands have become, once again, a refuge to a growing number of bears.

Now the Forest Service wants to renege on these agreements, which have proven an invaluable tool to protect grizzly bears from being killed due to livestock conflict. The agency is proposing to reauthorize grazing on four vacant allotments: Lime Creek, Rock Creek, Tosi Creek, and Elk Ridge. Together these allotments total 30,577 acres of national forest—13,000 acres of which lie within the Gros Ventre Wilderness boundary.

The Forest Service has prepared a draft environmental assessment to analyze the environmental impacts of this terrible idea. We need you to tell the Forest Service to keep these vacant allotments closed. You can submit your comments via their comment portal here by December 27.

To help make your voice heard, we’ve compiled talking points you can include in your comments to the Forest Service:

Re-allowing grazing on the four Elk Ridge Complex allotments is a recipe for disaster for recovering grizzly bears. Already, too many grizzlies are killed in response to conflicts with livestock. Placing cows on these now-vacant allotments invites conflict, which will cause more bears to be killed.
The Forest Service needs to honor voluntary, cooperative allotment buyouts. The Elk Ridge Complex allotments have been vacant for five years, and in that time have become important habitat for grizzly bears and other native wildlife. Allowing cattle on these allotments would violate these agreements, undo important protections for grizzly, and have a chilling effect on the use of this important conservation tool going forward.
There is no need for grazing on the Elk Ridge Complex allotments. In the draft environmental assessment, the Forest Service has not demonstrated any need for opening the Lime Creek, Rock Creek, Tosi Creek, and Elk Ridge grazing allotments.
The Forest Service has not articulated how it would manage the Elk Ridge Complex allotments. In the draft environmental assessment, the Forest Service has not considered any specific grazing scenarios. As a consequence, the public has no understanding of the number of livestock that will be grazed, areas of use, the capacity of the range to support livestock, and other details necessary to ensure the agency takes the requisite “hard look” at the effects of its proposal under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Forest Service needs to know you support grizzly bears, keeping Wilderness wild, and oppose restocking vacant livestock grazing allotments in the heart of their range. Please submit your comments by December 27.

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In February, while investigating a mortality signal from a wolf collar, Oregon state troopers found the dead bodies of the entire Catherine Wolf Pack, three males and two females. A whole family brutally murdered, likely at the hands of one or a few people.

Tragically, this was just the start of a series of disturbing and still unsolved deaths. In the past five months, police have recovered the bodies of eight wolves in eastern Oregon, all poisoned.

Now the police, having exhausted all leads, are turning to us for help to find the perpetrators of this crime. WildEarth Guardians and our partners are offering a $43,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of a person or persons in the deliberate fatal poisoning of these wolves.

Offering this reward is one critical way we can bring justice for wolves. We are also fighting in court and pressuring the Biden administration. Please donate today to our Wolf Defense Fund so that we can secure the future of the gray wolf.

With your help, we’ve spent the past year working to protect wolves and endangered wildlife across the country. We’ve seen progress, to be sure—in October Guardians successfully forced Montana to restrict wolf snaring on millions of acres of public lands—but there is still so much work to be done. Any day now, a decision could come down in our national litigation challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s reckless decision to strip gray wolves of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection across the lower 48.

We’re also planning for the future and turning our attention to Colorado, where, thanks to a people-powered ballot initiative, the state must reintroduce gray wolves by the end of 2023. Colorado has only the next two years to develop a reintroduction and management plan for wolves, and that means Guardians has a job to do. We must ensure this plan includes the highest protections for wolves, so that entire wolf families aren’t killed in the face of the slightest opposition.

Your support allows us to show up for wolves in court, in Congress, and across the West. Will you join us by donating now to our Wolf Defense Fund?

Anyone with information about the eastern Oregon wolf poisonings should contact the Oregon State Police Tip Line at (800) 452-7888 or email TIP@state.or.us. Callers may remain anonymous.

For people outside of Oregon or without information to share, you can help us spread the word about this heinous crime. The more people who are aware of this, the more likely it is that Oregon police receive critical information to catch the perpetrator before more wolves are lost.

We are sickened, outraged, and heartbroken by this crime. And we are committed to this fight for the long run.

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Contact

[email protected]

Alma "Rosie" Sanchez

Colorado Organizer

Alma “Rosie” Sanchez is a Latina activist with roots in Coalcoman, Michoacan Mexico and Guatemala City, Guatemala. Rosie has dedicated her personal and professional life to conservation, environmental activism, and community engagement. As the Colorado Organizer, Rosie works to empower Colorado communities, uplifting principles of equity and inclusion supporting our wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and climate and energy work across the state. A graduate of Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in fisheries and wildlife sciences specializing in conservation biology, Rosie's activism includes wildlife rehabilitation and spearheading the campaign to reintroduce wolves in Colorado, as well as holding multiple leadership roles within the Latino conservation community. When she's not rabble-rousing, you can find Rosie birding, learning how to rock climb, or hiking the 17 million acres of public lands in Colorado with her dog, Rascal.

