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Project Coyote is part of the Earth Island Institute, a global network of conservation organizations. Go to:
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About Us
MISSION
We believe coyotes are a vital component of rural and urban communities, deserving of respect for their adaptability, resilience, and intelligence. We aim to create a shift in attitudes toward coyotes and other native carnivores by replacing ignorance and fear with understanding and appreciation.
Project Coyote is a fiscally sponsored project of Earth Island Institute, a 501(c)3 non-profit, public interest, membership organization that supports people who are creating solutions to protect our shared planet. All donations directly support Project Coyote and are tax-deductible. To make a secure online donation and learn about other ways to support Project Coyote click here.
STAFF AND CONSULTANTS
As the Executive Director of Project Coyote and a wildlife consultant, Camilla assists communities, agencies, wildlife managers, and non-governmental organizations in creating innovative solutions to help people and wildlife coexist. A frequent speaker on these issues, Camilla has authored more than 60 publications and is co-author of Coyotes in Our Midst: Coexisting with an Adaptable and Resilient Carnivore and co-editor and lead author of the book, Cull of the Wild: A Contemporary Analysis of Trapping in the United States. Her work on behalf of wildlife has been featured in several national and international media outlets including the German documentary, Coyote: The Hunted Hunter, two North American documentaries: American Coyote- Still Wild at Heart, and On Nature’s Terms, as well as The New York Times, the BBC, NPR, Orion, USA Today magazine, and Bay Nature magazine. Camilla holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies with a focus in Wildlife Conservation, Policy, and Ecology from Prescott College and a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University where she graduated magna cum laude in 1991. She has served as an appointed member on the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture's National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee and currently serves on several national and local advisory boards. In 2006, Camilla received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Marin Humane Society and the Christine Stevens Wildlife Award from the Animal Welfare Institute.
Gina brings her considerable skills and talents to Project Coyote from the for-profit world. During her 30 years as a consultant and corporate professional, she co-managed the Corporate Trust Department for the Bank of America; designed products for Charles Schwab and Stanford University; and created the decision model for the development of affordable housing in Sonoma County, CA. Gina's passion is for wildlife and wild places. She is an experienced wildlife rehabilitator, is medically trained as a Wilderness First Responder, and is an accomplished audio naturalist. She serves on the board of the Nature Sounds Society, is a sought after public speaker, and trains environmental advocates in effective communications for the Environmental Forum of Marin.
Megan has been involved with urban wildlife issues in a variety of other ways, including working with urban wildlife rehabilitators and examining feral cat issues. In addition, she has designed coursework on urban wildlife and human-wildlife conflict for George Mason undergraduates and is an instructor with the Smithsonian Mason Semester at the Conservation Research Center in Front Royal, VA. Previous research includes exploring how programs with missions to reduce human-predator conflict evaluate their projects and examining the potential for sustainable marine mammal-based ecotourism in the southeastern Dominican Republic. She is also working with the Human Wildlife Conflict Collaborative on a needs assessment for professional training programs in the human-wildlife conflict field.
Becky became interested in the plight of America’s native song dogs, upon hearing them nightly in the woods surrounding her home in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and has studied them extensively. She helps Project Coyote in its political and public outreach strategy as well as on state campaigns. Becky divides her time between Florida and Virginia, after her long career in media and public affairs in Washington D.C.
Ms. Vistein received her undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, and her Master’s of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. Her Masters work focused on the conflict over hunting at Cape Cod National Seashore and the social psychology of human belief systems. While living in Montana she participated in research projects concerning carnivores: The Grizzly Bear DNA Study in and around Glacier National Park, The Elk Calf Mortality Study (determining the carnivores that caused their deaths) in the Blackfoot Valley of Montana, and a Snowshoe Hare Study (in reference to an ongoing Lynx study) in Yellowstone National Park. In addition to her field work in the West, she was employed by Red Lodge Clearinghouse, a collaborative effort in the West that brings diverse groups of stakeholders together. Participants create projects that involve “thinking out of the box” in order to find solutions on behalf of land and wildlife protection. Prior to pursuing her wildlife degree, Ms. Vistein had earned a Masters in Education. In addition to her experience educating children in the mainstream classroom, she also gave presentations to diverse audiences throughout Maine on behalf of Living Earth Learning Programs out of Boston concerning environmental, animal welfare, and endangered species issues.
