Episode 82: The Science Of Reintroducing Important Species To An Indiana Tallgrass Prairie with Zach Finn
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe to Rewilding Earth Podcast: Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Email | RSS
Zach Finn, Wildlife Science, Purdue University
About Zach
Zach is a Wildlife Science MS student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. After reading a book as a teenager featuring species profiles and illustrations of recent, human-caused extinctions (including Stellar’s sea cow, moa, great auk, and more), he developed a passion to restore nature and prevent any further species loss.
Since then, Zach has become involved in various land trusts in his home state of Indiana by volunteering to remove invasive species, help out with prescribed burns, and collect prairie seeds for future prairie restorations.
Additionally, he de-trashes rivers in his canoe or on foot at various local trails. He also incorporated his passion for ecological restoration in his graduate studies by assessing habitat suitability for potential species reintroductions.
Topics
- The science behind rewilding a landscape: restoring critical species.
- The reintroduction potential of lesser-known but critical species to an Indiana tallgrass prairie.
- Data collection and presentation, maps, and making the case for species reintroduction.
- Greater Prairie Chicken and Franklin’s Ground Squirrel.
- How to get started in Wildlife Sciences.
Extra Credit
Read about:
Visit The Prairie Preserves of Indiana:
- Gibson Woods Nature Preserve – Lake County
- Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve – Lake County
- Post Oak-Cedar Nature Preserve – Harrison County
- Sandhill Nature Preserve – Pulaski County
- Spinn Prairie Nature Preserve – White County
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.