Wildlife Restoration Foundation

09/29/2026

OK folks, Fat Bear Week is down to the final round! Vote for the fattest bear of the year today!

Some of the largest brown bears on Earth make their home at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Brown bears get fat to survive. Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating their success in preparation for winter hibernation. Matchups are open for voting September 22 - 29 between 12 - 9 p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Pacific / 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Alaska.

Vote here:

Explore.org is the world's leading philanthropic live nature cam network and documentary film channel. Our mission is to champion the selfless acts of others, create a portal into the soul of humanity and inspire lifelong learning. Watch nature unfold live right now!

08/28/2026

WRF conservation work in action! As part of its growing Zoo Bison with Conservation Intent program, the WRF initiated the donation of 2 bison from the Red River Zoo in Fargo, ND to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) in South Dakota on August 7th. These young bison brothers descend from bison that the zoo received from Wind Cave National Park as part of the Zoo-Park Partnership that WRF has facilitated for over 5 years. Living wild in the park, Wind Cave bison have high genetic integrity. The zoo’s Pride of Prairie habitat is designed to hold a small number of bison as a Wind Cave satellite herd producing offspring.

Witnessing their release, CRST Buffalo Authority Corporation CEO Jayme Murray said, “These zoo animals ran out onto the prairie just like any other Wind Cave bison would.”

They will join others descended from the park to increase the genetic health and variability of the Tribal herd living on 19,000 acres on the reservation.

By supporting the WRF Bison Program, you can help support more bison translocations to wild habitats like these. https://lnkd.in/grzb7U42

08/03/2026

When humans collaborate with wildlife, the outcome is almost always positive. In this case, simple rope bridges over highways in the Amazon are saving thousands of lives of primates and other species.

Brazil’s federal transport department has now officially designated the rope bridge design as the recommended national standard for highways.

07/29/2026

Grasslands are one of North America’s most important and most threatened ecosystems, supporting wildlife, storing carbon, and sustaining working landscapes. Yet ongoing pressures from development and land conversion continue to impact both habitat and ecological function.

New survey findings from America's Grasslands Coalition suggests we need to raise awareness of these challenges. The WRF is helping advance this work by partnering with landowners, conservation organizations, and communities to support practical, landscape level strategies that benefit both wildlife and the people who depend on these lands.

Across America, something extraordinary is hiding in plain sight. Grasslands: the most important ecosystem you never knew.

This Grasslands Week, we invite you to look closer and learn more.

https://grasslanders.org/?utm_source=meta&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=grasslands-week-mini&utm_content=fb-intro-singleimg

07/03/2026

We’re pleased to announce that registration is now open for the inaugural North American Summit on Collaborating with Wildlife (CW), hosted by the Wildlife Restoration Foundation and Oceans and Wildlife Institute. The Summit will take place February 2-4, 2027 in Corpus Christi, Texas, followed by a field trip to the Wildlife Rescue Operations Center on February 5. The Summit will offer an innovative place where practitioners and researchers from multiple sectors will work together on best practices for human actions that support, provision, value, and adapt to meet the needs of wildlife.

This forward-thinking event will convene leaders from Conservation & Land Trusts, Agriculture & Ranching, Government Agencies, Tribes & First Nations, Zoos & Aquariums, Recreation & Tourism, Architecture, Engineering & Construction, and Philanthropy and other sectors who aim to meet wildlife needs in land and seascapes in and around in North American parks (lands and waters protected for wildlife).

Learn more about the Summit here: https://www.wildlifeandparks.org/cwsummit

We look forward to partnering with you to shape the future of wildlife stewardship!

The Wildlife Restoration Foundation brings healthy wildlife back to America’s land and seascapes. The work we do as a nongovernmental organization is rooted by partnerships and is growing fast. We empower partners to intervene with innovative approaches.

06/18/2026

The Wildlife Restoration Foundation (WRF) continues its Collaborating with Wildlife Training Workshop (CWTW) Series on July 15 at 12:00 PM ET with a session focused on One Health, biodiversity, and urban wildlife research.

Led by Dr. Sharon Deem, wildlife veterinarian, epidemiologist, Director of the Institute for Conservation Medicine at the Saint Louis Zoo, and longtime WRF board member, this workshop will explore the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health through the One Health framework.

Participants will examine the relationship between biodiversity and human well-being and explore lessons from the Forest Park Living Lab in St. Louis, a six-year urban wildlife research initiative that demonstrates the value of cross-sector collaboration in addressing complex conservation challenges.