ADVISORY BOARD
Marc is a prolific writer with more than 200 articles as well three encyclopedias to his credit. The author or editor of numerous books, including Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management, The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for the Animals We Love (with Jane Goodall), The Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, and The Encyclopedia of Human-Animal Relationships. Other books include The Smile of a Dolphin, Minding Animals, The Cognitive Animal, Animal Passions and Beastly Virtues: Reflections on Redecorating Nature, The Emotional Lives of Animals, Listening to Cougar, Animals Matter, Animals at Play (a children's book), and Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals. In 2005 Marc was presented with The Bank One Faculty Community Service Award for the work he has done with children, senior citizens, and prisoners. Marc's work has been featured on 48 Hours, in Time Magazine, Life Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, The New York Times, New Scientist, BBC Wildlife, Orion, Scientific American, Ranger Rick, National Geographic Kids, on NPR, BBC, Fox, Natur GEO, in a National Geographic Society television special (Play: The Nature of the Game), in Discovery TV's Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry, and in Animal Planet's The Power of Play and National Geographic Society's Hunting in America. Marc has also appeared on CNN, 20/20, and Good Morning America. His homepage is literati.net/Bekoff.
Her 2006 paper, Carnivore-Livestock Conflicts: Effects of Subsidized Predator Control and Economic Correlates on the Sheep Industry was part of the basis for a recent petition encouraging the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of toxicants for predator control. Kim has done field work in Alaska, Norway, Argentina, Namibia, Mongolia, and Wyoming, and has studied species ranging from caribou, moose, pronghorn, and saiga antelope, to coyotes, wolves, and snow leopards. She completed her PhD at Utah State University where her research focused on the impact of wolves on coyote/pronghorn interactions and pronghorn fawn survival in southern Greater Yellowstone.
Dr. Camenzind is also well-respected wildlife cinematographer and has produced films for ABC, Turner Broadcasting and National Geographic and a film on coyotes for PBS-Nature. He was the first person to film giant pandas in the wilds of China. He has also produced films featuring wolves, grizzly bears, pronghorn antelope and black rhinos, and has filmed major segments on the California condor, black-footed ferret, and red wolf and Mexican gray wolf captive breeding programs. Franz recently announced his retirement as the Executive Director of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, a position he will have held for 13 years when his retirement takes effect in 2009. Previous to that he served as a board member for 13 years. He has also served on the boards of Keystone Conservation (Formerly, Predator Conservation Alliance), Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the Wyoming Conservation Voters.
In 1976, Dr. Fox chose to focus on advocating animal protection, rights and environmental conservation, and in continuing his avocation as a teacher and public speaker. Between 1976 and 2002 he served in various positions with the Humane Society of the United States, including Scientific Director and Vice President for Bioethics and Sustainable Agriculture. During this time he was a regular guest on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, and published two best-selling books, Understanding Your Dog and Understanding Your Cat. Dr. Fox was chairman of the National Academy of Science (NAS) Committee on Applied Animal Ethology, and served on the NAS Committee on Laboratory Animal Care and Standards for Dogs and Cats. He was also a member of the Council for Agriculture, Science and Technology Task Force on Farm Animal Welfare, and was an advisor to the National Organics Standards Board on farm animal health, welfare, and humane, sustainable agriculture. He has authored and edited over 40 books for adults and children, and has a widely read, nationally syndicated newspaper column (Animal Doctor with United Features Syndicate, NY). His regular monthly animal column in McCall’s magazine was the longest running column on animals in a U.S. magazine. Featured in Marquis’ Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Science and Technology, and Who’s Who in the World, Dr. Fox is a widely recognized expert, consultant and lecturer on animal awareness, emotions, rights, and well-being; on human- non-human bonds and rights philosophy; on bioethics, biotechnology, humane, sustainable agriculture, and holistic health. His long-held basic premise that human health and well being are inseparable from animal health and welfare and environmental protection and conservation is now gaining international recognition as a bioethical imperative and prerequisite for a viable future. His websites: www.doctormwfox.org and www.twobitdog.com/DrFox/index.aspx
Dave’s interests include the ecology and conservation of large carnivores, protection and conservation of biodiversity, and wildlands conservation at scales that fully support ecological and evolutionary processes. He is the vice-chairman and a science fellow of The Rewilding Institute (a conservation think tank) and is the Institute’s Carnivore Conservation Biologist. Dave was a graduate advisor in the Environmental Studies Master of Arts Program at Prescott College, Arizona from 2002-Spring 2008. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and serves on several regional steering/advisory committees for organizations and coalitions advocating for wolf recovery and landscape-scale conservation in the Southwest. In 2001, Dave was a co-recipient of the New Mexico Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s annual “Professional Award.” In April 2007 at the North American Wolf Conference, Dave received the 2006 “Alpha Award” for his “outstanding professional achievement and leadership toward the recovery of Mexican wolves.” In May 2008 Dave received the “Outstanding Conservation Leadership Award” from the Wilburforce Foundation and the “Mike Seidman Memorial Award” from the Sky Island Alliance for his conservation achievements. Dave is the owner of Parsons Biological Consulting, which provides technical services, information, and policy advice on matters relating to wildlife biology and ecology, and wildlife and wildlands conservation to conservation-minded clients. He enjoys wildlife viewing and wilderness backpacking and lives in Albuquerque, NM, with his wife, Noralyn.
