Episode 113: A Fascinating Talk With Peter Alagona About Grizzlies And Their Future Return To California
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Peter Alagona, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara
About Peter Alagona
Peter is a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He’s an environmental historian, historian of science, conservation scientist, and nature-culture geographer. His work explores what happens when humans share space and resources (their habitats) with other species: how we interact with non-human creatures, how we make sense of these interactions, why we fight so much about them, what we can learn from them, and how we might use these lessons to foster a more just, peaceful, humane, and sustainable society. Most of his research has focused on human interactions with wildlife in North America. A second area of interest involves developing creative, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and mixed methods for studying ecological change over multiple time periods and scales.
Today, I talk with Peter about Grizzlies, their future reintroduction in the state of California, and some of the most fascinating grizzly facts and history I’ve ever had the pleasure of discussing. Stay tuned because, even if you fancy yourself a brown bear aficionado, there’s a good chance there’s something in this chat you didn’t know about Grizzlies!
Topics
- Reintroduction of Grizzlies in the state of California
- European vs. American attitudes around coexisting with brown bears
- Tons of Grizzly/brown bear history and facts!
Extra Credit
Director of Digital Outreach (D.O.D.O.) for The Rewilding Institute
Host and Producer of the Rewilding Earth Podcast
Jack started Rewilding work as Executive Director of Sky Island Alliance in the mid-1990’s, organizing the Sky Island Wildlands Network design, ripping up illegal roads on forest service lands, installing wolf acclimatization pens on Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch & conducting howling surveys to help make way for the final stage of the Lobo reintroduction program in the Southwest.
Through the years, Jack has worked with Dave Foreman and the Rewilding Gang to further Rewilding initiatives and education.
Great podcast. Don’t know if you have seen videos about the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone NP but so interesting!
I’m more afraid of the human beast than any other wild animal!
Very interesting. I am a native of California. My parents gave me a copy CALIFORNIA GRIZZLY by Storer and Tevis, published in 1955. Is it basically accurate? How much is fear of attacks a factor in reintroducing them?
I think we have brown bears in the forest behind our house, and yes its a pretty populated region, but everybody gets along so far
(in Czech Republic – central Europe)
enjoyed the podcast, hope when I finally do visit California there will be bear
well, this one was pretty fascinating!
while we’re at it, let’s bring them back to NM too!