The Wild Idea Podcast

The Wild Idea Podcast Where human nature meets wild nature, and big questions meet bigger ideas.

Thought-provoking conversations with ecologists, experts, storytellers, advocates, and adventurers exploring how we shape and are shaped by the wild world around and within us.

05/22/2026

What happens when outdoor businesses show up for public lands?

This week, nearly 30 member organizations of The Conservation Alliance went to Washington, D.C., to meet with elected officials, key staff and federal agencies and speak up for the places that make outdoor recreation possible.

In this clip, Rebecca Gillis, vice president of government affairs and advocacy for The Conservation Alliance, talks about why it matters for TCA members to show up as authentic business voices for public lands, outdoor recreation and the economies that depend on them.

We cover this advocacy week, plus the rest of the public lands stories you need to know, on this week’s Wild Line. Listen at https://thewildidea.com/wild-line/.

05/22/2026

Who actually runs Rec.gov, and who benefits when permits and reservations are booked?

In this clip from The Wild Line this week, reporter Heather Hansman digs into the federal reservation system that manages everything from campsites to river permits, and why the rise of bots raises bigger questions about access, equity and private companies profiting from public resources.

Read Heather’s full story at RE:public and listen to the full Wild Line report at https://thewildidea.com/wild-line/.

Come join us LIVE 9 a.m. this Saturday at Lake Baked in Bigfork, Montana, as Bill and Anders sit down with Sheena Pate, ...
05/21/2026

Come join us LIVE 9 a.m. this Saturday at Lake Baked in Bigfork, Montana, as Bill and Anders sit down with Sheena Pate, executive director of the Flathead Rivers Alliance.

They’ll talk about the complex management of the Three Forks of the Flathead, what it means for Wild and Scenic Rivers everywhere and why these river systems matter.

Come for the conversation. Grab a cookie while you’re there (they have the best snickerdoodle in all of Montana).

Come join us LIVE this Saturday at Lake Baked in Bigfork, Montana, as Bill and Anders sit down with Sheena Pate, executi...
05/21/2026

Come join us LIVE this Saturday at Lake Baked in Bigfork, Montana, as Bill and Anders sit down with Sheena Pate, executive director of the Flathead Rivers Alliance.

They’ll talk about the complex management of the Three Forks of the Flathead, what it means for Wild and Scenic Rivers everywhere and why these river systems matter.

Come for the conversation. Grab a cookie while you’re there (they have the best snickerdoodle in all of Montana).

If we've helped you feel more connected, informed and inspired about human nature and wild nature, you can now support o...
05/20/2026

If we've helped you feel more connected, informed and inspired about human nature and wild nature, you can now support our work through Buy Me a Coffee (or maybe a strong drink instead).

And yes, we will send you a sticker as a small thank you.

Your support helps us keep producing thoughtful, independent conversations about the places we love and the people working to protect them.

https://buymeacoffee.com/thewildidea

05/19/2026

We're at an important crossroads, and this week's episode of The Wild Idea is truly a must-listen.

In it, our guest, John Leshy, explains why rollbacks like the rescission of the Roadless Rule don’t always feel urgent even when the stakes are enormous. And how often it usually takes a threat right in our backyard—sometimes when it's too late—to realize something is wrong.

Leshy has spent 60 years tracking America’s public lands. He served as solicitor of the Interior Department under President Clinton and wrote Our Common Ground, a sweeping history of how this country came to hold land in common.

The full conversation with John Leshy is out now on The Wild Idea.

Listen here: https://thewildidea.com/podcast/

05/18/2026

Public lands policy can feel abstract, distant. But the places we care about are not. And that’s exactly the point John Leshy makes in this episode: policy rollbacks don’t always feel urgent until they reach a specific forest, trail, watershed or backyard.

Leshy has spent 60 years tracking the arc of America’s public lands. He served as solicitor of the Interior Department under President Clinton and wrote Our Common Ground, a sweeping history of how this country came to hold land in common.

So when he says this moment feels different, he's probably right. And it's sobering. But we need to hear it.

Listen to the full conversation with John Leshy on The Wild Idea tomorrow.

This week, there’s more bad news. But thankfully, there's a bit of good news, too! And that’s why we make The Wild Line:...
05/15/2026

This week, there’s more bad news. But thankfully, there's a bit of good news, too!

And that’s why we make The Wild Line: to help you follow the policies, decisions and shifts shaping the places we all care about.

This week's report is one you don’t want to miss.

Listen here: https://thewildidea.com/wild-line/

05/12/2026

Citizen science might sound simple. But the work Adventure Scientists is doing is anything but casual.

Their volunteers are trained to collect field data that can support research, inform conservation decisions and, in some cases, even hold up in court.

In this week’s episode of The Wild Idea, we talk with Adventure Scientists founder Greg Treinish and incoming executive director Laura Burks about what happens when outdoor people, scientific rigor and real conservation needs come together.

Because sometimes the people already out on the trail, in the water or deep in the backcountry can help answer the questions no one else can reach.

Listen to the full episode at the link in bio.

05/12/2026

Do what you love. Help protect what you love.

This week on The Wild Idea, we’re talking with Adventure Scientists about turning time outside into real conservation impact.

Full episode live tomorrow. Stay tuned.

245 million acres of public land could soon be led by a longtime public lands opponent.Bison are being pushed off their ...
05/08/2026

245 million acres of public land could soon be led by a longtime public lands opponent.

Bison are being pushed off their historic prairie in Montana, a massive land transfer in Alaska could pave the way for more extraction; and groups in Idaho may be bringing chainsaws into designated wilderness before a Forest Service decision is even public.

Seem like a lot? It's a lot. We break it down in today’s episode of The Wild Line.

Listen here: https://thewildidea.com/wild-line/

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