He worked as a biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service for many years. Now, he is Senior Ecologist with the Conservation Biology Institute and Raincoast Conservation Foundation, an international consultant and lecturer. Paul is a long-time fellow of World Wildlife Fund Canada. He was one of the architects of the World Wide Fund for Nature and European Union’s Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe. He is an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, where he supervises graduate student research. He is a member of several government, industry, and NGO advisory committees concerned with the conservation of large carnivores. Dr. Paquet has written more than 100 scientific articles and reports and published several books on the behaviour, ecology, and management of wolves. His current research focuses on conservation of large carnivores and effects of human activities on their survival.
Hope is the recipient of many distinguished awards for her writings and work on behalf of coyotes and other wildlife including the Art and Literary Award 2002 from New York State Outdoor Education Association; the Outstanding Achievement Award from Augustana College; the Humane Excellence Award ASPCA; the Joseph Wood Krutch Award from the Humane Society of the United States; the Animal Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Animal Protection Institute of America ; the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American Horse Protection Society; the Who's Who of American Women and the Who's Who in the East.
Michael was a founder and first President of the Society for Conservation Biology and The Wildlands Project (also the current President). He has written and edited 9 books on biology, conservation biology, and the social and policy context of conservation. He has published more than 170 articles on population and evolutionary biology, fluctuating asymmetry, population genetics, island biogeography, environmental studies, biodiversity policy, nature conservation, and ethics. He continues to do research on ecosystem regulation by highly interactive species. He is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, is the sixth recipient of the Archie Carr Medal, was named by Audubon Magazine in 1998 as one of the 100 Champions of Conservation of the 20th Century, is a recipient of the National Wildlife Federation’s National Conservation Achievement Award for science, the recipient of the Conservation Medal for 2007 from the Zoological Society of San Diego and in the first class of recipients of The Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award. Now living in Colorado, Michael speaks and writes on ethics and conservation, and serves on the boards of several conservation organizations, including the Wildlands Network, and consults internationally on nature protection. He is completing a book about the origins and evolution of sin and how it can inform our understanding of human nature can guide conservation and related life-affirming movements. To read more about Michael’s work and publications, visit: www.michaelsoule.com.
In 2007, he founded the Carnivore Coexistence Lab at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Adrian’s research focuses on how to balance human needs with wildlife conservation. To study this question, he explores people's conflicts with large carnivores, particularly livestock predation in the USA and abroad. This line of inquiry includes livestock husbandry, wildlife management, human and carnivore behavior, and methods for mitigating human-carnivore conflicts. In the field, he measures the behavior of problem carnivores using spatial predictive models and people's responses to and perceptions of conflicts. Adrian and his students conduct fieldwork in Wisconsin (wolves), Ecuador (Andean spectacled bears), and East Africa (lions and hyenas) with a variety of collaborators. For links to his recent research articles on carnivores, compensation, hunting, mitigating human-wildlife conflicts, and co-management, see www.nelson.wisc.edu/people/treves/Publications.htm
Weed is nationally recognized for her efforts in Predator Friendly ranching and was featured in Time Magazine in their series on "Heroes for the Planet" in 2000. As an outspoken proponent for human-predator coexistence, Weed advocates for dialogue with both consumers and producers through the Predator Friendly program. Weed is trained as a geologist, and worked in that field for many years before becoming involved in agriculture. She has been involved with carnivore conservation issues for several years, and currently serves on the Board of the Wild Farm Alliance and the Conservation & Science Board of Lava Lake Land & Livestock, a very large Idaho ranch with a dual mission for conservation and economically viable ranching. She is a member of the Montana Board of Livestock.
Her research focuses on metropolitan sprawl, physical activity and urban design, urban environmental justice and political ecology, and society-animals relations. She has also investigated problems of urban poverty, homelessness, and human service delivery, and the evolution of state-civil society relations. With Jody Emel, she edited Animal Geographies: Place, Politics and Identity in the Nature/Culture Borderlands (Verso, 1998), and has published articles and book chapters on population diversity and attitudes toward animals, racialization and animal practices, and the place of animals in the city.
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| Copyright Project Coyote, All Rights Reserved. Site Credits |
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Project Coyote promotes educated coexistence between people and coyotes; we do this by championing progressive management policies that reduce human-coyote conflict, supporting innovative scientific research, and by fostering respect for and understanding of America's native wild "song dog."
Camilla H. Fox- Founder and Executive Director
Gina Farr - Communications Director
Megan Draheim, MS - Scientific Research Associate
Becky Bailey Pomponio - Florida & Virginia Representative
Geri Vistein, MS - Maine Representative & Conservation Biologist
Marc Bekoff, PhD
Kim Murray Berger, PhD
Franz J. Camenzind, PhD 
Michael W. Fox, PhD
David R. Parsons, MS
Paul Paquet, PhD
Hope Ryden
Michael Soulé, PhD
Adrian Treves, PhD
Becky Weed
Jennifer Wolch, PhD