Designated in December 2024, the new Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is America’s 17th national marine sanctuary, the sixth off the U.S. West Coast, and is one of the largest in the National Marine Sanctuary System. The success of the 20 year effort was due to tenacious leadership by numerous indigenous tribes, including a key leadership role taken by Violet Sage Walker, the tribal chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council. The sanctuary encompasses 4,543 square miles of C...

Frans and Sean talk further about the future of rewilding. Topics include what holistic rewidling will look like as the field matures, and also expanding rewilding efforts through engaging younger generations as effective leaders and changemakers in this exciting space. This episode was produced by Chrissie Bodznick with music by Trace Ketterling. Learn more about The Answers Are Out There Podcast at www.theanswersareouttherepodcast.net or on instagram. You can also sign up to receive email ...

Rewilding is a growing phenomenon around the world but getting a new project launched and keeping it going through the early phases can be exceedingly challenging. There is always seemingly too much to do and not enough resources to do it all. Frans Schepers, CEO of Rewilding Europe, talks about how he and his team assist rewilding entrepreneurs from all across Europe. They provide important tools and ongoing connection with others so that no rewilding project is ever alone and each one has t...

Using a unique community land ownership approach, the new Tarras Valley Nature Reserve project is creating a valued gift for future generations. Initiated just a few years ago, the reserve has grown from nothing to 10,500 acres, making it one of the largest protected areas for nature in Southern Scotland. Jenny, Angela, and their team, while focused primarily on habitat and wildlife restoration, also consistently include local school children in the unfolding of the reserve's many initiatives...

The Klamath River 4-Dam Removal project is the largest such effort going on anywhere in the world. For decades advocates for letting the river run free to benefit salmon and all other associated riverine biodiversity assumed the corporate and government entities that had built and managed the dams were too powerful and closed off to the idea of removal. But in recent years certain conditions changed and the stars somehow aligned— just long enough— for more open discussions of possibilit...

In a reflective quest aimed to align her emerging interests with a vocation, Andreia Pawel tent-camped in the Southern Namibian Savana for three years. Then, one day she unexpectedly received the chance to start a new one-million acre wildlife reserve: The Orange River-Karoo Conservation Area. As CEO of this fast-moving project, she looks back on falling in love with a vast landscape and its wildlife inhabitants, and the rewards of watching a newly protected place begin to thrive once again. ...

This episode picks up Sean's conversation with Shane Gero from last week. In addition to sperm whales, the two discuss new ways to teach and communicate science, using storytelling as a conservation tool, and how every single job can be done with purpose. Learn More About Shane Gero and the Dominica Whale Project TedEd Video on Whale Talk: How Advanced is Whale Talk? with Shane Gero and David Gruber Shane Gero: https://www.shanegero.com The Sperm Whale Project: https://www.thespermwhalep...

Shane Gero is a marine biologist and renowned expert in the acoustic complexity and social behaviors of marine mammals, such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. He is a Scientist-in-Residence at the Department of Biology at Carleton University in Canada. Importantly, he is also an activist and staunch advocate for providing meaningful sanctuary for these species in the world oceans. His most recent work in the Caribbean Ocean, centered around Dominica, included thousands of hours ...

Using cutting-edge mapping technology and tiny, digital grizzlies programmed to behave like real ones, bear specialist Dr. Sarah Sells and her team are able to make unprecedented predictions for the species. They can forecast the migration routes that expanding populations of grizzly bears will take and where they are likely to make their new homes. She and her team at the Montana Cooperative Research Unit (C.R.U) are conducting research that directly informs wildlife management decisions and...

Laly Lichtenfeld and Neovitus Sianga’s work at African People and Wildlife (AP&W) centers on the linkages between people, wildlife and the diverse ecosystems they call home. For decades surrounding their base of operations in Tanzania, there have been intense and seemingly intractable conflicts between wildlife and people. Since 2005 AP&W has been making impressive progress on mitigating these conflicts with simple, ingenious solutions that can be implemented by livestock managers and...

Trekking 11,000 kilometers over the entire length of South America was cool, but for Gregg Treinish— adventurer and National Geographic Explorer of the Year—something was missing. He wondered if somehow he could bring together his passion for being outdoors, his love of big-time adventuring, and his deep interest in science. And there was one more thing; he wanted to somehow make the world a better place. By later starting his own organization, Adventure Scientists, he devised a clever way to...

Briana Warner became a food systems entrepreneur when she identified a risky yet exciting opportunity: the Maine lobster fishing fleet worked only seasonally. The rest of the year boats were largely idle, and local economies felt the pinch. Enter the sea-grown kelp business. Briana realized a new additive industry could produce a triple win. It would bolster local economic vitality, produce an ecological advantage for the sea, and create ultra healthy food for customers. Now Briana’s company,...

The Answers Are Out There is a new podcast featuring lively and inspiring conversations with creative innovators in conservation. Host Sean Gerrity interviews entrepreneurs around the world who have successfully led projects that support nature, wildlife, and people. Episodes drop twice per month on Tuesdays, starting 4/9! This episode was produced by Chrissie Bodznick with music by Trace Ketterling. Learn more about The Answers Are Out There Podcast at www.theanswersareouttherepodca...