One spring day earlier this year, Willie Grayeyes, a Diné (Navajo) elder with a serious mustache and white hair tied in a traditional bun, stopped to pick up his mail at the post office. Among the usual assortment of bills and catalogs, he found an envelope from the local government… Read More
For decades, protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from development was one thing many Republicans and Democrats in Washington could agree upon. One of the last truly wild places on Earth, the refuge is a stunning, unmatched wilderness where the Porcupine caribou calve in the spring, the… Read More
On a Wednesday in August, I drove three hours from the Bay Area to Mariposa, California, on the doorstep of Yosemite National Park. For me, this is typically a drive of mounting anticipation—of stoke. Cresting Altamont Pass on Interstate 580, crossing the Central Valley, what I felt instead was dread. Read More
Not so very long ago, Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale sounded like he’d be right at home as a member of the Bundy family. “The U.S. Constitution clearly defines the purpose for the federal government to retain land for post offices, batteries and things like that,” Rosendale said during the 2014 Republican… Read More
The Massacre Rim towers 1,000 feet above Long Valley in the vast reaches of northwestern Nevada. As with most hikes in this part of the world, getting to the top requires picking out an unmarked route, being flexible and overcoming obstacles. Halfway up, after skirting yet another talus field, sharp… Read More
Arcilio Sepulveda used to hunt pumas for a living. Today he’s a key member of the Tompkins Conservation wildlife recovery program, helping to protect an expanding population of mountain lions in Patagonia National Park in Chile. Formerly a “leonero,” a lion killer who lived on a huge estancia that raised… Read More
A climber describes her passion for the wildness of the world. My brother’s cheeks smooshed against the blue velour seat and his mouth hung slightly ajar. His gangly legs stretched from door to door, covering the back bench of our family Buick. On the floor, parallel, I fidgeted over the… Read More
What can I say about Cochamó that hasn’t already been said of a thousand other places before? It’s beautiful, it’s magical, it’s special? How about this: We haven’t messed it up yet. There are lots of beautiful, magical, special places in the world. What we humans tend to do when… Read More
It’s spring in the wetlands of Iberá, and two young jaguar cubs appear filled with trepidation and curiosity as they follow their mother, Tania, into the water for their first swim. Aramí, which means “little sky” in the native Guaraní language, and Mbareté, or “strong,” are the first cubs born… Read More
So far in this young century, few wildlife conservation issues have galvanized more Americans than whether or not Western state governments ought to allow grizzly bears to be hunted again. On Monday, September 24, 2018, U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen in Missoula, Montana, resolved the matter for the foreseeable… Read More
Activism and the feminine spirit unite to save Europe’s last wild rivers. Mornings in Fojnica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, bring a harmony of Franciscan monastery bells and the broadcast of Fajr prayer, the valley draped in fog and wood smoke. As the fog lifts, hills speckled with the first yellows of fall appear, sloping… Read More