Contact

[email protected]

Soni Grant

Four Corners Organizer

Soni joined Guardians in 2021 as the Four Corners Organizer. Their work focuses on protecting the Greater Chaco region from fossil fuel extraction and advocating for meaningful climate solutions. Soni brings over a decade of experience organizing for social and environmental justice in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and New Mexico. They hold a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and an MA in Geography from the University of Toronto. When not at Guardians, Soni teaches environmental studies and maintains an active research agenda on environmental justice and the impacts of climate change in New Mexico. In their free time, Soni is an avid runner and hiker, and enjoys cooking, playing music, and spending time with their dog and partner.

Kayleigh Dearstyne-Hulin

Wildlife Intern

Kayleigh Dearstyne-Hulin hails from Albany, New York where she was constantly doing some sport from running and hiking to archery and martial arts. Getting outside and active inspired her to protect and connect people with the outdoors. Graduating with a MA in International Relations and Sustainable Development from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, Kayleigh is pursuing a career in environmental policy and governance. Having moved out West, she is thrilled about her internship which involves analyzing southwest environmental policies and processes and writing grants. While not interning, she is still doing any sport she can find, mainly surfing and rockclimbing.

Contact

[email protected]

Cheyanne Neuffer

Nevada Wildlife Engagement Coordinator

Cheyanne Neuffer is a passionate environmentalist, writer and wildlife advocate. Growing up in rural Northern Nevada instilled a drive to protect and preserve the wild beauty of Nevada’s public land and wildlife. In 2018, Cheyanne graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and a minor in Cultural Anthropology. After college, Cheyanne moved to Lake Tahoe to pursue environmental journalism with the local newspaper and later became editor of the Tahoe Magazine. Cheyanne joined WildEarth Guardians in 2021 as the Nevada Wildlife Engagement Coordinator to help connect more Nevadans with the wildlife they share the state with.

Contact

[email protected] 720-600-3833

Lizzy Pennock

Legal Fellow

Lizzy joined WildEarth Guardians as a volunteer in September 2019 during her second year of law school. Lizzy is a Diehl Environmental Law Fellow focused on wildlife protection. She grew up in Colorado, where she developed her passion for nature and exploring the outdoors. Lizzy earned her Bachelor of Science in Marine Science at the University of Hawai`i and her J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. She was awarded the 2021 Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Leadership Award and was elected to the Cornelius Honor Society. She did as much pro bono as possible during law school and worked with Crag Law Center and the Center for Biological Diversity, focusing on salmon protection. She currently resides on the Oregon coast with her partner and two labs, where she loves to hike, bake, and spend time at the beach.

Contact

[email protected] 207-798-9788

Danielle Plourde

Data Management Administrator

Danielle joined Guardians in the summer of 2021. As part of the Guardians Resource Team, her role is largely focused on background support to keep the small and mighty engine that is WildEarth Guardians running smoothly. Danielle is no stranger to supportive roles, when she is not at Guardians she is supporting families during the wonderful, potent and awesome transition that is pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She has supported many families in New Mexico as a Doula. She also runs a small herbal company that focuses primarily on this transition. Danielle has a B.A. in philosophy and religious studies and sees her role as a birthworker and a Guardian deeply intertwined and interdependent in the realms of public health and environmentalism.

Javier Gallegos

Photography Intern

Javier is the Summer 2021 photography intern for WildEarth Guardians. His work focuses on photographing the Rio Grande and its impact on ecology and human life. He became concerned with the drying of the river from his experience of growing up in El Paso, Texas, without water in the Rio Grande. Only in pictures of other parts of the country did he know what a river was supposed to be like. He is currently a senior at New Mexico State University with plans to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism & Professional Communication and a minor in History in the spring of 2022. Javier enjoys watching stand up comedy and video games in his free time.

Contact

[email protected] 303-501-5815

Andrew Rothman

Wild Places Program Director

A native of Wisconsin, Andrew’s interest in wildlife started in his youth, thanks to his many trips to their family cabin in the Northwoods. Growing up in the 80’s, Andrew’s interests in native wildlife expanded to that of the rainforests of Latin America that he learned were rapidly being destroyed. A lifelong aspiration to help protect wildlife and their habitat ensued. Andrew’s professional career has led him toward fulfilling those aspirations. Andrew helped thousands of people increase their connection to nature as the Assistant Naturalist at the renowned Horicon Marsh with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Andrew founded his own non-profit organization, Rainforest Biodiversity Group, to help protect and restore habitat for the endangered Great Green Macaw in Costa Rica; helping private landowners establish private reserves and creating Latin America’s first Birding Trail along the way. Andrew spent over a decade working with American Bird Conservancy managing a portfolio of projects in nearly a dozen countries in Latin America leading to the protection and restoration of thousands of acres of grassland, forest and wetland habitat for migratory and highly endangered endemic birds. Here he also helped establish ABC’s Great Lakes Program, co-authored the Golden-winged Warbler Non-breeding Grounds Conservation Plan, the first plan of its type for a songbird, and helped establish ABC’s Impact Investing Program, which looks to find ways to demonstrate how non-philanthropic capital can be invested for conservation outputs. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, with degrees in Biology and Wildlife Management, Andrew continues to bring innovative solutions to complex conservation problems. Andrew enjoys international travel having visited 28 countries. He also enjoys rock climbing, skiing, yoga, hiking and fine dining. Andrew is the descendant of two WWII concentration camp escapees.

