June 3, 2025 • 39 mins
"The only way you're going to save the world is with a damn good story."
Notable Moments
02:13 – Jeff’s origin story: how a zoo letter changed his life
04:47 – Radical collaboration and partnerships across conservation groups
06:31 – Story of Pueblo Patagonia and local leadership in Chile
13:16 – Big change starts with one local champion
17:26 – Why storytelling is essential to conservation success
24:16 – Gabon’s 30x30x30x30 model and protecting rivers, too
26:14 – Partnering with Disney for the Lion Recovery Fund
33:18 – Jody’s zoo and creek story: early sparks of passion
37:52 – Jeff’s advice for new park leaders: seek diverse experiences, tell good stories
What if the future of conservation hinged less on policy and more on storytelling?
Conservation doesn’t start with land. It starts with people. And it lasts because of the stories we carry forward. In this episode, Jody Maberry talks with Jeff Parrish, Global Managing Director at The Nature Conservancy. Jeff shares how global conservation success starts with local champions, radical collaboration, and the power of storytelling. From protecting ancient forests in Chile to elephants in Gabon, Jeff emphasizes that people are the heart of conservation, not policy. He highlights partnerships with Disney and grassroots leaders, and reminds us that whether you're a donor or a ranger, your story matters.
Read the blog and make sure to take a listen to hear more on how stories connect people to conservation.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to the park leader show where we are changing the landscape of
leadership and parks and conservation. I'm your host,
Jody Mayberry. And this episode, I'm bringing to you
someone who is a new friend of mine because we just went to
the underside of the world together. It's
Jeff Parrish. Jeff is the global managing director of
(00:24):
Protect Oceans, Lands, and Water at The Nature Conservancy.
And I know this is gonna be a great conversation because I've spent a lot
of time talking to Jeff. And, Jeff, I'm so glad you were willing to join
us. Oh, Jody, it's my pleasure. And as you know,
I'm pretty passionate about the future of this planet and and nature
and love sharing it with people, but particularly the people who are on the front
(00:46):
lines, who are the guardians of of nature and and who
help people experience this. So it's really awesome, and thanks for everything you do, my
friend. Oh, so Jeff and I just spent
several days riding horses together, hiking together,
in helicopter together. I made quite a trip to Puchagine
in South America and Chile. Maybe we'll get to that. But
(01:08):
Jeff's background is so big,
and there's so many stories, and he's done so much. We may not get to
Puccheguin this time, and we'll return to it later.
Jeff, I wanna start out asking you about your
history with the outdoors because I know you did you you
were interested from an early age, but how did you what was your
(01:30):
history with the outdoors, and then how did you end up eventually with
The Nature Conservancy? Yeah. Thanks, Judy. I'll I'll try to
keep it short. But, you know, so I I am a
a kid from Alabama. When I was growing up, honestly, no one in
my family was, was, like, outdoorsy, and
I was passionate about wildlife. But growing up in Alabama
(01:54):
back in the seventies and early eighties, it was I didn't know you could
do what I do now as a career. So I thought you'd have to be
a veterinarian or something like that. So but one day I got this letter in
the mail from the director of the Birmingham Zoo, and
it was to join this club of kids who were passionate about
nature and wildlife. And so it was it changed my entire
(02:16):
world. And I saw that there were other people out there who were, you know,
either loved snakes and amphibians or were into birds,
and we did crazy things. We drove from Birmingham to Belize,
and, a bunch of 16 high school kids with a zoo
director. And it was an extraordinary experience, and I it set me on a
path towards studying biology and ecology and
(02:38):
as an undergrad. And then I did my PhD. I've always been
fascinated with birds. I won't say I'm a birder. I don't keep a life list
or anything of that nature, but I'm fascinated with everything about birds.
And so I studied migration, how these little
tiny songbirds, these passerines can make it
from one side of the planet to another and just a few
(03:00):
hops. And so I studied that. It turned out it was on a TNC
preserve where I did my research. And it was,
just it was really interesting because I got to use some of that science to
inform the Nature Conservancy how to better manage their preserve because
they were kinda screwing it up for when it came to songbirds and songbird
ecology. And, that's what I love about the Nature Conservancy is that it's a
(03:22):
place where I can say we make mistakes, and we always we were
ever better. My first job, though, real job was the Latin
American ornithologist for the Nature Conservancy. And, you know,
if you're into birds, like, that's pretty much the dream job. Right? To be able
to with all the diversity of of birds across Latin America. I did a lot
of work then in parks. And so I've managed our
(03:45):
work with protected areas in The Caribbean and then
across Latin America, really getting to know the challenges
around all kinds of protected area management,
everything from visitor management to biological
monitoring, to management plans, to park guards in places
where there was intense poaching. So I really learned a lot about
(04:07):
and became passionate about protection and protected areas. And
long story short, I was able to I started my career
at TNC in '96, was able to I worked in a few other
organizations in the late two thousands and twenty tens. And
then I came back to TNC in this executive role
in a job that I pinched myself every day when I describe what I get
(04:29):
to do. I'm in charge of nature protection for the world's largest environmental
organization. I'm in the 50 states and 76 countries around the world,
and it's been just the honor of my life to be able to do that
and to help support others in their pursuit of protecting nature.
So we're doing some really cool, huge, big things right now.
I guess one of the other things, and then I'll shut up, Jody, is just
(04:50):
that we're doing it in radical collaboration with others too, because we've
only you know, this is really the last decade we have left to get a
lot of this right to bend the trajectory. And so and we and no
organization, no matter what they tell you in their brochures, can do it alone.
So really been trying to push that idea of of radical collaboration.
I saw that when we were in Chile, the way TNC,
(05:13):
The Nature Conservancy is working with Pueblo Patagonia and some of the
family foundations that are down there to help. It is
a fascinating model, and I like it that it's
it's almost like you you as the Nature Conservancy and tell
me if I'm wrong about this. Like, you don't care if you get the credit.
You don't care who manages it just so long as the
(05:36):
property gets preserved. That's right. You know,
conservation is 1% science and 99% people,
and that, you know, people have egos and, you know,
things motivate them. But I do that is definitely the
ethos that from our CEO to the executives
all the way down to staff on on the ground really believe in that
(05:58):
partnership and that collaboration. And, yeah, in the
this project in Chile, it's really the Yosemite of of South
America, Massive, massive property that we're trying
to purchase and then eventually turn into a a national park when we
know it can be supported financially by the government. But for
now, what's beautiful is that our partners at Pueblo Patagonia,
(06:20):
people should look that up, they're just extraordinary. They come from the
community. They're passionate about protecting this this place,
not just its nature, but its culture. And they're out front.
TNC is just providing our value
add and with a a number of other great partners. And it's just you
know, at the end of the day, I mean, I'll hopefully continue to do a
(06:42):
few big things for this planet. And when I'm long gone, though, the things I'll
remember is, the friendships. You and I were talking about this
earlier, just the friendships, the partnership and moving all that
stuff forward. And you got to enjoy it while you're doing it. It's hard
work. And, I certainly do with these
incredible partners. So next week, I'm spending my whole week
(07:04):
with the our TNC's quote unquote competitors,
and, there was an air quotes there on the on the podcast,
with, the World Wildlife Fund and the Pew Charitable Trust. And
they are my closest partners. And we talk I talk with them
almost as much as I talk with my own staff or fellow colleagues with that
do have a Oakleaf on their business card because we're
(07:26):
collaborating on some of the biggest protection initiatives that basically
help countries get to 30% protection, which is a big goal on the
on the planet today, and do that in a way that's sustainably
financed in perpetuity. And so we help each other. We raise
money for each other. It's like a new day. And so, yeah, it's it's
amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit. If there
(07:48):
is any competition that improves the whole world,
it is these large conservation groups that are competing
against each other to see who can conserve more.
