NEWT Staff on What Rewilding Means to Them

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March 20 is World Rewilding Day, a celebration of the many ecological, societal, and climate benefits of this ecocentric conservation method. To mark the occasion, several NEWT staff members from across the organization reflected on why rewilding is important to them, and offered additional thoughts on everything from their favorite wilderness experiences to how rewilding has made them rethink their views on humans’ relationship with the nonhuman world.

Eric Bailey, Wildlands Ecology Fellow

“Rewilding is important to me for many reasons. Foremost, rewilding acknowledges that Nature moves at its own pace, even if that pace is difficult for humans to comprehend. It allows Nature to call the shots, and honors the philosophical idea that we are equal to our non-human counterparts. This, I think, also helps us see the world and wild places not just for their ‘use’ to us as humans, but for their intrinsic value as fellow residents of this planet.

I first became aware of the power of rewilding and wilderness when I visited Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park as a teenager. Being from Cleveland, Ohio, I had never before experienced this kind of wildness, all at once vast, self-willed, unforgiving, and beautiful. Being in a place where humans do not dictate what happens made me feel small, like a drop in the vast ocean of wild Nature, and taught me that everything has its own inherent rights and worth irrespective of human value systems.”

Head shot of Eric Bailey, Wildlands Ecology Fellow.

Becky Clough, Northern New England Land Steward

“Believing in rewilding feels like a satisfying response to the hubris of our human-dominated age. The radical idea that wild places can be healthier, more intact, and biodiverse when given time, limited human influence, and an ecosystem’s own evolutionary guidance very much fits with my own observations of the Maine woods. As a steward, seeing these pockets of wild places and imagining their robustness and complexity in a few hundred years gives me a lot of hope for the future of Northeast’s forests and watersheds.

This belief in the importance of freedom for wild places began when I was a child, during a trip through Yellowstone National Park with my family. We woke early one morning to take a drive through the Lamar Valley to see if we could spot wolves. Along the way, we came across a grizzly bear, feasting on what we realized was a mule deer fawn, as its mother watched from the woods beyond. It was emotional and jarring. Instead of shielding me, 10, and my sister, 14, my folks let us watch something that was more undeniably real than any lesson I had learned by that age in the human world. We acknowledged it was sad for the deer, and necessary for the bear. There was no winner or loser, only natural life and natural death, and both could be felt at the same time. It was one of many transformative experiences in the wild that have grounded me in a faith built upon the laws of nature, laws that I have to see myself not as separate from but wholly governed by.”

Sophie Ehrhardt, Vermont Land Steward

“Rewilding is important to me personally because wild Nature is beautiful, complex, life-sustaining, and my home. There always has been more beauty in Nature than in art for me, and more spiritual renewal and refuge in forests, oceans, grasslands, or deserts than in any place of human worship or in any holy text. I feel grief about how our ‘success’ as a species has made it nearly impossible for other creatures (and, I would argue, our own young) to meet their basic needs.

Working in rewilding helps me feel a tiny bit hopeful; it provides a bit of balm to my spirit. I have this beautiful opportunity to earn my bread participating in the work of rewilding. I feel it is a moral imperative to try to protect the freedom of wild creatures, and give them space to live their lives. They absolutely have intrinsic value, and I love working for a place that isn’t protecting their rights only insofar as those creatures or their homelands ‘serve’ us.”

Maddie Hatoum, Digital & Technical Coordinator

“Rewilding and being out in Nature have taught me that wild landscapes enrich our lives beyond the economic usefulness humans often assign to them. And though it sometimes feels like one has to go far away from where you live to experience something breathtaking in Nature, these places have also taught me that breathtaking instances of Nature’s beauty and freedom can be found right here.

I grew up in the middle of the woods in Vermont. We had a big backyard and beyond that were acres of forest. My sister and I spent all our free time in this yard and surrounding woods and meadows. Summers meant no school and running around barefoot with my sister, playing elaborate imaginary games.

That forest, right behind our home, is where we first experienced Nature. One of my favorite encounters was with a moose cow and her calf. In several consecutive springs, they would wander through our backyard as my family watched from the window barely 20 feet away. After moving away and spending several years in an large city, before returning to Vermont, I rediscovered that rewilding’s magic can uplift our lives anywhere Nature has the freedom to thrive according to its own laws and timescales.”

picture of person smiling at the camera

Peter Mandych, Land Conservation Manager

“To me, rewilding is about freedom. Wilderness provides the essential context for species of all stripes to survive, migrate, and adapt to changing conditions (or ‘Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,’ as contemplated by some old-timers who thought a lot about freedom). Humans need wild places, too, whether we know it or not. Despite all the benefits of civilization, wilderness is one of the few arenas where we can experience the direct, unmitigated consequences of our own actions, whether good or bad, thanks to the glorious indifference of Nature. In an age where so many things are outsourced, diluted, or set behind guardrails, rewilding is an act of humility that respects all species’ fundamental need for freedom.

As a child I was lucky enough to spend most of my time outdoors. Years later, I met my wife on a backcountry expedition. My fond memories of wildlife and wilderness are too numerous to count, but on that expedition we had a memorable moose encounter. We were hiking in a dispersed formation across a tree-spotted meadow, in keeping with Leave No Trace principles. One of our companions called and pointed: they had spotted a cow (female) moose, partially concealed behind some trees. Someone else insisted it was a bull moose with enormous antlers. A third, exasperated hiker chimed in, certain they were looking at a young moose calf. Before an argument could break out, we cautiously moved a little closer, and realized that everyone was right: it was a complete moose family, resting behind the trees. As with so many things in the backcountry, perspective is important.”

Peter