Texas Episodes

Laiken Jordahl describes the unusually broad Big Bend coalition opposing border-wall construction, where ranchers, conservationists and local officials are defending wildlife, the recovering Rio Grande and cross-border community life.

Rick LoBello describes a lifelong effort to connect protected lands on both sides of the Rio Grande, using wildlife recovery, community relationships and environmental education to revive the vision of an international Big Bend park.

A 1,600-mile journey from the Mojave through Tucson to El Paso reveals shared threats, passionate local defenders and the possibility of a cross-desert movement built through relationships and regular communication.

Kyle Paoletta discusses American Oasis and the histories of Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas and El Paso, arguing that understanding the desert Southwest requires understanding its cities.

Mexican wolves once ranged into Texas before persecution and conflicts with livestock helped eliminate them from the state. Chris Clarke talks with Rick LoBello, Erin Hunt, and Philip Sozanski about efforts to restore the lobo to suitable West Texas habitat. They explore the wolf's ecological and historical importance, persistent cultural fears surrounding predators, and efforts to build support among ranchers, landowners, and other residents. Their case for restoration rests not just on saving wolves, but on returning an important missing species to the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem.

Along the Rio Grande in El Paso, Rio Bosque Wetlands Park provides a rare riparian refuge within the Chihuahuan Desert—and a vision of what ecological restoration can accomplish. Chris Clarke talks with conservationist Jon Rezendes about threats from proposed highway development, community efforts to protect the wetlands, and the extraordinary diversity of birds and other wildlife that depend on them. Their conversation expands into a larger vision of rewilding the Rio Grande Valley, restoring ecological connections, and perhaps someday welcoming Mexican wolves back to the region.

The Chihuahuan Desert stretches across northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, encompassing extraordinary biological and cultural diversity. Chris Clarke talks with Janae Reneaud Field, Kathia Gonzalez, and Rocio Ronquillo of El Paso's Frontera Land Alliance about protecting this often-overlooked desert. They discuss community conservation, environmental education, and the campaign to protect Castner Range, while exploring what it means to build a conservation movement rooted in the communities that call the Chihuahuan Desert home.