Conserving Large Carnivores and Ungulate Migrations
Join The Explorers Club and wildlife biologist Jim Williams FN’19 to learn about the ongoing mission to combat wildlife habitat loss in the Rocky Mountains, including preserving the migratory corridors of deer, elk, antelopes, and carnivores.
Jim will speak about exciting efforts now underway to protect important wildlife habitat connectivity in the Transboundary Rocky Mountains of the U.S. and Canada. Recently a crisis of wildlife habitat loss due to rapid population growth and residential subdivisions is fragmenting important winter ranges and open spaces between public lands. These habitats are critical to deer, elk, and antelope migrations, and seasonal large carnivore movements. Jim will share stories from a collaborative new coalition of 29 land trusts that are working together to help keep working agricultural families on the land and permanently protect open spaces for wildlife. The program is called “Keep it Connected” and is hosted by the Heart of the Rockies Initiative of Missoula, Montana. Jim will also share unique wildlife footage from his decades of work as a wildlife biologist and some stories from is book Path of the Puma published by Patagonia Inc.
This in-person event at the Explorers Club Headquarters will include an audience Q&A.
Streaming live here on explorers.org, our YouTube Channel, and our Facebook Live — Monday, November 25th at 7:00 pm ET.
RESERVATIONS
This will be an in-person lecture at Explorers Club Headquarters.
In-person tickets are $20 for Members, and $35 for the General Public.
Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm, with a beer and wine reception from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Jim Williams FN'19
Jim is an Explorers Club Fellow, and an award-winning, professionally certified wildlife biologist who worked for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks for 31 years. Jim was honored with the prestigious Explorers Club Alan Rabinowitz Memorial Award in 2024. Jim received the National Park Service Wildlife Collaboration Award in 2023. Jim is currently the partnerships manager and wildlife biologist for the Heart of the Rockies Initiative. The Initiative supports and partners with 29 land trusts in the northern Rockies and Canada. Jim works to protect wildlife habitat connectivity by keeping working agricultural families on the land in the Keep It Connected program which supports local and regional land trusts in the northern Rockies. Jim received an undergraduate degree in biology with an emphasis on marine biology from San Diego State and Florida State universities and his graduate degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University in Bozeman. Jim studied mountain lion ecology for his Master’s Degree on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front and has focused on mountain lion and other wildlife conservation issues in various roles ever since. As a wildlife biologist in central Montana, Jim managed big game populations ranging from pronghorn antelope and elk to mountain goats, worked with private agricultural landowners on wildlife tolerance issues, developed new conservation easements, wildlife management areas and other habitat conservation projects. Later as the Montana FWP Wildlife Program Manager, Jim led a talented group of research and wildlife management biologists and his team developed grizzly bear monitoring and research programs, initiated western Montana’s first wolf conservation program, and provided program support and leadership on multiple wildlife habitat conservation projects. Most recently as the Regional Montana FWP Director for northwestern Montana, Jim provided leadership and support for parks and recreation, wildlife, fisheries, game wardens and all administration teams. Jim has worked with wildlife biologists in both Chile and Argentina on a variety of wildlife conservation projects. In 2018, Patagonia Inc. published his autobiography, Path of the Puma, which shares some of those adventures and the story of mountain lion conservation in the Americas. Penguin Random House Audio recently published the audio version of Path of the Puma which Jim personally narrated.