Contact

[email protected] 928-242-3292

Jack Meyer

Greater Gila Arizona Advocate

A local to Arizona's White Mountains, Jack Meyer brings to the Greater Gila campaign a reverence for the wildlife and wild places that shaped him. Jack has worked on social and environmental justice issues throughout his adult life and during his time as an Environmental Studies student at Northern Arizona University. In 2014 he began working with 350.org's fossil fuel divestment movement, and has founded chapters for Our Climate and the Sunrise Movement in Arizona to advocate for science based policy solutions to address climate change. After a year in Tennessee working with Appalachian Voices on their energy democracy campaign Jack is back in the West as WildEarth Guardians Greater Gila Advocate for Arizona. Feel free to send him an email to chat about the work he is doing to protect public lands across the Greater Gila Bioregion.

Contact

[email protected]
505-660-0284

Joe Bushyhead

Endangered Species Attorney

Joe Bushyhead joined Guardians in May 2021 as our Endangered Species Policy Advocate. Based in Denver, he works to protect imperiled Western species as well as the integrity of the Endangered Species Act itself. Prior to Guardians, Joe spent seven years as a staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and clerked for the Honorable Tena Campbell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. He holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. Before law school, he worked for the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resource Management on, among other projects, a study of Chinook salmon in Idaho’s South Fork of the Salmon River watershed.

Dustin Martin

Member, Board of Directors

Dustin grew up hiking, camping, riding, skiing and running the vast outdoor sanctuaries surrounding Gallup, NM. Distance running led him to New York City, where he earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology from Columbia University. In 2011, Dustin returned to the southwest to serve as program director for Wings of America- a not for profit that empowers Tribal youth and their families by introducing them to the cultural, spiritual and competitive legacy of Native runners. Under his leadership, the organization has continued to provide elite-level opportunities for talented Native runners while making a concerted effort to create new programs for fledgling harriers of all abilities. Moving forward, Dustin hopes to continue promoting the positive achievements of Native runners while helping foster and test new models for acquainting Native youth with their ancestral homelands.

Francine D. Spang-Willis

Member, Board of Directors

Francine D. Spang-Willis is of Cheyenne, Pawnee, and settler descent. She is a descendant of Chief Dull Knife, also known as Morning Star, and Pawnee Woman. She is also a descendant of a pioneer family who settled in Montana during the late 1800s. Francine received a Master of Arts in Oral History from Columbia University and a Master of Arts in Native American Studies from Montana State University. Her graduate studies have focused on settler colonialism processes and bison and land restoration. Her work has primarily focused on helping others learn about these processes and to evolve them for the benefit of the greater whole. She enjoys hiking, skiing, ice climbing, and spending time with her husband and beagle near Bozeman and their off-grid cabin near the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

Contact

[email protected] 505-396-1752

Tricia Snyder

Rio Grande Campaigner

Tricia, as a child of military parents, spent much of her childhood moving frequently in the U.S. and abroad, but calls El Paso, TX home. Growing up on the banks of the (often dry) Rio Grande and the water scarcity of the Southwest sparked a life-long interest in finding solutions for water conflicts in the arid and semi-arid American West. Tricia received a B.S. in Geography with a focus on human-environment connection from New Mexico State University. Her research while there centered on water management across borders. She spent 5 years working with the Southwest Environmental Center working to protect and restore the wildlife and wild places of the Southwest borderlands, particularly focused on the recovery of the Mexican gray wolf. In 2015, Tricia moved to Washington state to pursue a graduate degree, receiving an M.S. in Cultural and Environmental Resource Management from Central Washington University. Her thesis, which conducted an adaptive capacity assessment of the Upper Klamath Basin, utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods. She worked for nearly four years on salmon recovery as the Lead Entity Coordinator for the Yakima Basin in central Washington, bringing together a diverse group of interests and perspectives. Tricia joined WildEarth Guardians as the Rio Grande Campaigner in 2021.

Contact

[email protected]

Kate Merlin

Climate & Energy Program Colorado Attorney

Katherine Lynn Toan Merlin is WildEarth Guardians' Climate and Energy Program Colorado Attorney. She earned her J.D. from Vermont Law School in 2008, and an LLM in Natural Resources Law from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2013. Prior to joining Guardians she worked as a solo attorney in public interest environmental litigation and administrative law to protect Colorado's people and places from the numerous harms imposed by the oil and gas industry. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Kate began her career to protect the environment after a three-month trek through the southwest with the National Outdoor Leadership School. She earned a B.S. in environmental science from Northern Arizona University before beginning her career in law.

Contact

[email protected] (719) 439-5895

Matt Nykiel

Climate & Energy Program Attorney

Matt is a Climate & Energy program attorney for WildEarth Guardians. Matt's work focuses on protecting New Mexico and communities across the West from the impacts of oil and gas extraction and use. He became concerned about fossil fuels after witnessing the effects of climate change as a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service. Seeking opportunities to protect public lands and the environment generally, Matt went to law school at the University of Colorado. After graduating, he clerked for a state district court judge in Colorado and then relocated an hour south of the Canadian Border, in Idaho, to work on energy and water quality issues with the Idaho Conservation League. Matt, his partner, Ruth, and their pup, Frisbee, love being back in Southwest and spending time in the mountains and on the water.