Yeah. I mean, it's, it is kinda crazy the level
of competition. Sometimes it can be quite ugly, to be honest, but
I think things are different today. I I was on the phone with a donor
(08:10):
this morning who just really hit
what he I think what he cares about the most is the fact that we're
all coming together. And a lot of people will tell me when
they hear about something like this enduring earth partnership with
WWF and Pew and Ben Walton's family office, They
hear about that and they're like, finally. Finally, you guys
(08:32):
are actually working together and pulling in the same direction and not badmouthing each
other. And and then they they're blown away when they realize that we're trying to
raise money for each other. So it's it's pretty cool. It's what the planet
needs. I know we're already getting deep into
conservation and the projects that you're working on, but I I wanted to get
some insight into the actual work you do
(08:53):
because you have a very long title. It sounds very
important. You go all over the world. So give us some
insight into what your responsibility is as the
global managing director of Protect Oceans, Lands, and Water.
Yeah. It is a long title. I just tell people I do. I'm accountable for
our nature protection work at TNC. But, yeah, day to
(09:17):
day first of all, you start the day with a lot of early morning calls
and a lot of late night calls because we work across pretty much every time
zone, And that's a blessing, but it's also so it can,
can make for some pretty long days. I spend a lot of time
helping support some incredible leaders that work
in my unit, in my program, or who are in
(09:39):
other parts of the Nature Conservancy. So my job is to make their job better,
make it easier and accelerate that protection work that they're doing.
Now, specifically, I have to do a lot of thinking on what are our
priorities when it comes to protection. The world needs a lot of
help, and so we do have to set priorities. I do have to spend a
lot of time fundraising for all of these transactions to
(10:01):
come together to protect the planet, whether it's hitting
30% in Mongolia and adding in another
14,000,000 hectares, that's like more than
35,000,000 acres into the protected area system,
you've got to have some the funding to be able to do that. Pucchegine,
the property that you and I were at, you know, we need to
(10:23):
raise $78,000,000 to secure this valley
and make sure it's managed in perpetuity. By the way, that purchase price
of 63 of that 78 is actually down by 150.
Pablo Patagon needed some pretty amazing, negotiations. And
then some of that is about negotiating and some of these specific deals, negotiating with
heads of state or with a property owner. Now, I've got
(10:45):
amazing teams who are far better at those things than I
am, but I spend a lot of time telling the story
about this protection war, trying to inspire people and trying to get them to
to do their part, to dig deep and help make it happen, whether it's
through friends or through funds or through influence.
And so that's a big part of my day and, you
(11:08):
know, and the world is constantly changing. So, you know, things are
different today than they were at the end of last year in The United
States in terms of policy. And that means we have to adapt. You know,
we have to pivot. We have to do adaptive management. So that's
partly what you do when you're at the level of responsibility that
I carry. And so but, yeah, it's a I am the luckiest man on
(11:31):
the planet. I get to do protection work in
the beautiful 50 United States and in all these countries around the
world, and I pinch myself every time I tell people what I
do. When someone says I'm the luckiest man on the planet because of the
work I get to do, usually, you figure they're exaggerating.
They just like their job. But with Jeff, I actually believe
(11:53):
it that he is the luckiest man on the planet because the
projects Jeff has worked on, the places he's been, the people he's met,
just incredible. And, Jeff, I look forward in a few
years when you retire to the the book and the stories that
are going to come out after all this. You've got so many. One of the
things I really like that I saw in Chile is
(12:16):
that here was a group, and we'll do an episode about
Pochiguin later. But this whole thing
started just from one person trying to figure out one
problem that just snowballed and kept
getting bigger and bigger until The Nature Conservancy stepped
in and said, we'll help with this. And it wouldn't have happened
(12:38):
otherwise. And I really like that because there's, I know there's
two ways you can do conservation. One is a big organization
like The Nature Conservancy could just say, we're gonna buy this
property, then it's gonna be protected. But what a great story
with Puchagine that it was a local effort that
just kept getting bigger and bigger. When you work on
(13:01):
projects around the world, you mentioned friends, funds, and influence.
How much of the conservation you do now starts
with those smaller friends and the smaller
groups in the countries that are tied to a particular
property? Yeah. I'd say at the end of the day, every
every single big project that's moving the needle
(13:22):
on conservation comes from some
passionate person or people championing that work on the
ground or in the water. It comes from somebody's vision and
everybody else just has the blessing to be able to to jump in and help
them. Yeah. And Puiguille is a great example. It was really
just a couple of people who were fighting a hydroelectric dam that
(13:45):
would have, you know, dammed up a river on this property that we're
now trying to to purchase. And then that snowballed because
it became then the community was engaged. And then they came up with the
vision because of this passion when they realized that, woah, we might actually be able
to buy the whole of this property, which extends from the fjords near
Porto Mont all the way over to the Argentine border. And then they knew that
(14:07):
they needed help. And so others came in and crowded in at their
invitation. And so there are a lot most projects are like
that. But even at The Nature Conservancy, yes, we're a big
organization, but we're we're hyper global, but we're also hyper
local. So, you know, we have here where I live in
Denver, we have a Colorado chapter and that Colorado chapter
(14:29):
has staff that's living in the communities near
Steamboat Springs and the Yapper River and who's living
in Southwest Colorado or Southeast Colorado, where we're working on
grassland protection and conservation. Like, so they are part of that
fabric. Sometimes, you know, they are working
alongside those local farmers or local NGOs. And
(14:51):
so we can I think one of the things I really appreciate about The
Nature Conservancy is that we can be that hyper global and hyper
local at the same time and bring all those things together? I mean, even
in in Chile, the only way we can raise the money that we need
to raise on this very complicated transaction at this at this with the,
with the speed that we need is because of that hyper global part.
(15:14):
We can raise money from all around the world and bring it down all the
way to our our local partners, Pueblo Patagonia. So I think
that's a so, yes, it's all it all comes from a passionate
person or group of people at the grassroots level, but then being able
to scale that up and, is part of the of
the magic soft. One of the things I see you
(15:36):
working on now that applies to all of us that are interested
in conservation, and that that is you have to
I see it where you have to get people who
are thousands of miles away from a property that they may
never see to be interested in it and
donate money to help protect it. That just feels like such
(15:58):
an uphill battle. How do you deal with
that? How do you get people and I keep coming back to Pootjagin just because
I've been there. How do you get people in Wyoming and
Arkansas and Oregon interested in a
place they'll never visit that's thousands of miles away?
Yeah. Well, everyone's a little different, but I'll tell you some of the secret
(16:20):
tools. One is certainly when you can get them there, you go.
You try to use that inspiration. Because as you saw in Chile,
that forest touches you. You don't touch that forest. It
is pretty magical and you can't really escape it once you've been there. And it's
just so inspiring. So that's always ideal. But as you said, most people don't
get a chance to do that. So they really, it's you have to
(16:43):
build trust that they trust in The Nature Conservancy to
guide them to the place where they can make the biggest difference with their philanthropy.
And then you have to inspire. You've gotta be a damn good storyteller.
And I one of the things I often joke about is, when I
long time ago, their wonderful human being one of
(17:03):
my favorite human beings on the planet, a guy named Rick Ridgeway, told
me who worked at Patagonia, was the environmental vice
president at Patagonia, the the company. And I he told me when I
was just, you know, still a young scientist doing conservation at TNC, he was
like, Jeff, the only way you're going to save the world is with
a damn good story. And that quote changed my
(17:25):
life. And so so one of the things I really work hard to do is
to know the places that are our highest priorities
so that I can tell the story to donors, so that I can tell a
personal story about about that champion that we were just talking about, that
local champion, about the biodiversity, or even about the
adventure. Because you don't inspire people by being a walking pamphlet.
(17:47):
Right? You really need to be able to tell that story. And so
that's not always the case. Sometimes I have to be, you know, to
be that bridge to a place that I myself have
not been to, but where where I can tell those personal stories to
people, I think it's that's really an important part of the magic. And
people, when they trust you and they hear those stories of inspiration, people do
(18:10):
they dig deep. Yeah. I get it. And there's I
see it in both ways. If you were there in
Pochiguin, it's hard not to just fall in love.
For example, the Alarsa tree, which I had never heard of
before, it's one thing to hear about them
and how I think you told me, Jeff, that in the
(18:32):
380,000 acres or however big the property is,
there's 11% of all of these trees in that one
piece of property. So those stats, sure, it's
meaningful. Sure, I may say, well, we should do something about
that, but it is not the same thing as seeing an Elyssa
tree and touching the bark and and walking through the forest and
(18:54):
just seeing the presence of one of these trees. Yeah.
