#41 Seth Wilson

Seth Wilson is the Executive Director of the Blackfoot Challenge, a leading collaborative conservation group based in western Montana. As an applied conservation biologist, Seth has worked on resolving issues between people and wildlife in the United States, Canada, and Europe for more than 20 years. He began working for the Blackfoot Challenge in 2001 as the organization’s first Wildlife Coordinator, conducting scientific research and developing strategies to reduce conflicts with grizzly bears and wolves as they returned to this part of their historic range. Recently, he spent three years in Slovenia as an advisor to the Slovenian Forest Service and partners from Italy, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, and Romania to support brown bear and Eurasian lynx conservation and management.We talked about the history and structure of the Blackfoot Challenge, the unique and majestic landscape it’s situated in, the challenges of working with such a diverse group of landowners, and their carnivore coexistence work that has become a model for other parts of the world.Check out Blackfootchallenge.org for more information and for stunning visuals of this landscape. You can start with a short 13-minute film called Landscape of Hope under the history page.