Betsy Gaines Quammen

Member, Board of Directors

Betsy Gaines Quammen is a historian and conservationist. She received a doctorate in Environmental History from Montana State University in 2017, her dissertation focusing on Mormon settlement and public land conflicts. She has studied various religious traditions over the years, with particular attention to how cultures view landscape and wildlife. The rural American West, pastoral communities of northern Mongolia, and the grasslands of East Africa have been her main areas of interest. After college in Colorado, caretaking for a bed and breakfast in Mosier, Oregon, and serving breakfasts at a cafe in Kanab, Utah, Betsy settled in Bozeman, Montana, where she now lives with her husband, writer David Quammen, two huge dogs, an overweight cat, and a pretty big python named Boots. She is the author of American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God, and Public Lands in the West.

Contact

[email protected] 406-396-0321

Matthew Koehler

Media Director

Matthew Koehler joined WildEarth Guardians in 2020, bringing nearly 30 years of experience working to defend public lands, wildlife, and the environment. He grew up in the Village of Elkhart Lake in rural Wisconsin, surrounded by the Kettle Moraine State Forest. His love for nature came from his parents, a housepainter and a nurse, and time the family spent hiking, canoeing, cross-country skiing, and camping on public lands. He moved to Missoula, Montana in 1995 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside with a history degree and later obtained a secondary teaching certificate from the University of Montana. He’s the former executive director of the WildWest Institute and former communications director of the National Forest Protection Alliance, a national coalition of 130 grassroots groups. He was invited to give expert testimony before the U.S. Senate twice, opposing President George W. Bush’s Orwellian “Healthy Forest Initiative” and against a massive public lands logging bill. Voted “best activist” by the Missoula Independent in 2007 and awarded the Fund for Wild Nature’s “grassroots activist of the year” in 2010, he enjoys growing garlic, native landscaping, spending time in nature, and an occasional old fashioned.

Contact

[email protected]

Leia Barnett

Greater Gila Campaigner

Born and raised in the foothills and arroyos of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, Leia is thrilled to bring her love and deep reverence for the high desert country of the Southwest to the Greater Gila campaign. Leia graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico’s cultural anthropology program, where she focused on the ways the more-than-human world can be reimagined through anthropological theory and practice. When she’s not endeavoring to understand the complexities of a successful conservation campaign, Leia can be found mountain-side or river-side, praising the feathered and four-legged ones, and planning her next epic snack.

Contact

[email protected] 503-780-8281

Jennifer Schwartz, J.D.

Senior Staff Attorney

Jennifer Schwartz joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as a Staff Attorney with a focus on protecting the American West’s wondrous, yet imperiled native species. A long-standing biodiversity advocate and lover of wild places, Jennifer has worked with numerous environmental groups for over two decades. Though her social justice and civil litigation interests are varied, she has spent most of her career as a litigator defending the Pacific Northwest’s grasslands, forests, river canyons, and sagebrush steppe ecosystems from destructive logging, livestock grazing, road-building, and motorized recreational abuse.

Jennifer holds a J.D. from Lewis & Clark law school and a B.A. in Politics from U.C. Santa Cruz. After becoming a mother in 2012, Jennifer started her own solo practice representing non-profits and neighborhood groups in their quests to protect Oregon’s invaluable natural resources.

Jennifer enjoys traveling, learning about natural and cultural history, and teaching her young son to be a respectful inhabitant of planet Earth.

Rebecca Vitale Mandich

Member, Board of Directors

Rebecca Vitale Mandich of Palo Alto, CA and Tesuque, NM, was called early to the environmental movement to give voice to the voiceless. An advocate since the 70s, she received her degree in Environmental Studies taught by some of the big thinkers of the time such as Paul Ehrlich, Stewart Brand, Dr. Richard Leakey, Alan Chadwick, and Dr. Donald Aitken, who founded the program at SJSUC as one of first in the nation. Utilizing that education, coupled with commitment and inspiration, Rebecca started taking actions from working in one of the first solar energy homes to working on ballot measures for better public transportation systems in the Bay Area. She assisted in opening the first Spanish-speaking office for Clinton/Gore campaign in 1992 and registered many in the local Hispanic community, hosting then candidate VP Gore to discuss the environment and community issues. In the meantime, she married Mitch Mandich and has two grown children, Matthew and Madeleine, and various dogs and cats have graced their lives. Having traveled extensively, her favorite escape is camping in our national parks and on public monuments and lands, where she has experienced all manner of wildlife and wild places. She became acquainted with WildEarth Guardians about six years ago when she read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about their lawsuit against U.S. Fish and Wildlife services regarding wolves. She sent them a letter and a fast friendship formed over their mutual love of all things wild. Rebecca sees much hope in the future of the environmental movement that began with “Save the Whales" to now promoting a food and energy paradigm for the sustainability of natural resources. A deep political will and an openness to examine new ideas dictate her thinking. She feels that embracing environmental changes through engagement, both politically and through grassroots efforts, are paramount for the evolution of a responsible species to continue the ride on, what she affectionately refers to as, Spaceship Earth.