I mean, 16 people can't get their arms around these trees. Some of these have
been around. They're probably making a run at the record of the bristlecone
pine in terms of how long they've been around on this planet. Many of those
trees that you and I were around were 3,000 or 4,000 years
old. And then when you're around them, that single tree, the amount of
(19:17):
carbon it stores and keeps out of our atmosphere, you know, and
not to mention all the incredible birds and fungi and and
plants that we that we got to see, the incredible diversity. It
is super inspirational, and you wanna be able to tell people about
it and and inspire them. Yeah. It is pretty special that one
property, one transaction could save 11% of these endangered trees
(19:39):
and the sequoias of South America. And so it's a
unique blessing and responsibility we have to tell the story. You're telling the story
right now, Jody, and I which I deeply appreciate. And, you know, we also have
to tell the story of other champions around the world.
And and, you know, a lot of your audience are people who work in the
park space. And sometimes those rangers, those
(20:01):
those folks in the front line aren't actually government, state or federal
government employees, but they might be communal conservancies.
They might be people who live who have to live with wildlife and
they want to, but it's kind of hard to live with wildlife when,
you know, your kid could get eaten by a lion on the way to school,
if you have a school. And so there are you know, we have to
(20:23):
celebrate those people too and their stories and the diversity
of people around the world that are making
that are working to save it, to help us get to that 30 by 30
goal, 30% of the planet protected by 02/1930. So I feel
really lucky too that, you know, that, yes, I mean, Puiggin's amazing. It's it's
my I'm waking up living and breathing it right now. It's indicative of
(20:45):
the kind of stuff that we're trying to do all across our Latin America region.
But then also about these other types of deals in places like
Kenya or Gabon or Micronesia, trying
to buy dams and blow them up, take them out of rivers and
so that rivers can flow again. Those are all,
there's a diversity of stories to tell, diversity of
(21:07):
people to champion. So I feel really lucky to be able to do
that. When you talk about the project you're working on in Gabon
and people telling the stories, I think about in 2016, I had
the chance to speak at the World Ranger Congress. There's park rangers
there from 65 countries around the world. One of them
was from Gabon, and I think their park
(21:29):
service was brand new at the time. And this
guy, the way I don't remember his name, but I did
record an episode with him. So it's somewhere in the archives. But
the way he talked about Gabon and how special it is,
and it's the only place in the world where you see elephants and
hippos on the beach. And he painted such a picture. I thought
(21:51):
I cannot wait to get to Gabon and see this. And I still haven't been,
but I've never forgotten his stories and his enthusiasm telling
them. So when you go to a place like
where we were at in Chile or in Gabon or Micronesia,
I'm really interested in how you find the stories. Are you so when we were
together, were you actively looking for stories
(22:14):
you could tell about trees, about people, so when you come back, you
can tell those. So what's your process with that?
Yeah. And and maybe it's worth telling everybody a little bit about the got bold
and what that ranger is trying to champion too. You know, some of it is
active. Like, some of it's like I am looking for
that story to tell because I know that I'm gonna be going back and I've
(22:35):
got to excite people about it. But a lot of it is more
of being present when we're there and do it and having
that experience. I mean, I've been a couple of times and each
time there's been a different experience. And so, you
know, I it's just who I am is that I'm super transparent, so I can't
put on an act very well. I'm a horrible actor. So telling the
(22:57):
story of those authentic experiences
or stories that I've heard from people that were right, sitting right next to me
at a, on a salvo, at a, Argentine Chilean
barbecue, that's part of that. So some of it's active and I'm thinking, okay, what,
you know, what is the, are the connections you can make here? But a lot
of it is just being about telling an authentic, true, transparent
(23:20):
story of what you experienced. And that's why the real magic is
when I have a chance to go to those places, Obviously, doing
work in those places, you know, even on that trip, I was working in
Santiago meeting with donors, working on some of the details
of the deal, but then getting on the ground and sharing those
experiences is really magical. I've done that and got blown. And, you
(23:42):
know, I spent a little bit of time now and I'm hoping to get back
this year. We're trying to close by the end of this year, a big
transaction called a PFP or project finance for permanence. Basically, it's a
big single close with the government so that everybody makes these
big commitments and we have some financing in place to make it
happen such that over the long term, it ends up being permanent, durably
(24:04):
financed forever. And Gabbolin's doing something really bold, which
is they are trying to get to 30% on
land, in the ocean, and in their rivers and wetlands, and
freshwater as well. So 30 by 30 by 30 by 30
is how they like to they call it. And so that's really innovative to
actually think about the things that freshwater needs, which are very different.
(24:26):
You don't protect rivers and wetlands just by protecting the land around
it. And so that's really exciting.
And it's a place where all these ecosystems do really kinda blend
together. Like you said, you've got forest elephants on the beach. You've
got surfing hippos. And in the distance, you can see these
migratory whales moving up and down these currents.
(24:48):
And you've got your forest elephants are have really
taken it on the chin through the ivory trade, illegal ivory trade, and
most of their range, the two species, there's the Savannah
elephant and the forest elephant. And the forest elephant in the Congo Basin has
been under major persecution. Their ivory is
actually thicker and denser than a Savannah elephant, and
(25:10):
so it's particularly prized in the illegal market. But in Gabon,
there's so many elephants, so many forest elephants that it's such a good conservation
success story that we're actually part of our project. Our
big deal with government is to actually help people live with elephants,
to reduce human elephant conflict. When these elephants come in and raid their
their crops or gardens, like, how do you keep them out? And how do you
(25:33):
live with wildlife, which is not easy to do? So Gabbin's a really
unique and exciting place, and helping to build up their capacity,
their sustainable funding for the protected area system, and to grow
that protected area system is is really just an extraordinary
effort and hoping we can get that done this year.
Wow. See, this is why Jeff says he's the luckiest man in the
(25:54):
world. These projects are just amazing. The things that
we're lucky enough to read about, he's out there doing it. It's
it's incredible. There's one project I find
really fascinating that you've done, and that's the partnership
you created with Disney a few years ago. Can you talk about
that? Yeah. I love that because it's an example of
(26:17):
storytelling, but it's also I get to talk about another organization
too who I do love. And because, again, in that spirit of radical
collaboration, I love being able to do that. So I was the
vice president for conservation at the Wildlife Conservation
Network, WCN. And WCN exists to,
in many ways, sort of democratize conservation. So they support
(26:39):
these grassroots wildlife conservationists who most of them were
studying these animals and then realized they needed to save them. But that does
not make necessarily all the talents of, someone who can run
an NGO. So they support them technically, they support with fundraising.
And then we supported some of the biggest wildlife crises
through by raising funds and making those available to a
(27:01):
2,000 person organization or a two person organization in equal
measure. Both had access as long as they had a good idea to address
this wildlife crisis. The first one was the Elephant Crisis Fund,
which has really played a major role in supporting, I'm not sure of the number
now, but over 50, maybe a hundred organizations across Africa
and in Asia to reduce the demand, but supporting those to address the ivory
(27:25):
crisis that has really made a difference. We also created the Lion
Recovery Fund. And the Lion Recovery you know, most people don't
realize, but we've lost half of Lions over the
past twenty five years. And then the Lion
Recovery Fund is really about doubling that size of getting bringing them back to
those levels. But, you know, if you don't know about the problem, it's hard to
(27:47):
get concerned about it and donate and support that kind of
effort. So we partnered with Disney. At the time, we partnered quite extensively with Leonardo
DiCaprio as well, who helped to make a lot of those connections and get
line recovery fund started up. But the Disney
was said, hey, we're about to launch the live action version of
(28:07):
the Lion King. And we thought, wow, this is the moment
to raise people's awareness. That was a pretty stellar success of
a film. It was a classic film that was then brought back to life.
And it was a moment to be able to tell the story about lions. And
there's actually a lot of conservation threads in the original
narrative, but Disney then helped to raise money
(28:29):
through, you know, the sales of things in in theme parks, the sales
of the film, it's the digital film itself, and to tell the story about
the lion recovery fund and encourage people to learn more. So it
was really exciting. And it and, you know, in many ways, what it enabled us
to do was to reach to some of the unconverted versus preaching
to the converted. And I think that's a really important thing to do in
(28:51):
today's day and age. So yeah. And it was it was a lot of fun.
