MACK COTE

PROJECT COYOTE INTERN

Mack is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received her B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and a certificate in American Indian & Indigenous Studies. She is currently living and working in Palmer, Alaska, which occupies Dena’ina homelands. Mack is from Connecticut, where she grew up with a strong drive to care for and protect land and nonhuman beings.

In her final semester at UW-Madison, Mack chose to focus her independent research on the controversies around coyotes in the United States, as well as an integrated critique of the field of Wildlife ‘Management’. Her paper, Exploring the Frameworks of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Western Science: A Critical Discussion of Wildlife Management and a Tandem Analysis of the Coyote, works to problematize the dominant structures on which the nation’s wildlife policies are based on. Mack is passionate about ways in which care and Indigenous knowledge can be turned to in restructuring wildlife policy.

Mack has worked with the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield, CT, a loggerhead turtle patrol in Kiawah Island, SC, and a wild horse rescue and rehabilitation center in Wilton, CT. She also has spent time in a worker share program with Rooted, a nonprofit farm in Madison, WI, that specializes in urban farming techniques. These experiences have powered Mack’s sense of stewardship, as well as her connection to her various communities.

Mack is an avid reader, a barista, an aspiring writer, a mediocre chess player, and a horse lover. As a Project Coyote Intern, she will be involved with the Carnivore Conservation & Coexistence program, specifically working to develop the Coyote Friendly Communities (CFC) Program toolkits. She is overjoyed to be a part of the Project Coyote team, and is especially excited to interact with the greater Project Coyote community in working towards protection of and respect for all beings.