Gay Dillingham

Vice President, Board of Directors

Gay Dillingham has consistently juggled her passions for the environment, public policy and communication to deepen our human experience and success while on this marvelous planet. Co-Founder, Co-CEO of Earthstone International, LLC. Earthstone is an environmental Intellectual Property (IP) company manufacturing recycled glass into an engineered "white foam glass" for surface abrasion, non-toxic cleaning technologies, agriculture products and building materials. Dillingham owns her own production company, CNS Communications and is an award winning producer/director. Her feature documentary, “Dying to Know” is currently on Amazon Prime Video. 2003-2010 Dillingham was appointed by Governor Richardson to serve on the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board. The EIB is responsible for environmental management and consumer protection for the state. She Chaired the Board for six years managing the passage of many important regulations including green house gas reduction regulations. 2001-2015 She served as part time executive director for the Livingry Foundation, focusing on sustainable development and long term progressive infrastructure. Other charitable board service has included New Mexico Association of Grantmakers, Bioneers, New Mexico Community College, New Voice of Business, the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, and World Security Institute out of DC. Dillingham has traveled to North Korea twice: 2010 with Governor Bill Richardson as an energy advisor and in 2015 as one of 30 international women delegates www.womencrossdmz.org. Gay grew up under the open skies and with her two sisters still owns/operates a working ranch in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The past few years Gay has been working with Wild Earth Guardians on their Greater Gila Campaign.

Contact

[email protected] 310-923-1465

Lindsay Larris

Wildlife Program Director

Lindsay Larris joined Guardians in April 2019 as the Wildlife Program Director. She strives to protect all species, great and small, in the West. Lindsay grew up in New Jersey and headed west after law school, discovering a passion for all things outdoors during 11 years in Southern California. She received a B.A. in Political Science from NYU and a J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School. While a law student, Lindsay co-founded the Journal of Animal Law and Ethics and helped bring an animal law clinic to Penn Law. Lindsay spent seven years practicing civil litigation in the Los Angeles area, working on environmental litigation, trust and estate litigation, and international arbitration, while doing as much pro-bono work as possible. Seeking a more fulfilling career, in 2013, Lindsay quit private practice, fled to Argentina for six months, and came back committed to working in animal and environmental protection. Prior to joining Guardians, Lindsay worked for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, drafting and advancing legislation and policy initiatives to protect the interests of all animals; wild, captive and domestic. Lindsay lives in Denver and can be found exploring new trails with her dog, Willow.

Contact

[email protected] 208-297-3285

Lindsay Biedel

Major Gifts Officer

Lindsay Biedel joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as our Major Gifts Officer. Lindsay grew up in Oregon but has lived all over the West including time in Montana, Washington, and Northern California before putting down roots in Boise, Idaho. Lindsay graduated from the University of Montana in Organizational Communications and has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 15 years as a fundraising specialist. Lindsay is excited to be raising funds for critical conservation issues in the West, something she is deeply passionate about. Lindsay volunteers with several local nonprofits and is also involved with the Idaho Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Lindsay is most at peace when outdoors hiking, skiing, biking or floating magnificent rivers in Idaho, and all over the West, with her husband and two daughters. Her strong travel addiction also takes her to other interesting locations whenever possible!

Contact

[email protected] 406-370-3147

Adam Rissien

Rewilding Advocate

Adam Rissien joined WildEarth Guardians as the ReWilding Advocate in March, 2019 where he previously worked before moving to Ohio in 2014 to be with his family. While in Ohio, Adam was with the Ohio Environmental Council fighting agricultural pollution to help stop toxic algae growing in Lake Erie, until starting his own business, Land Ethic Consulting, LLC. During this time, he served as a statehouse lobbyist for the Sierra Club to advance clean energy legislation, and he also provided technical support for a range of clients. Before moving to Ohio, Adam spent 15 years in the Northern Rockies, where he focused on protecting and restoring national forest lands. This included working as the Policy Specialist with Wildlands CPR before the organization’s merger with WildEarth Guardians in 2013. Much of Adam’s career focused on protecting special places from off-road vehicle damage, and promoting an ecologically sustainable Forest Service transportation system. Adam earned a M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana with an environmental policy emphasis, and currently resides in Missoula, MT with his wife and son.

Contact

[email protected] 505-570-7014

Daniel Timmons

Staff Attorney

Daniel Timmons joined WildEarth Guardians as a staff attorney in 2019, where his work focuses on halting fossil fuel development on public lands and protecting the imperiled wild rivers of the Southwest.

Trained in both law and science, Daniel earned his Juris Doctorate from Lewis & Clark Law School, his Masters’ of Science in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Northern Arizona University, and his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University. Prior to joining Guardians, Daniel was as an associate attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charleston, South Carolina, and he previously worked in private environmental law practice in Portland, Oregon. He is licensed to practice law in Oregon, Washington, and South Carolina (inactive).

Daniel lives in Santa Fe with his wife, where he enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and exploring the ever-inspiring American West.

Contact

[email protected]
505-412-2688

Jeremy Bremser

Financial Manager

Jeremy Bremser grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He attended college in Albuquerque at UNM where he received his degree in Accounting. In past years Jeremy was the Controller for a local hotel and for a large property management company. Jeremy has been in the finance world for over 10 years.