But, yeah, it's kinda weird to see, like, some bird with some
ornithologists going from that to, like, global marketing
campaigns, but here I am. Oh, wow.
What a great story. I'm lucky enough to do a lot of work with
Disney people, know the company well. So that was really fun
(29:14):
to learn. And I I've always felt they do
of all the things they do great, they're fabulous at self
promotion, marketing what they have with the exception of their conservation
work. It's almost like they try to keep it a secret, but they
do some incredible work around the world. They do. And the Disney
Conservation Fund is, funded through their
(29:36):
revenues and they do some amazing things and they've supported a lot of organizations
and changed the trajectory for a lot of wildlife. So it
is. I'm happy that we're tooting their horn right now because they they've been a
great partner and player for so many organizations and including The Nature
Conservancy. Well, and that I think if this isn't what we're
talking about and perhaps neither of us is qualified to talk about it, but if
(29:58):
you go back through the start of the company,
Walt himself was very interested in in animals, and that was
a early theme in some of his films. Yeah. No. Absolutely.
And and you're right. I've, had the pleasure of
being in his old office that's in LA, which is I know you
have too. It's really cool to to see some of that history, but that's my
(30:21):
understanding as well. And so and there you know, even in
today's day and age, there are a lot of people who this is
what they care about. Again, I spoke with someone this morning who had
just had a windfall from great work that had been bought
and a financial windfall. And he's like, you know, now I
can do some of the stuff that I've always wanted to do, which is to
(30:43):
be engaged in conservation. You know, he's not saying I can do what Jody
Mayberry does or what Jeff Parish does, but I can be a part of it
philanthropically, and I can learn too. So we just talked for an
hour, you know, just talking about some of the nuances of conservation.
And I think it's you know, you can see in his eyes, like, how that
just lights him up. And so there's a lot of people out there. And we
(31:03):
just I sometimes I see our roles as storytellers
or as conservationists or fundraisers is giving those people
a an opportunity to make a difference too. So just like Walt Disney.
Yeah. You you are so right on, Jeff, because you're not just
asking for money. You're inviting them to be part of a really incredible
story. And it's who doesn't wanna be part of
(31:26):
a great story? One thing I wanna tell you, Jeff, that I
noticed when we got to spend all that time together that
I thought when that trip started, I thought, alright. Well,
here we've got Jeff Parrish. He's a conservation
rock star. We've got all these people with the TNC and Family Foundations.
And I was thrilled to be on that trip, but I thought
(31:49):
they've done so much. I was a park ranger,
not even close to the impact you have done. But, the whole
time, Jeff, I felt the appreciation and the interest
that you have in people that are actually out there every day
doing the work on the front lines. And you mentioned it here, but
I wanted to tell you I felt that when we were together too. Oh, thanks,
(32:11):
Jody. But I it's real. I mean, I've been looking forward to doing this
with you ever since I met you. And and, like, it's part of telling the
story, man. You're doing your part. It takes all of us. And, you know, I
just have an NGO business card. It's just I'm trying to do my part. You're
doing your part. And everybody out there who's listening is doing their
part too. And so and and then it takes all of us, you know, in
(32:34):
including across political lines. Right? Like, we just it takes all of
us, you know, to save this planet. It is the last decade we have left
to get this right, and we've the only way we'll get it, as I mentioned
before, is through that kind of collaboration. So thanks for doing what you do.
Oh, thank you. I I appreciate that. And I wanna tie in
something you just said with what you opened with
(32:56):
that everyone who's doing any role in
conservation and parks and protection really makes a difference.
Jeff said he got interested in birds because of the
zoo. Well, my story started with
I loved I grew up in Peoria, Illinois. We had the Glen Oaks Zoo. I
love to go there. And that is what started it. And then
(33:18):
they had a TV show called Zoo For You.
And I love the zoo so much. I said, I I wanna be
on that show. And I sent in a letter, and I got
invited to be a guest on Zoo For You and
been hooked ever since. It was the two things, the Glen
Oaks Zoo and the Kickapoo Creek near my house. Those
(33:41):
are the two things that just got their hooks in me, and I've I've
been crazy about outdoors and wildlife ever since.
And Yeah. If it wasn't for people that worked at the zoo
so you can say, alright. So they're talking park rangers and
and doing big work in conservation. But if you work at a zoo, you have
no idea because so many kids come, they
(34:03):
learn, and you never hear from them again, and then they go off and be
a park ranger. Or then they become a bird scientist, and then so you
just never know. No matter what your role is, you have an impact.
It's so true. Good friend of mine from Patagonia, I was
with him, a guy named Alex Perry, who manages Patagonia's
operations in Latin America. And, we were at
(34:25):
this event in Jackson Hole to talk about this Pochi Dean project.
And, you know, Patagonia has done this phenomenal short film
from a climber's perspective about that property in the in the project. So they've just
been incredible storytellers. When we sat down to do this, before we
got up into this panel and the film was shown, Alex leaned over
to me and he said, when he looked across the room and he saw this
(34:47):
huge climbing community, you know, and there were a lot of dirtbag climbers
who don't get don't have 2 nickels to rub together right
now. But he said, somebody in this room is gonna be inspired by
this story. Ink will change the world. And you never know. You know?
And you're right. And so we just it's an amazing
thing to think about that there could be the next park ranger,
(35:10):
park manager, superintendent of national parks, you know, you don't
know. And so we need to keep telling that story to people and reaching more
people, more diverse people too, and
people from all walks of life and ethnicity and
economic stature because you never know. They could be the next
Jane Goodall. How inspiring. And I think
(35:32):
that is something that can get us excited about the work we do
because you could, for example, just
be working at the welcome station registering campers when they come
in. But you don't you never know which car
has the kid in it who's gonna grow up to be a park ranger
or a park director or superintendent of the
(35:54):
National Park Service or perhaps replace Jeff Parish someday
at the work he does. And that's what I I love about the work we
do is that you can never turn it off
because every car could have that person. Every
family you meet on a hike could have that person. You just don't
know. And you may be the one that says the right thing, talks
(36:16):
about birds the right way, that gets them interested, and the
hooks are in, and it never lets go for the rest of their life.
Yeah. It's a it's a special responsibility and opportunity, and
we're lucky we get to do that. So it does make it
hard to ever stop. But, you know, the planet's gonna be a better place because
we just did this podcast. The planet's gonna be a better place because
(36:38):
of the work that that each of us and and everybody who's
listening because of what they do. And so, yeah, I'd I'm
just deeply grateful. Well, Jeff, I have one final question for
you. You your career, you have impacted so many
people around the world. You've impacted conservation.
What advice do you have for an up and coming park leader who wants to
(37:01):
have an impact? You know, I would say, you
know, everyone's got a different roles and talents to bring. But
I I think one of the things for me that I'm really grateful for
is the diversity of experiences. And we need people who are, you
know, go to a park and they stay in the park and they're there their
whole careers. But I think, you know, the diversity of experiences gives you
(37:22):
a diversity of stories even in in the same place. And that helps
to open more doors into the possibilities of new
areas that you can stretch into. By working for different organizations
over my career and working in many different countries, I've learned
so so much. And I think that that that diversity
of experiences has really been a you can't be all, you know, an inch deep
(37:44):
and a mile wide. But I think that getting some of those diverse experiences
is a way to branch out and to explore new ways of making a difference.
So I encourage people to do that and to tell good stories.
You know, tell your story. So Oh, wonderful. Well,
I'm sure if we wanna keep up with the great work that The Nature
Conservancy is doing, we can find that on their website. Is there anywhere else you
(38:07):
would recommend we go to find out maybe about you or the the
work that TNC is doing? Yeah. I mean, nature.org
is a great place. I'd encourage people to look at
enduringearth.org too about things like the Scabon
deal and places we're working, like in Kenya and Mongolia where
our partners are working in Brazil, Bolivia, Botswana.
