Episode 144 | Fighting Back: Alaska’s Stand Against Trump’s Environmental Blitzkrieg
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Cooper Freeman, Alaska Director, Center for Biological Diversity
Cooper Freeman works to protect Alaska’s wildlife, lands and oceans. Before joining the Center for Biological Diversity, he worked with Alaskan Native Tribes and Tribal organizations as a strategic planning facilitator and policy advisor, was program manager and development director at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Northern California, and professionally guided class V river expeditions around the globe. Cooper holds a master’s in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School and a bachelor’s in environmental history from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Show Notes
Alaska Under Threat: Navigating Conservation Challenges in the Trump Era
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth podcast, Jack Humphrey chats with Center for Biological Diversity‘s Cooper Freeman about Alaska’s unique conservation challenges, particularly under the Trump administration. Highlighting ongoing and impending threats such as oil drilling, deforestation, and climate change, Cooper explains the ongoing battles being fought by organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity. They delve into the Trump administration’s aggressive rollback of environmental protections and the bleak prospects this spells for Alaska’s biodiversity. The conversation covers the importance of maintaining legal and political pressure, the role of public participation, and the necessity of financial support for conservation efforts. Cooper emphasizes the urgency of protecting Alaska from further de-wilding and underscores the broader significance of preserving its pristine landscapes. The episode ends with a call to action, urging listeners to stay informed, involved, and supportive of initiatives aimed at safeguarding Alaska’s future.
- Introduction and Welcome
- Alaska’s Unique Challenges
- Trump Administration’s Lightning War on the Environment
- Optimism and Preparedness
- Federal Agencies Under Threat
- Climate Change and Wildlife
- Economic and Political Pressures
- Call to Action
Extra Credit
- Take Action! Bookmark this page and visit often to take action on the latest alerts from the Center.
- Keep up with Cooper at the Center
- VisitCenter for Biological Diversity and subscribe to join the movement to save life on Earth.
Episode 144 Transcript (PDF)
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.