The Collaborating with Wildlife Training Workshop Series is designed to advance conversations around practical approaches to human-wildlife collaboration while building toward the North American Summit on Collaborating with Wildlife in Park Gateways.

Collaborating with Wildlife means human actions that are “Supporting, Provisioning, Valuing, and Adapting” to meet wildlife needs for food, water, cover, and space, and the arrangement of these across land and seascapes.

These workshops are not just presentations. They are part of an ongoing effort to develop ideas, frameworks, and collaborative strategies that can be applied across communities, organizations, and sectors.

Join us as we continue building solutions that support both wildlife and people.

Register today: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/collaborating-with-wildlife-training-workshop-2-one-health-and-urban-wildlife

05/23/2026

Last week, we recognized Endangered Species Day, a time to reflect on the many species that remain at risk and the ongoing efforts needed to support their recovery. While the day serves as an important reminder, the work of conservation continues year-round.

Across North America, habitat loss, development, and environmental change continue to impact wildlife populations. Recovery takes time and requires more than protection alone. It depends on restoring habitats, strengthening population resilience, and finding ways for human actions to meet wildlife needs so species can survive, repopulate, and thrive. These ideas are at the heart of the inaugural North American Summit on Collaborating with Wildlife, taking place February 2–4, 2027, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Learn more and register: https://whova.com/portal/registration/qf4LmtlcagPM1OhdGhpc/?source=i3dwby5j

At Wildlife Restoration Foundation, we believe lasting conservation is built through science, partnerships, and practical restoration efforts that create long-term outcomes. As we reflect on Endangered Species Day, we remain committed to supporting the work needed to help species move beyond survival and toward sustainable recovery.

05/14/2026

Ten years ago, the National Bison Legacy Act was signed into law under President Barack Obama, officially recognizing the American bison as the National Mammal of the United States. The designation reflects both the ecological importance of bison and their deep cultural significance to Tribal Nations who have long stewarded them.

Our founder, Julie Anton Randall, worked with the Wildlife Conservation Society, InterTribal Buffalo Council, and National Bison Association to spearhead a coalition of NGOs, Tribes, businesses, and zoos to help pass the Act with a bipartisan group of co-sponsors in Congress.

Once nearly driven to extinction, bison recovery has depended on decades of conservation, habitat restoration, and partnerships across North America. That work continues today through efforts to restore healthy wildlife populations and help people collaborate with wildlife.

As we celebrate this milestone, we’re also working to support the future of bison conservation through

Yellowstone Phil, a genetically important Yellowstone bison who now has the opportunity to continue contributing to restoration efforts in a new herd.

If you’d like to support Phil’s journey and the future of bison restoration, please consider donating:
https://www.wildlifeandparks.org/donate

05/09/2026

Please help us save Yellowstone Phil! Phil is no ordinary bison. Bred through the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, he represents something extraordinarily rare: he descends from the tiny Yellowstone herd that was spared from hunters and roamed wild in Wyoming during the late 1800s.

Phil lived on a private ranch in Minnesota. As the ranch no longer needed Phil for breeding, we have the opportunity to move him to a new herd to continue his part in the restoration of bison across North America. We need your help to get Phil settled in a new home!

Please visit the WRF website to learn more about Phil and how your donation can help: https://www.wildlifeandparks.org/donate

Phil's story is a reminder that wildlife restoration happens one animal at a time. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SHARE THIS POST WITH YOUR NETWORKS TO RAISE AWARENESS AND SAVE PHIL.

05/01/2026

The Wildlife Restoration Foundation (WRF), in partnership with cross-sector leaders, is launching the Collaborating with Wildlife Training Workshop (CWTW) Series, beginning May 13 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM ET.

This series focuses on how human actions in park gateway areas can directly meet wildlife needs through practical, measurable approaches.

The first session will introduce the series, outline what’s ahead, and begin building toward the North American Summit on Collaborating with Wildlife in Park Gateways.
Participants will explore existing models and real-world efforts, and contribute to shaping frameworks and best practices that can be applied across sectors.

This is not just a discussion; it is a working process to develop actionable strategies that support both wildlife and human systems.

Can’t attend live? A recording will be shared with all registrants following the session.
Join us in building solutions.

Sign up today: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/collaborating-with-wildlife-training-workshop