Jeremy spent his youth traveling the world and enjoying the sport of scuba diving. Other than diving Jeremy spends his free time running, playing the Saxophone, and being SuperDad to a lovely little girl.

Bill Syme

President, Board of Directors

Bill Syme joined the board in 2009. He is the only board member who is a native New Mexican and brings this unique perspective to the deliberations of the board. His love of nature began early in his life with frequent trips to New Mexico and southern Colorado forests and streams, backpacking and fly-fishing with his family. Voyages to the Gila and Pecos made a lasting impression on young Bill leading to the desire to preserve wilderness areas in as pristine a state as possible. He went to college at Stanford university, majoring in biology and chemistry. While there he became involved in outdoor biological research. One summer was spent just outside Yosemite studying chipmunks. The next year he was involved in the student lead Mono Lake study evaluating the effects of water diversions by Los Angeles on the ecology of the lake. The results of this study are still in evidence today with the maintenance of water levels in the lake high enough to preserve the breeding islands of gulls. Currently he works as a general surgeon in Albuquerque, in private practice since 1990 but also involved in teaching residents and medical students from UNM. He continues to have a love for the outdoors and spends time outside hiking, cycling, backpacking, bird watching,skiing,gardening and fly-fishing.

Peter Schoenburg

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Peter Schoenburg is a partner in the Albuquerque law offices of Rothstein, Donatelli, Hughes, Dahlstrom, Schoenburg & Bienvenu, LLP. He has practiced criminal defense law in New Mexico since 1978. He received his undergraduate degree at Yale College and his law degree at Rutgers School of Law. A former Federal and State Public Defender, as well as an Assistant Attorney General, since 1993 Peter has worked in private practice defending complex criminal cases in both Federal and State courts. He also regularly represents Native Americans charged with illegal possession of feathers in connection with their religious practices. He has been continuously listed in The Best Lawyers in America - Criminal Defense since 1994. Peter’s love of the wilderness and commitment to its preservation began in his child-hood years in upstate New York. Beginning in law school he worked as an instructor at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Maine and the, now defunct, Southwest Outward Bound School based in Santa Fe. He is an avid rafter, hiker, skier and cyclist.

Nat Cobb

Member, Board of Directors

Nat Cobb joined the Guardians Board in 2010. He grew exploring the outdoor environments in New Mexico, Colorado, and Pakistan. In the 1970’s he worked for five different Outward Bound schools in diverse environments, including three years directing programs in the Gila Wilderness. He also worked as a river guide on the Grand Canyon and in Dinosaur National Monument. A graduate of Fort Lewis College and Harvard Medical School, he recently retired from the Indian Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control, where his work included Family Practice, Emergency Medicine, Research and Epidemiology. He still loves to explore mountains, rivers and deserts by boat, ski, foot, and bicycle. He and his wife actively support and partner with several local farmers in farm-to-table, farm-to-beer mug, and farm-to-wineglass projects. At home on the bank of the Rio Grande in Los Ranchos, NM, he dabbles in native plant landscaping and tries to co-exist with the coyote, geese, beaver, and sandhill cranes who live in his back yard.

Anne Butterfield

Member, Board of Directors

Anne Butterfield lives in Boulder CO. After early years spent in a range of of outdoor environments in the east and west, Anne developed a passion for high altitude. Soon after graduating from Occidental College, she grew through expert skiing, Colorado Outward Bound School, search and rescue work, and serving an archeological surveyor for the US Forest Service in New Mexico. Anne then co-managed Adventure 16 in West LA, a 10,000 square-foot outdoor retail store. Returning to Colorado, she completed a Masters in Creative Writing at CU Boulder and served with Colorado’s 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office as a victim advocate. Then, for seven years she served as an editorial adviser and opinion columnist at the Boulder Daily Camera, where her writing explored Colorado energy policy and informed Boulder voters through three elections leading to the city's decision to separate legally from Xcel Energy. She comes to Guardians also having served on the board of Clean Energy Action, a non-profit dedicated to educating elected officials, regulators, and the public on the risks of our nation relying so heavily on the faltering coal industry. She is an avid pet & wildlife lover and a big fan of renewable energy having learned so much from her husband Sandy who spent his career in wind energy particularly at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories.

Contact

[email protected]
505-795-5083

John Horning

Executive Director

John Horning was born and raised in Washington, DC and grew up on a street that bordered Rock Creek Park, one of the wildest urban parks in our country, where he cultivated an appreciation for the solace of wild spaces. He fondly recalls a childhood searching for salamanders, hearing Pileated wood peckers and watching fire flies light up summer evenings. Mr. Horning graduated in 1989 from Colorado College, where he not only played football for four years (becoming the offense’s MVP his senior year) but also first developed a life-long appreciation for Wallace Stegner, the writer and the man. After biking around the country and then working for a variety of environmental education and advocacy groups he moved to New Mexico in 1994 to join the staff of what would later become WildEarth Guardians. He feels privileged to be a voice for the voiceless.