(38:30):
You don't have to have a b in your country name to be a part
of it during Earth. But the, yeah, those would be good places. And, of
course, on on social media, you can find me and and
TNC. And go find us at a local
preserve. We're in all the 50 states too. And to your point about
getting those experiences and being inspired, go check them
(38:51):
out. We're trying to make sure that they're more ever more accessible to people.
So yeah. And I'm just thankful, Jody, for having
me on. Oh, Jeff. This has been I I was lucky
to have been on that trip and got to know you, and, hopefully, this is
just the first of many times you can come and talk to us here. You
bet, my friend. You bet. I know it. I'm deeply grateful. Alright. Thank
(39:13):
you, Jeff. And thank you for listening to the Park Leaders Show.
Welcome to the park leader show where we are changing the landscape of
leadership and parks and conservation. I'm your host,
Jody Mayberry. And this episode, I'm bringing to you
someone who is a new friend of mine because we just went to
the underside of the world together. It's
Jeff Parrish. Jeff is the global managing director of
(00:24):
Protect Oceans, Lands, and Water at The Nature Conservancy.
And I know this is gonna be a great conversation because I've spent a lot
of time talking to Jeff. And, Jeff, I'm so glad you were willing to join
us. Oh, Jody, it's my pleasure. And as you know,
I'm pretty passionate about the future of this planet and and nature
and love sharing it with people, but particularly the people who are on the front
(00:46):
lines, who are the guardians of of nature and and who
help people experience this. So it's really awesome, and thanks for everything you do, my
friend. Oh, so Jeff and I just spent
several days riding horses together, hiking together,
in helicopter together. I made quite a trip to Puchagine
in South America and Chile. Maybe we'll get to that. But
(01:08):
Jeff's background is so big,
and there's so many stories, and he's done so much. We may not get to
Puccheguin this time, and we'll return to it later.
Jeff, I wanna start out asking you about your
history with the outdoors because I know you did you you
were interested from an early age, but how did you what was your
(01:30):
history with the outdoors, and then how did you end up eventually with
The Nature Conservancy? Yeah. Thanks, Judy. I'll I'll try to
keep it short. But, you know, so I I am a
a kid from Alabama. When I was growing up, honestly, no one in
my family was, was, like, outdoorsy, and
I was passionate about wildlife. But growing up in Alabama
(01:54):
back in the seventies and early eighties, it was I didn't know you could
do what I do now as a career. So I thought you'd have to be
a veterinarian or something like that. So but one day I got this letter in
the mail from the director of the Birmingham Zoo, and
it was to join this club of kids who were passionate about
nature and wildlife. And so it was it changed my entire
(02:16):
world. And I saw that there were other people out there who were, you know,
either loved snakes and amphibians or were into birds,
and we did crazy things. We drove from Birmingham to Belize,
and, a bunch of 16 high school kids with a zoo
director. And it was an extraordinary experience, and I it set me on a
path towards studying biology and ecology and
(02:38):
as an undergrad. And then I did my PhD. I've always been
fascinated with birds. I won't say I'm a birder. I don't keep a life list
or anything of that nature, but I'm fascinated with everything about birds.
And so I studied migration, how these little
tiny songbirds, these passerines can make it
from one side of the planet to another and just a few
(03:00):
hops. And so I studied that. It turned out it was on a TNC
preserve where I did my research. And it was,
just it was really interesting because I got to use some of that science to
inform the Nature Conservancy how to better manage their preserve because
they were kinda screwing it up for when it came to songbirds and songbird
ecology. And, that's what I love about the Nature Conservancy is that it's a
(03:22):
place where I can say we make mistakes, and we always we were
ever better. My first job, though, real job was the Latin
American ornithologist for the Nature Conservancy. And, you know,
if you're into birds, like, that's pretty much the dream job. Right? To be able
to with all the diversity of of birds across Latin America. I did a lot
of work then in parks. And so I've managed our
(03:45):
work with protected areas in The Caribbean and then
across Latin America, really getting to know the challenges
around all kinds of protected area management,
everything from visitor management to biological
monitoring, to management plans, to park guards in places
where there was intense poaching. So I really learned a lot about
(04:07):
and became passionate about protection and protected areas. And
long story short, I was able to I started my career
at TNC in '96, was able to I worked in a few other
organizations in the late two thousands and twenty tens. And
then I came back to TNC in this executive role
in a job that I pinched myself every day when I describe what I get
(04:29):
to do. I'm in charge of nature protection for the world's largest environmental
organization. I'm in the 50 states and 76 countries around the world,
and it's been just the honor of my life to be able to do that
and to help support others in their pursuit of protecting nature.
So we're doing some really cool, huge, big things right now.
I guess one of the other things, and then I'll shut up, Jody, is just
(04:50):
that we're doing it in radical collaboration with others too, because we've
only you know, this is really the last decade we have left to get a
lot of this right to bend the trajectory. And so and we and no
organization, no matter what they tell you in their brochures, can do it alone.
So really been trying to push that idea of of radical collaboration.
I saw that when we were in Chile, the way TNC,
(05:13):
The Nature Conservancy is working with Pueblo Patagonia and some of the
family foundations that are down there to help. It is
a fascinating model, and I like it that it's
it's almost like you you as the Nature Conservancy and tell
me if I'm wrong about this. Like, you don't care if you get the credit.
You don't care who manages it just so long as the
(05:36):
property gets preserved. That's right. You know,
conservation is 1% science and 99% people,
and that, you know, people have egos and, you know,
things motivate them. But I do that is definitely the
ethos that from our CEO to the executives
all the way down to staff on on the ground really believe in that
(05:58):
partnership and that collaboration. And, yeah, in the
this project in Chile, it's really the Yosemite of of South
America, Massive, massive property that we're trying
to purchase and then eventually turn into a a national park when we
know it can be supported financially by the government. But for
now, what's beautiful is that our partners at Pueblo Patagonia,
(06:20):
people should look that up, they're just extraordinary. They come from the
community. They're passionate about protecting this this place,
not just its nature, but its culture. And they're out front.
TNC is just providing our value
add and with a a number of other great partners. And it's just you
know, at the end of the day, I mean, I'll hopefully continue to do a
(06:42):
few big things for this planet. And when I'm long gone, though, the things I'll
remember is, the friendships. You and I were talking about this
earlier, just the friendships, the partnership and moving all that
stuff forward. And you got to enjoy it while you're doing it. It's hard
work. And, I certainly do with these
incredible partners. So next week, I'm spending my whole week
(07:04):
with the our TNC's quote unquote competitors,
and, there was an air quotes there on the on the podcast,
with, the World Wildlife Fund and the Pew Charitable Trust. And
they are my closest partners. And we talk I talk with them
almost as much as I talk with my own staff or fellow colleagues with that
do have a Oakleaf on their business card because we're
(07:26):
collaborating on some of the biggest protection initiatives that basically
help countries get to 30% protection, which is a big goal on the
on the planet today, and do that in a way that's sustainably
financed in perpetuity. And so we help each other. We raise
money for each other. It's like a new day. And so, yeah, it's it's
amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit. If there
(07:48):
is any competition that improves the whole world,
it is these large conservation groups that are competing
against each other to see who can conserve more.
Yeah. I mean, it's, it is kinda crazy the level
of competition. Sometimes it can be quite ugly, to be honest, but
I think things are different today. I I was on the phone with a donor
(08:10):
this morning who just really hit
what he I think what he cares about the most is the fact that we're
all coming together. And a lot of people will tell me when
they hear about something like this enduring earth partnership with
WWF and Pew and Ben Walton's family office, They
hear about that and they're like, finally. Finally, you guys
(08:32):
are actually working together and pulling in the same direction and not badmouthing each
other. And and then they they're blown away when they realize that we're trying to
raise money for each other. So it's it's pretty cool. It's what the planet
needs. I know we're already getting deep into
conservation and the projects that you're working on, but I I wanted to get
some insight into the actual work you do
(08:53):
because you have a very long title. It sounds very
important. You go all over the world. So give us some
insight into what your responsibility is as the
global managing director of Protect Oceans, Lands, and Water.
