Articles, op-eds, press releases, and photo library

WildEarth Guardians doesn’t just protect the American West—we also photograph it. The images below (and many others) are available for download on our Flickr page for non-commercial use with appropriate attribution.

View and download photos on our Flickr page >

Bears Ears National Monument

Rally for Greater Chaco in Santa Fe

Wildlife threatened by oil and gas development

Fracking on Utah public lands

Press Releases

Nov 30, 2020

Lawsuit filed to protect half of Washington’s bighorn sheep

Non-native domestic sheep grazing on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest puts bighorns at high risk

Nov 25, 2020

Outdoor recreationists encounter horrors during the first three weeks of trapping season

New Mexicans warned of gruesome sights and danger while on public lands over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the two-year anniversary of the death of “Roxy,” the dog who became the namesake for anti-trapping legislation

Nov 24, 2020

Yellowstone grizzly bear and land managers should adopt stronger measures to prevent conflicts, protect people and bears

Importance of coexistence measures for grizzly bear management emphasized as the region strives toward full grizzly bear recovery

Nov 19, 2020

Outgoing Trump administration undermines America’s bedrock environmental law, again

Sweeping rollbacks undercut the role of science, transparency, and public input for decisions made on 193 million acres of National Forest System land

Nov 19, 2020

Trump administration recycles slashing of sage-grouse protections

Move opens habitat to drilling, fracking, and development across nearly 80,000 square miles in seven western states

Nov 30, 2020

Lawsuit filed to protect half of Washington’s bighorn sheep

Non-native domestic sheep grazing on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest puts bighorns at high risk

Nov 25, 2020

Outdoor recreationists encounter horrors during the first three weeks of trapping season

Nov 24, 2020

Yellowstone grizzly bear and land managers should adopt stronger measures to prevent conflicts, protect people and bears

Importance of coexistence measures for grizzly bear management emphasized as the region strives toward full grizzly bear recovery

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Tweets by @wildearthguard

WildEarth Guardians @wildearthguard

27 minutes ago
It’s here! Today is #GivingTuesday and your donation to WildEarth Guardians will be matched by a generous member! That means your gift will go twice as far defending the things you love most, like freedom to roam for #wolves and wild #publiclands.

🐺🐾> https://t.co/71sZ0LzmOD https://t.co/ARc8Pp38dI

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WildEarth Guardians @wildearthguard

10 hours ago
"There is much wisdom left unheard and unseen that must be unleashed. If there was a time to liberate those voices, it is now. A different perspective can be magic." – Jen Pelz, WildEarth Guardians

https://t.co/BbiDFWwWMC

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Media Inquiries

WildEarth Guardians engages the media to inform, inspire, and activate. We often find ourselves in the middle of one controversy or another, and for that reason WildEarth Guardians is in the news somewhere nearly every day. You can count on WildEarth Guardians' bold and innovative campaigns to create real results.

Climate & Energy Issues
Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director
303.437.7663 | Email | Follow   

Wild Rivers Issues 
Jen Pelz, Wild Rivers Program Director
303.884.2702 | Email | Follow    

Wildlife Issues
Lindsay Larris, Wildlife Program Director
310.923.1465 | Email | Follow   

Public Lands Issues
Judi Brawer, Public Lands Program Director
208.871.0596 | Email | Follow   

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

Communications Manager

Matthew Koehler joined WildEarth Guardians as the Communications Manager in 2020, bringing 25 years of experience working to protect and defend public lands, wildlife, wilderness, and democracy. He grew up in the rural Wisconsin Village of Elkhart Lake, surrounded by the Kettle Moraine State Forest, where his family goes back six generations. 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, for history and English. 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 gardening, cooking, and spending time in nature.

Julian Kanter

Legal Intern

Hi, I’m Julian Kanter. I am a rising 2L at Willamette University College of Law. I decided to attend law school to fight against social injustice and make a positive impact on the environment. Learning about industrial agriculture was the catalyst for my interest in environmental law. I am thrilled to be focusing on wildlife and giving a voice to the plants and animals of our natural world.

Erin Woolley

Legal Intern

Erin Woolley is a rising third-year law student at the University of Colorado Law School, pursuing certificates in both Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources Law and American Indian Law. Originally from Northern California, Erin misses the Pacific Ocean, but loves exploring Colorado’s beautiful outdoors, spending her free time hiking, camping, and learning about the native wildlife. Erin is excited to be working with WildEarth Guardians this summer and protecting wild rivers!

Maggie Flaherty

Wildlife Program Intern

Maggie Flaherty, originally from a small town in Northern California, is a rising senior at Dartmouth College. She is majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Spanish. At Dartmouth, she spends most of her time engaging in sexual violence prevention efforts as well as playing water polo. In her free time, she likes to hike and swim outdoors. Maggie is very excited to be working with WildEarth Guardians’ Wildlife and Wild Places Programs.

Grace Erispaha

Legal Coordinator

Grace Erispaha is a rising senior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota pursuing an undergraduate degree in Economics and Environmental Studies. She is originally from Gilbert, Arizona and gets to experience the best of both worlds: brutal winters and scorching summers. Grace is excited to learn more about legal processes and hopes to apply to law school by her graduation.

Andrew Cliburn

Legal Intern

My life totally changed on December 4th, 2017 when the president came to Salt Lake City to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Before that day, I had been a career hospitality worker—interested in wilderness to be sure—but living a selfish existence pursuing careerism and creature comforts. That selfishness went out the window when the president cruelly reduced two sacred and protected places that meant so much to so many. Since then I’ve completed two years of law school and get to work this summer with the most uncompromising organization in Earth advocacy—WildEarth Guardians.

Victoria Frankeny

Legal Intern

Victoria Frankeny is a rising third-year law student at Lewis & Clark Law School. She came to Portland, Oregon to pursue a career in environmental litigation and is currently working towards her Certificate in Environmental & Natural Resource Law. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she has been enjoying everything the Pacific Northwest has to offer, such as Mount Hood, the Pacific Ocean, and the overabundance of ferns and evergreens. Victoria is thrilled to be working with the WildEarth Guardians’ attorneys this summer on Endangered Species Act and Public Lands issues.

Ryan Benson

Communications Intern

Ryan Benson is a senior at Yale majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Originally from Charlotte, NC, she now spends most of her time in New Haven, swimming, running, and making her way through vegetarian cookbooks. She is excited to be working on WildEarth Guardians’ newsletter this summer with Dave Levine.

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.

Articles, op-eds, press releases, and photo library

For the Press

Guardians In the News

Op-Eds

Photo Library

Press Releases

Tweets by @wildearthguard

Media Inquiries

WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West.

Betsy Gaines Quammen

Member, Board of Directors

Contact

Matthew Koehler

Communications Manager

Julian Kanter

Legal Intern

Erin Woolley

Legal Intern

Maggie Flaherty

Wildlife Program Intern

Grace Erispaha

Legal Coordinator

Andrew Cliburn

Legal Intern

Victoria Frankeny

Legal Intern

Ryan Benson

Communications Intern

Contact

Leia Barnett

Greater Gila Campaigner