Articles by John

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Contact

[email protected] 520-869-4673

Kevin Gaither-Banchoff

Development Director

Kevin Gaither-Banchoff joined WildEarth Guardians in 2010 as our Development Director. Kevin moved to the southwest in late 1994 and has worked ever since to protect its biodiversity and wild nature. He has served as Development Director for both Native Seeds/Search and The Wildlands Project, worked as a fundraising and organizational development consultant for numerous local and regional conservation non-profits, and spent four years working as Executive Director for the Arizona Wilderness Coalition. Kevin enjoys sharing his vision for a healthy and vibrant western landscape with his family and friends, and the many wild critters that make this same land their home. Kevin lives in Tucson with his wife Kelli and two girls Abby and Allie, loves to camp, hike, garden and just be outdoors. Kevin has been a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals since 1996.

Contact

[email protected] 651-434-7737

Marla Fox, J.D.

Staff Attorney

Marla Fox joined WildEarth Guardians’ Legal Team in 2019 after working as the Rewilding Attorney since 2015. Her litigation focuses on reconnecting wild places and waterways on public lands across the American West. Originally from Minnesota, Marla spent her informative years swimming and fishing in northern lakes. She received her B.A. in Spanish and Biology from St. Olaf College and her Juris Doctorate from Lewis & Clark Law School. From 2012 to 2015 Marla was a Legal Fellow and then Staff Attorney for the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, where she focused on Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act enforcement. Marla is licensed to practice law in Oregon and Washington. When not working in front of her computer, you can find Marla exploring the West on backpacking trips, running trails, or hiking with her family.

Contact

[email protected]
505-417-5893

Madeleine Carey

Greater Gila Guardian

Madeleine Carey is the WildEarth Guardians’ Greater Gila Guardian. Born and raised in Albuquerque, Madeleine spent her childhood exploring the Rio Grande and its bosque on foot and on horseback. In May 2014, she graduated from Tufts University in Medford, MA with a degree in Biology and Urban Studies. While at Tufts, she was a four-year member of the Track and Cross Country teams and a trip leader for the Tufts Wilderness Orientation program. During college, Madeleine spent her summers working for the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program, researching American Pika in the Valles Caldera National Preserve and working with NM State Forestry to create a post-wildfire assistance guide. An avid runner and pie baker, Madeleine is always looking for ways to combine adventures with brunch.

Articles by Madeleine

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Contact

[email protected] 206-417-6363

Chris Krupp

Public Lands Attorney

Chris joined WildEarth Guardians in September, 2016 as our Public Lands Guardian. He will lead our Keep Public Lands in Public Hands campaign. His work will focus on preventing our commons from being treated as a commodity by those seeking to privatize the nation’s public lands via numerous schemes, including Congressional and administrative land trades and conveyances. Chris grew up playing in the fields and woods of his grandparents’ dairy farms in central Wisconsin. He received his J.D. from the University of Washington and his B.A. in Economics from Lawrence University. Prior to joining us, Chris was staff attorney for Western Lands Project for fifteen years. He enjoys camping and hiking with his family, as well as vegetable gardening and cooking.

Articles by Chris

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Contact

[email protected]
505-819-1060

Caitlin Oxley

Membership Manager

Caitlin Oxley joined WildEarth Guardians as Membership Manager in April 2017. Born and raised in southern Kansas, Caitlin spent most of her time outside. Her favorite childhood memories are of playing in the small creeks that meander through her home county. She graduated from Kansas State University with BAs in English and Mass Communications and spent the first part of her career at museums. She moved to Portland, OR to follow her dream of working for an organization that protects wildlife and wild places. Caitlin currently volunteers as a Crew Leader for Friends of Trees, teaching Oregonians about the importance of planting native species to restore natural areas, especially watersheds. Her favorite place to spend her free time is outside in a hammock, reading a book with her schnoodle and listening to the birds sing.

Contact

[email protected] 505-699-9112

Annaliza Herrera

Email Production Specialist

Annaliza Herrera joined WildEarth Guardians' Communications team in the fall of 2017. Prior to this, she was employed by the Santa Fe Community Foundation as their Administrative Services Associate. It was during her time with SFCF that she gained an appreciation for nonprofit work. A native of northern New Mexico, Annaliza has a great love for the culture and beauty she grew up with in the Española Valley. Annaliza earned her B.A. in Theater from the University of New Mexico after returning home from Los Angeles, where she did conservatory training at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts - West. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Contact

[email protected] 503-728-8413

Laurele Fulkerson, J.D.

Grants Manager

Laurele joined Guardians in June 2016 as our Grants Manager. A California native, Laurele grew up swimming in the ocean off the Southern California coast, hiking and backpacking in the Sierras, and getting outdoors at every opportunity possible. She developed a passion for protecting wildlife and wild places at an early age, which ultimately led her to the Pacific Northwest. She holds a J.D. and Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School, and a B.A. in Political Science from U.C. Santa Barbara. Laurele has fifteen years of experience in nonprofit management and environmental law and policy, bringing a unique combination of fundraising and program experience to Guardians. She has worked on a wide array of public lands, water, and wildlife issues, most recently as Policy Director for Cascade Forest Conservancy. Prior to that, Laurele directed the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides’ water and wildlife program and managed government affairs for Wild Salmon Center.

Contact

[email protected] 503-278-0669

Marlies Wierenga, M.S.