Yeah. It is a long title. I just tell people I do. I'm accountable for
our nature protection work at TNC. But, yeah, day to
(09:17):
day first of all, you start the day with a lot of early morning calls
and a lot of late night calls because we work across pretty much every time
zone, And that's a blessing, but it's also so it can,
can make for some pretty long days. I spend a lot of time
helping support some incredible leaders that work
in my unit, in my program, or who are in
(09:39):
other parts of the Nature Conservancy. So my job is to make their job better,
make it easier and accelerate that protection work that they're doing.
Now, specifically, I have to do a lot of thinking on what are our
priorities when it comes to protection. The world needs a lot of
help, and so we do have to set priorities. I do have to spend a
lot of time fundraising for all of these transactions to
(10:01):
come together to protect the planet, whether it's hitting
30% in Mongolia and adding in another
14,000,000 hectares, that's like more than
35,000,000 acres into the protected area system,
you've got to have some the funding to be able to do that. Pucchegine,
the property that you and I were at, you know, we need to
(10:23):
raise $78,000,000 to secure this valley
and make sure it's managed in perpetuity. By the way, that purchase price
of 63 of that 78 is actually down by 150.
Pablo Patagon needed some pretty amazing, negotiations. And
then some of that is about negotiating and some of these specific deals, negotiating with
heads of state or with a property owner. Now, I've got
(10:45):
amazing teams who are far better at those things than I
am, but I spend a lot of time telling the story
about this protection war, trying to inspire people and trying to get them to
to do their part, to dig deep and help make it happen, whether it's
through friends or through funds or through influence.
And so that's a big part of my day and, you
(11:08):
know, and the world is constantly changing. So, you know, things are
different today than they were at the end of last year in The United
States in terms of policy. And that means we have to adapt. You know,
we have to pivot. We have to do adaptive management. So that's
partly what you do when you're at the level of responsibility that
I carry. And so but, yeah, it's a I am the luckiest man on
(11:31):
the planet. I get to do protection work in
the beautiful 50 United States and in all these countries around the
world, and I pinch myself every time I tell people what I
do. When someone says I'm the luckiest man on the planet because of the
work I get to do, usually, you figure they're exaggerating.
They just like their job. But with Jeff, I actually believe
(11:53):
it that he is the luckiest man on the planet because the
projects Jeff has worked on, the places he's been, the people he's met,
just incredible. And, Jeff, I look forward in a few
years when you retire to the the book and the stories that
are going to come out after all this. You've got so many. One of the
things I really like that I saw in Chile is
(12:16):
that here was a group, and we'll do an episode about
Pochiguin later. But this whole thing
started just from one person trying to figure out one
problem that just snowballed and kept
getting bigger and bigger until The Nature Conservancy stepped
in and said, we'll help with this. And it wouldn't have happened
(12:38):
otherwise. And I really like that because there's, I know there's
two ways you can do conservation. One is a big organization
like The Nature Conservancy could just say, we're gonna buy this
property, then it's gonna be protected. But what a great story
with Puchagine that it was a local effort that
just kept getting bigger and bigger. When you work on
(13:01):
projects around the world, you mentioned friends, funds, and influence.
How much of the conservation you do now starts
with those smaller friends and the smaller
groups in the countries that are tied to a particular
property? Yeah. I'd say at the end of the day, every
every single big project that's moving the needle
(13:22):
on conservation comes from some
passionate person or people championing that work on the
ground or in the water. It comes from somebody's vision and
everybody else just has the blessing to be able to to jump in and help
them. Yeah. And Puiguille is a great example. It was really
just a couple of people who were fighting a hydroelectric dam that
(13:45):
would have, you know, dammed up a river on this property that we're
now trying to to purchase. And then that snowballed because
it became then the community was engaged. And then they came up with the
vision because of this passion when they realized that, woah, we might actually be able
to buy the whole of this property, which extends from the fjords near
Porto Mont all the way over to the Argentine border. And then they knew that
(14:07):
they needed help. And so others came in and crowded in at their
invitation. And so there are a lot most projects are like
that. But even at The Nature Conservancy, yes, we're a big
organization, but we're we're hyper global, but we're also hyper
local. So, you know, we have here where I live in
Denver, we have a Colorado chapter and that Colorado chapter
(14:29):
has staff that's living in the communities near
Steamboat Springs and the Yapper River and who's living
in Southwest Colorado or Southeast Colorado, where we're working on
grassland protection and conservation. Like, so they are part of that
fabric. Sometimes, you know, they are working
alongside those local farmers or local NGOs. And
(14:51):
so we can I think one of the things I really appreciate about The
Nature Conservancy is that we can be that hyper global and hyper
local at the same time and bring all those things together? I mean, even
in in Chile, the only way we can raise the money that we need
to raise on this very complicated transaction at this at this with the,
with the speed that we need is because of that hyper global part.
(15:14):
We can raise money from all around the world and bring it down all the
way to our our local partners, Pueblo Patagonia. So I think
that's a so, yes, it's all it all comes from a passionate
person or group of people at the grassroots level, but then being able
to scale that up and, is part of the of
the magic soft. One of the things I see you
(15:36):
working on now that applies to all of us that are interested
in conservation, and that that is you have to
I see it where you have to get people who
are thousands of miles away from a property that they may
never see to be interested in it and
donate money to help protect it. That just feels like such
(15:58):
an uphill battle. How do you deal with
that? How do you get people and I keep coming back to Pootjagin just because
I've been there. How do you get people in Wyoming and
Arkansas and Oregon interested in a
place they'll never visit that's thousands of miles away?
Yeah. Well, everyone's a little different, but I'll tell you some of the secret
(16:20):
tools. One is certainly when you can get them there, you go.
You try to use that inspiration. Because as you saw in Chile,
that forest touches you. You don't touch that forest. It
is pretty magical and you can't really escape it once you've been there. And it's
just so inspiring. So that's always ideal. But as you said, most people don't
get a chance to do that. So they really, it's you have to
(16:43):
build trust that they trust in The Nature Conservancy to
guide them to the place where they can make the biggest difference with their philanthropy.
And then you have to inspire. You've gotta be a damn good storyteller.
And I one of the things I often joke about is, when I
long time ago, their wonderful human being one of
(17:03):
my favorite human beings on the planet, a guy named Rick Ridgeway, told
me who worked at Patagonia, was the environmental vice
president at Patagonia, the the company. And I he told me when I
was just, you know, still a young scientist doing conservation at TNC, he was
like, Jeff, the only way you're going to save the world is with
a damn good story. And that quote changed my
(17:25):
life. And so so one of the things I really work hard to do is
to know the places that are our highest priorities
so that I can tell the story to donors, so that I can tell a
personal story about about that champion that we were just talking about, that
local champion, about the biodiversity, or even about the
adventure. Because you don't inspire people by being a walking pamphlet.
(17:47):
Right? You really need to be able to tell that story. And so
that's not always the case. Sometimes I have to be, you know, to
be that bridge to a place that I myself have
not been to, but where where I can tell those personal stories to
people, I think it's that's really an important part of the magic. And
people, when they trust you and they hear those stories of inspiration, people do
(18:10):
they dig deep. Yeah. I get it. And there's I
see it in both ways. If you were there in
Pochiguin, it's hard not to just fall in love.
For example, the Alarsa tree, which I had never heard of
before, it's one thing to hear about them
and how I think you told me, Jeff, that in the
(18:32):
380,000 acres or however big the property is,
there's 11% of all of these trees in that one
piece of property. So those stats, sure, it's
meaningful. Sure, I may say, well, we should do something about
that, but it is not the same thing as seeing an Elyssa
tree and touching the bark and and walking through the forest and
(18:54):
just seeing the presence of one of these trees. Yeah.
I mean, 16 people can't get their arms around these trees. Some of these have
been around. They're probably making a run at the record of the bristlecone
pine in terms of how long they've been around on this planet. Many of those
trees that you and I were around were 3,000 or 4,000 years
old. And then when you're around them, that single tree, the amount of
(19:17):
carbon it stores and keeps out of our atmosphere, you know, and
not to mention all the incredible birds and fungi and and
plants that we that we got to see, the incredible diversity. It
is super inspirational, and you wanna be able to tell people about
it and and inspire them. Yeah. It is pretty special that one
property, one transaction could save 11% of these endangered trees
(19:39):
and the sequoias of South America. And so it's a
unique blessing and responsibility we have to tell the story. You're telling the story
right now, Jody, and I which I deeply appreciate. And, you know, we also have
to tell the story of other champions around the world.
