The proliferation of suburban sprawl, built where wildlife live and thrive, threatens the safety and genetic diversity of wild animals and plant species. Migrating wildlife of all shapes and sizes must contend with humans driving on the 4.8 million miles of roads in the US, facing the danger of colliding with vehicles.
Aside from driving less, one strategy to mitigate these accidents has gained bipartisan acceptance: providing wildlife crossings that facilitate connectivity for a diverse group of species. Not all wildlife crossings are simple bridges or tunnels, and our guest Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director of National Wildlife Federation, has been championing for years what will become the world’s largest urban wildlife crossing, planned for suburban Los Angeles. And she worked for years to support the most famous mountain lion ever, P-22, who had to be euthanized this month after he lost his long battle for survival navigating freeways and suburbia in the Los Angeles hills.
Beth Pratt joined us earlier this year to discuss the importance of connectivity and wildlife crossings. She explained why they are an integral strategy in land and habitat conservation and why preserving biodiversity not only protects wildlife, but also all of us humans.
LISTEN TO THE EXTE4NDED VERSION: https://www.patreon.com/posts/room-to-roam-of-62124923
Beth's Website: www.bethpratt.com/
Save LA Cougars: https://savelacougars.org/
Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for more than twenty-five years, and in two of the biggest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, she leads the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the largest wildlife crossing in North America—and potentially the world—to help save a population of mountain lions from extinction. Her work has been featured by the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, BBC World Service, CBS This Morning, the Los Angeles Times, and NPR. She is the author of three books, the most recent, Yosemite Wildlife, will be released in 2023.
Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.
Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/
Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/
Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio
Guest: Beth Pratt
Executive Producer: Jack Eidt
Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge
Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats
Episode 126
