Episode 61: Dennis Sizemore from Round River Conservation Studies
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Dennis Sizemore, Executive Director, Round River Conservation Studies
About
Dennis holds a BS from New Mexico State University in Wildlife Science and an MS from the University of Montana in Wildlife Ecology. His 40 years of conservation work experience includes law enforcement, management, education, and research. Dennis is a former President of The Wildlands Project and currently serves as Vice President of the Taku-Atlin Conservancy and as a board member of the Pax Natura Foundation.
I met Dennis Sizemore in 1995 at the Black Range Lodge situated on the edge of the Gila Wilderness. It was the beginning of the Sky Island Wildland Network Design project. I have always thought of Dennis as someone with the coolest job in the world. In 1991 he co-founded of Round River Conservation Studies, and has served as the organization’s executive director since then.
Nearing 30 years of operation, Round River Conservation Studies has been responsible for varying degrees of protection and vastly greater understanding of millions of acres of wildands and countless species who make their homes there. 30 years of undergrad students getting an experience of a lifetime while doing field work many said couldn’t be done properly by undergrads. All over the world.
Today I talk with Dennis about his work with Round River, sharing local wine and Kudu steak in the African bush with Michael Soule, and vital conservation efforts in many of the locations around the globe where Round River operates.
Topics
- Carrying out Michael Soule’s mission with every Round River field study
- Working in Botswana on wildlife issues, community relations, and conservation work
- The value of a Round River experience for undergrads (It’s WILD!)
- When you should come out of your tent in the morning when elephants are in your camp (the answer might not surprise you!)
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.