And and, you know, a lot of your audience are people who work in the
park space. And sometimes those rangers, those
(20:01):
those folks in the front line aren't actually government, state or federal
government employees, but they might be communal conservancies.
They might be people who live who have to live with wildlife and
they want to, but it's kind of hard to live with wildlife when,
you know, your kid could get eaten by a lion on the way to school,
if you have a school. And so there are you know, we have to
(20:23):
celebrate those people too and their stories and the diversity
of people around the world that are making
that are working to save it, to help us get to that 30 by 30
goal, 30% of the planet protected by 02/1930. So I feel
really lucky too that, you know, that, yes, I mean, Puiggin's amazing. It's it's
my I'm waking up living and breathing it right now. It's indicative of
(20:45):
the kind of stuff that we're trying to do all across our Latin America region.
But then also about these other types of deals in places like
Kenya or Gabon or Micronesia, trying
to buy dams and blow them up, take them out of rivers and
so that rivers can flow again. Those are all,
there's a diversity of stories to tell, diversity of
(21:07):
people to champion. So I feel really lucky to be able to do
that. When you talk about the project you're working on in Gabon
and people telling the stories, I think about in 2016, I had
the chance to speak at the World Ranger Congress. There's park rangers
there from 65 countries around the world. One of them
was from Gabon, and I think their park
(21:29):
service was brand new at the time. And this
guy, the way I don't remember his name, but I did
record an episode with him. So it's somewhere in the archives. But
the way he talked about Gabon and how special it is,
and it's the only place in the world where you see elephants and
hippos on the beach. And he painted such a picture. I thought
(21:51):
I cannot wait to get to Gabon and see this. And I still haven't been,
but I've never forgotten his stories and his enthusiasm telling
them. So when you go to a place like
where we were at in Chile or in Gabon or Micronesia,
I'm really interested in how you find the stories. Are you so when we were
together, were you actively looking for stories
(22:14):
you could tell about trees, about people, so when you come back, you
can tell those. So what's your process with that?
Yeah. And and maybe it's worth telling everybody a little bit about the got bold
and what that ranger is trying to champion too. You know, some of it is
active. Like, some of it's like I am looking for
that story to tell because I know that I'm gonna be going back and I've
(22:35):
got to excite people about it. But a lot of it is more
of being present when we're there and do it and having
that experience. I mean, I've been a couple of times and each
time there's been a different experience. And so, you
know, I it's just who I am is that I'm super transparent, so I can't
put on an act very well. I'm a horrible actor. So telling the
(22:57):
story of those authentic experiences
or stories that I've heard from people that were right, sitting right next to me
at a, on a salvo, at a, Argentine Chilean
barbecue, that's part of that. So some of it's active and I'm thinking, okay, what,
you know, what is the, are the connections you can make here? But a lot
of it is just being about telling an authentic, true, transparent
(23:20):
story of what you experienced. And that's why the real magic is
when I have a chance to go to those places, Obviously, doing
work in those places, you know, even on that trip, I was working in
Santiago meeting with donors, working on some of the details
of the deal, but then getting on the ground and sharing those
experiences is really magical. I've done that and got blown. And, you
(23:42):
know, I spent a little bit of time now and I'm hoping to get back
this year. We're trying to close by the end of this year, a big
transaction called a PFP or project finance for permanence. Basically, it's a
big single close with the government so that everybody makes these
big commitments and we have some financing in place to make it
happen such that over the long term, it ends up being permanent, durably
(24:04):
financed forever. And Gabbolin's doing something really bold, which
is they are trying to get to 30% on
land, in the ocean, and in their rivers and wetlands, and
freshwater as well. So 30 by 30 by 30 by 30
is how they like to they call it. And so that's really innovative to
actually think about the things that freshwater needs, which are very different.
(24:26):
You don't protect rivers and wetlands just by protecting the land around
it. And so that's really exciting.
And it's a place where all these ecosystems do really kinda blend
together. Like you said, you've got forest elephants on the beach. You've
got surfing hippos. And in the distance, you can see these
migratory whales moving up and down these currents.
(24:48):
And you've got your forest elephants are have really
taken it on the chin through the ivory trade, illegal ivory trade, and
most of their range, the two species, there's the Savannah
elephant and the forest elephant. And the forest elephant in the Congo Basin has
been under major persecution. Their ivory is
actually thicker and denser than a Savannah elephant, and
(25:10):
so it's particularly prized in the illegal market. But in Gabon,
there's so many elephants, so many forest elephants that it's such a good conservation
success story that we're actually part of our project. Our
big deal with government is to actually help people live with elephants,
to reduce human elephant conflict. When these elephants come in and raid their
their crops or gardens, like, how do you keep them out? And how do you
(25:33):
live with wildlife, which is not easy to do? So Gabbin's a really
unique and exciting place, and helping to build up their capacity,
their sustainable funding for the protected area system, and to grow
that protected area system is is really just an extraordinary
effort and hoping we can get that done this year.
Wow. See, this is why Jeff says he's the luckiest man in the
(25:54):
world. These projects are just amazing. The things that
we're lucky enough to read about, he's out there doing it. It's
it's incredible. There's one project I find
really fascinating that you've done, and that's the partnership
you created with Disney a few years ago. Can you talk about
that? Yeah. I love that because it's an example of
(26:17):
storytelling, but it's also I get to talk about another organization
too who I do love. And because, again, in that spirit of radical
collaboration, I love being able to do that. So I was the
vice president for conservation at the Wildlife Conservation
Network, WCN. And WCN exists to,
in many ways, sort of democratize conservation. So they support
(26:39):
these grassroots wildlife conservationists who most of them were
studying these animals and then realized they needed to save them. But that does
not make necessarily all the talents of, someone who can run
an NGO. So they support them technically, they support with fundraising.
And then we supported some of the biggest wildlife crises
through by raising funds and making those available to a
(27:01):
2,000 person organization or a two person organization in equal
measure. Both had access as long as they had a good idea to address
this wildlife crisis. The first one was the Elephant Crisis Fund,
which has really played a major role in supporting, I'm not sure of the number
now, but over 50, maybe a hundred organizations across Africa
and in Asia to reduce the demand, but supporting those to address the ivory
(27:25):
crisis that has really made a difference. We also created the Lion
Recovery Fund. And the Lion Recovery you know, most people don't
realize, but we've lost half of Lions over the
past twenty five years. And then the Lion
Recovery Fund is really about doubling that size of getting bringing them back to
those levels. But, you know, if you don't know about the problem, it's hard to
(27:47):
get concerned about it and donate and support that kind of
effort. So we partnered with Disney. At the time, we partnered quite extensively with Leonardo
DiCaprio as well, who helped to make a lot of those connections and get
line recovery fund started up. But the Disney
was said, hey, we're about to launch the live action version of
(28:07):
the Lion King. And we thought, wow, this is the moment
to raise people's awareness. That was a pretty stellar success of
a film. It was a classic film that was then brought back to life.
And it was a moment to be able to tell the story about lions. And
there's actually a lot of conservation threads in the original
narrative, but Disney then helped to raise money
(28:29):
through, you know, the sales of things in in theme parks, the sales
of the film, it's the digital film itself, and to tell the story about
the lion recovery fund and encourage people to learn more. So it
was really exciting. And it and, you know, in many ways, what it enabled us
to do was to reach to some of the unconverted versus preaching
to the converted. And I think that's a really important thing to do in
(28:51):
today's day and age. So yeah. And it was it was a lot of fun.
But, yeah, it's kinda weird to see, like, some bird with some
ornithologists going from that to, like, global marketing
campaigns, but here I am. Oh, wow.
