Program

Ignacio Jiménez coordinated research and management projects with manatees in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and with golden-crowned sifakas in Madagascar, worked on wetlands and protected areas in El Salvador, and coordinated and published a national assessment of the Spanish experience in endangered species recovery. He worked for Conservation Land Trust in Argentina between 2005 and 2018, where he designed and coordinated the reintroduction of giant anteater, pampas deer, tapir, peccary, green-winged macaw, maned wolf, and jaguar. He spent 2016 in South Africa in order to learn about how public and private organizations in Africa manage and integrate nature reserves, rewilding and ecotourism. In 2018 Ignacio started collaborating with Brazilian organizations to establish two large conservation landscapes in the Atlantic Forest and Pantanal. He lives in Spain where he coordinates a project aimed to establish or expand protected areas in that country. His main theme of interest is institutional ecology: learning how to design institutions and organizations to improve social and biodiversity outcomes. This is the subject of his upcoming book “Effective Conservation: parks, rewilding and local development”. Ignacio is member of the IUCN Conservation Translocation Group, and a National Geographic Explorer.

Mike serves as the Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF). From 1986–1994, he was the Field Coordinator for the Red Wolf Recovery Program. He also played a key role in the return of gray wolves to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, serving as Project Leader for the wolf restoration effort from its inception in 1994 until 1997. In 2006 Mike entered the political arena through election to the Montana legislature as the representative for House District 66, Bozeman. Shortly thereafter, Mike founded the Montana Legislative Climate Change Caucus. In 2009, Mike was elected as the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. As director of TESF he has coordinated conservation translocation projects for more than eight species in different regions of the United States, including bison, desert Bighorn Sheep, black-footed ferrets, aplomado falcons, red-cockaded woodpeckers and bolson tortoises. By design, Mike’s career in conservation biology and politics is an atypical amalgamation of timely innovations based on strategic thinking, risk taking, and decisive and effective action to redress the extinction crisis. In 2021 Mike became the 72nd recipient of the Aldo Leopold Memorial Award, the highest honor bestowed since 1950 by The Wildlife Society for a distinguished career of service to wildlife conservation.

Yadvendradev V. Jhala is dean and senior professor for the Wildlife Institute of India, and one of the country’s top conservationists. He advises the National Tiger Conservation Authority on the strategy of reintroduction and supplementation of tigers across the country. Genetic analysis conducted by his research team has identified tiger source populations for supplementation and reintroductions across different landscapes of India. Jhala has been appointed by the Supreme Court as an expert on the governmental committee for the reintroduction of Asiatic lions to commence a second population. This includes developing the action plan for reintroducing Asiatic lions to Kuno National Park from Gir Protected Area. Jhala is the principal investigator on the reintroduction of the wild water buffalo into Kanha Tiger Reserve and the recovery program for the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. This last program includes a conservation breeding facility with the aim to reintroduce these birds in suitable habitats. He is also the principal investigator on the Indian Government’s ambitious project to reintroduce the extinct cheetah in India. This would be the first intercontinental translocation of a big cat and the animals are scheduled to arrive in India from Africa by the end of 2021. He has received several national and international awards for his work in science and conservation.