Pacific Northwest Conservation Manager

Marlies Wierenga is the Pacific Northwest Conservation Manager for WildEarth Guardians, serves under the Wild Places Program Director, and formerly served as WA/OR Coordinator for Wildlands CPR until their merger with WildEarth Guardians in 2013. Marlies has over a decade of experience using her technical, policy and public involvement skills to address watershed and water quality challenges throughout the Pacific Northwest. She has analyzed environmental conditions and developed numerous shoreline, watershed and water quality plans for local and state jurisdictions. Marlies has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Arizona and a Master’s in Environmental Studies from the Evergreen State College, where her thesis analyzed the dual mandate of National Parks in Alaska to meet conservation goals and support the subsistence practices of local people (focus was Wrangell-St. Elias National Park).

Articles by Marlies

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Contact

[email protected] 505-216-6826

Rebecca Sobel

Organizing Director

Rebecca Sobel first joined Guardians as our first Conservation Organizer in 2007, later becoming Senior Climate and Energy Campaigner, until moving into her role as Organizing Director of Guardians new Organizing program in 2021. With a bachelor's degree in an individualized major "Globalization and Social Justice '' and a masters degree in International Relations and Human Rights, Rebecca has focused her professional career on social and environmental justice. Starting with Greenpeace as a Field Organizer, where she organized the March for Climate Action in Vermont with Bill McKibben, Rebecca has previously served as the Executive Director of the New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy, and principal of Action Oriented campaign consulting firm before returning to Guardians in 2016. Originally from Philadelphia, Rebecca feels blessed to call the Southwest her home.

Articles by Rebecca

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Contact

[email protected] 505-395-6177

Chris Smith, M.A.

Southwest Wildlife Advocate

Chris grew up in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from which he developed a rudimentary, but deep appreciation for natural beauty and ecological function. He earned a B.A. from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, where he then began working as an organizer and environmental activist. After earning an M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago, Chris returned to Oregon to advocate for coastal forests and the human and wildlife communities that rely on them. Thrilled to return to the high desert landscapes of his upbringing and to help protect the resilient wildlife of the area, he joined WildEarth Guardians in 2017 as the Southern Rockies Wildlife Advocate.

Articles by Chris

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Contact

[email protected] 505-401-4180

Samantha Ruscavage-Barz, Ph.D., J.D.

Legal Director

Samantha Ruscavage-Barz is Legal Director for WildEarth Guardians and has been with the organization for over a decade. She is responsible for coordinating the organization’s litigation strategies, managing and developing staff attorneys, and litigating cases for the Wild Rivers Program. Samantha is a graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law where she is also an Adjunct Professor teaching Environmental Litigation Drafting and coaching the Environmental Law Moot Court Team. Prior to becoming an attorney, Samantha spent 17 years as an archaeologist in the public and private sectors before attending law school, which led to her interest in advocating for and effecting protection of air and water, community health, cultural sites, and public lands ecosystems.

Contact

[email protected]
303-884-2702

Jen Pelz, J.D.

Wild Rivers Program Director

Jen Pelz joined Guardians in March 2013 as the Wild Rivers Program Director where she strives to breathe new life into the endangered rivers of the West. Jen grew up in New Mexico exploring the mesas of Albuquerque, fishing and camping along the Pecos River and wearing her father’s waders to fish the Conejos River near Platoro every summer. She received her B.A. in Field Biology from the University of Northern Colorado in 1998 and her J.D. and Certificate of Environmental and Natural Resource Law from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2002. Jen was a co-director for the 2001 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference and was a clinic student for the Western Environmental Law Center. Jen practiced law for seven years at a small private firm in Denver, litigating land use, public lands and water law cases. She loves spending time with her husband and two little girls, tending her organic garden, and (slowly) remodeling her 1964 ranch home. Jen lives with her family in Colorado.

Articles by Jen

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Contact

[email protected] 303-437-7663

Jeremy Nichols

Climate and Energy Program Director

Jeremy Nichols joined WildEarth Guardians in 2008 as the Director of the Climate and Energy Program, taking action to fight fossil fuels, promote clean energy, slash greenhouse gases, and develop innovative strategies to safeguard the climate and the American West. Jeremy has been active in conservation advocacy since 2000, when he first started working with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance to protect forests, grasslands, and imperiled species in Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 2006, he founded and led Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, a nonprofit that successfully held polluters, states, and the Environmental Protection Agency accountable to our clean air laws throughout the Rocky Mountain region. A native Idahoan, Jeremy made his way to the Rocky Mountain west to study geology at the University of Wyoming. After living in Colorado for 15 years, he now lives in Missoula, Montana with his family.

Articles by Jeremy

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Contact

[email protected] 406-549-3895

Sarah McMillan, J.D.

Conservation Director

Sarah McMillan grew up reading Ed Abbey by kerosene lamp at night and exploring the woods, rivers, and mountains of Montana and western Washington by day. She received her B.A. from Williams College and her J.D. from the University of Montana. Sarah is an avid hiker, locavore wannabe (notable downfalls include olive oil, licorice, Marmite, and black tea), and life-long environmentalist. She has worked in private practice and with Western Environmental Law Center to protect the natural world. Her litigation background is broad—from the ESA, CWA, NEPA, NFMA, etc. to protecting Montanans right to a clean and healthful environment, to defending a citizen's initiative that effectively stopped game farm "hunting" in Montana.

Contact

[email protected] ###-###-####

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