What a great story. I'm lucky enough to do a lot of work with
Disney people, know the company well. So that was really fun
(29:14):
to learn. And I I've always felt they do
of all the things they do great, they're fabulous at self
promotion, marketing what they have with the exception of their conservation
work. It's almost like they try to keep it a secret, but they
do some incredible work around the world. They do. And the Disney
Conservation Fund is, funded through their
(29:36):
revenues and they do some amazing things and they've supported a lot of organizations
and changed the trajectory for a lot of wildlife. So it
is. I'm happy that we're tooting their horn right now because they they've been a
great partner and player for so many organizations and including The Nature
Conservancy. Well, and that I think if this isn't what we're
talking about and perhaps neither of us is qualified to talk about it, but if
(29:58):
you go back through the start of the company,
Walt himself was very interested in in animals, and that was
a early theme in some of his films. Yeah. No. Absolutely.
And and you're right. I've, had the pleasure of
being in his old office that's in LA, which is I know you
have too. It's really cool to to see some of that history, but that's my
(30:21):
understanding as well. And so and there you know, even in
today's day and age, there are a lot of people who this is
what they care about. Again, I spoke with someone this morning who had
just had a windfall from great work that had been bought
and a financial windfall. And he's like, you know, now I
can do some of the stuff that I've always wanted to do, which is to
(30:43):
be engaged in conservation. You know, he's not saying I can do what Jody
Mayberry does or what Jeff Parish does, but I can be a part of it
philanthropically, and I can learn too. So we just talked for an
hour, you know, just talking about some of the nuances of conservation.
And I think it's you know, you can see in his eyes, like, how that
just lights him up. And so there's a lot of people out there. And we
(31:03):
just I sometimes I see our roles as storytellers
or as conservationists or fundraisers is giving those people
a an opportunity to make a difference too. So just like Walt Disney.
Yeah. You you are so right on, Jeff, because you're not just
asking for money. You're inviting them to be part of a really incredible
story. And it's who doesn't wanna be part of
(31:26):
a great story? One thing I wanna tell you, Jeff, that I
noticed when we got to spend all that time together that
I thought when that trip started, I thought, alright. Well,
here we've got Jeff Parrish. He's a conservation
rock star. We've got all these people with the TNC and Family Foundations.
And I was thrilled to be on that trip, but I thought
(31:49):
they've done so much. I was a park ranger,
not even close to the impact you have done. But, the whole
time, Jeff, I felt the appreciation and the interest
that you have in people that are actually out there every day
doing the work on the front lines. And you mentioned it here, but
I wanted to tell you I felt that when we were together too. Oh, thanks,
(32:11):
Jody. But I it's real. I mean, I've been looking forward to doing this
with you ever since I met you. And and, like, it's part of telling the
story, man. You're doing your part. It takes all of us. And, you know, I
just have an NGO business card. It's just I'm trying to do my part. You're
doing your part. And everybody out there who's listening is doing their
part too. And so and and then it takes all of us, you know, in
(32:34):
including across political lines. Right? Like, we just it takes all of
us, you know, to save this planet. It is the last decade we have left
to get this right, and we've the only way we'll get it, as I mentioned
before, is through that kind of collaboration. So thanks for doing what you do.
Oh, thank you. I I appreciate that. And I wanna tie in
something you just said with what you opened with
(32:56):
that everyone who's doing any role in
conservation and parks and protection really makes a difference.
Jeff said he got interested in birds because of the
zoo. Well, my story started with
I loved I grew up in Peoria, Illinois. We had the Glen Oaks Zoo. I
love to go there. And that is what started it. And then
(33:18):
they had a TV show called Zoo For You.
And I love the zoo so much. I said, I I wanna be
on that show. And I sent in a letter, and I got
invited to be a guest on Zoo For You and
been hooked ever since. It was the two things, the Glen
Oaks Zoo and the Kickapoo Creek near my house. Those
(33:41):
are the two things that just got their hooks in me, and I've I've
been crazy about outdoors and wildlife ever since.
And Yeah. If it wasn't for people that worked at the zoo
so you can say, alright. So they're talking park rangers and
and doing big work in conservation. But if you work at a zoo, you have
no idea because so many kids come, they
(34:03):
learn, and you never hear from them again, and then they go off and be
a park ranger. Or then they become a bird scientist, and then so you
just never know. No matter what your role is, you have an impact.
It's so true. Good friend of mine from Patagonia, I was
with him, a guy named Alex Perry, who manages Patagonia's
operations in Latin America. And, we were at
(34:25):
this event in Jackson Hole to talk about this Pochi Dean project.
And, you know, Patagonia has done this phenomenal short film
from a climber's perspective about that property in the in the project. So they've just
been incredible storytellers. When we sat down to do this, before we
got up into this panel and the film was shown, Alex leaned over
to me and he said, when he looked across the room and he saw this
(34:47):
huge climbing community, you know, and there were a lot of dirtbag climbers
who don't get don't have 2 nickels to rub together right
now. But he said, somebody in this room is gonna be inspired by
this story. Ink will change the world. And you never know. You know?
And you're right. And so we just it's an amazing
thing to think about that there could be the next park ranger,
(35:10):
park manager, superintendent of national parks, you know, you don't
know. And so we need to keep telling that story to people and reaching more
people, more diverse people too, and
people from all walks of life and ethnicity and
economic stature because you never know. They could be the next
Jane Goodall. How inspiring. And I think
(35:32):
that is something that can get us excited about the work we do
because you could, for example, just
be working at the welcome station registering campers when they come
in. But you don't you never know which car
has the kid in it who's gonna grow up to be a park ranger
or a park director or superintendent of the
(35:54):
National Park Service or perhaps replace Jeff Parish someday
at the work he does. And that's what I I love about the work we
do is that you can never turn it off
because every car could have that person. Every
family you meet on a hike could have that person. You just don't
know. And you may be the one that says the right thing, talks
(36:16):
about birds the right way, that gets them interested, and the
hooks are in, and it never lets go for the rest of their life.
Yeah. It's a it's a special responsibility and opportunity, and
we're lucky we get to do that. So it does make it
hard to ever stop. But, you know, the planet's gonna be a better place because
we just did this podcast. The planet's gonna be a better place because
(36:38):
of the work that that each of us and and everybody who's
listening because of what they do. And so, yeah, I'd I'm
just deeply grateful. Well, Jeff, I have one final question for
you. You your career, you have impacted so many
people around the world. You've impacted conservation.
What advice do you have for an up and coming park leader who wants to
(37:01):
have an impact? You know, I would say, you
know, everyone's got a different roles and talents to bring. But
I I think one of the things for me that I'm really grateful for
is the diversity of experiences. And we need people who are, you
know, go to a park and they stay in the park and they're there their
whole careers. But I think, you know, the diversity of experiences gives you
(37:22):
a diversity of stories even in in the same place. And that helps
to open more doors into the possibilities of new
areas that you can stretch into. By working for different organizations
over my career and working in many different countries, I've learned
so so much. And I think that that that diversity
of experiences has really been a you can't be all, you know, an inch deep
(37:44):
and a mile wide. But I think that getting some of those diverse experiences
is a way to branch out and to explore new ways of making a difference.
So I encourage people to do that and to tell good stories.
You know, tell your story. So Oh, wonderful. Well,
I'm sure if we wanna keep up with the great work that The Nature
Conservancy is doing, we can find that on their website. Is there anywhere else you
(38:07):
would recommend we go to find out maybe about you or the the
work that TNC is doing? Yeah. I mean, nature.org
is a great place. I'd encourage people to look at
enduringearth.org too about things like the Scabon
deal and places we're working, like in Kenya and Mongolia where
our partners are working in Brazil, Bolivia, Botswana.
(38:30):
You don't have to have a b in your country name to be a part
of it during Earth. But the, yeah, those would be good places. And, of
course, on on social media, you can find me and and
TNC. And go find us at a local
preserve. We're in all the 50 states too. And to your point about
getting those experiences and being inspired, go check them
(38:51):
out. We're trying to make sure that they're more ever more accessible to people.
So yeah. And I'm just thankful, Jody, for having
me on. Oh, Jeff. This has been I I was lucky
to have been on that trip and got to know you, and, hopefully, this is
just the first of many times you can come and talk to us here. You
bet, my friend. You bet. I know it. I'm deeply grateful. Alright. Thank
(39:13):
you, Jeff. And thank you for listening to the Park Leaders Show.
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