Mission

To challenge socio-political stereotypes and norms by bringing Rewilding to Republicans.

Goal

Build a forward-thinking community of Republican voters and political leaders focused on rewilding and liberty.

The Why

America was never meant to be a land and a people tamed. America was always meant to be wild and free.

My ideas for Rewilding4Republicans started about two years ago during my early PhD coursework. The mission of R4R connects directly to my lived experience, identity, and my professional work.

Everything that exists on Earth is here for a reason. From the smallest microbial life in the soil to the largest whale in the sea, every living thing has a role to play in the intricate relationships of the natural world at a far more complex level than we can conceive.

Pollution, over-exploitation, and increased development, has destroyed the Biosphere globally, decreasing biodiversity, habitats, and ecosystem services. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) states that we are in the midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction due to the steep decline of mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, plants, and more globally. We have not made room for other forms of life as we progress and change. Building back the Biosphere is arguably the most significant action that we can do to support the health and function of the Planet.

Americans were once extremely connected to local land and resources. Americans were once great stewards. Americans were once truly resilient, self-sufficient, purposeful, and sustainable. The breakdown of these norms come from the advent of convenience and control born from globalization, technology, corporatization, and increasing government power.

We have been groomed to treat nature like it is our enemy. We have been told that we should fear nature, control nature, and even hate nature. It has been normalized to put nature last- even when it is what we need first in order to be successful. I believe this to be intentional. Nature is not our enemy; it is in fact part of our freedom.

Attacks on the protection of public lands, endangered species, open space, farmland, and wildland is a direct attack on our liberty. Our health is being impacted, our access restricted, our lifeways altered. Resources are being taken from us, resources that come from nature, resources that we could potentially rely on for our own sovereign actions such as homesteading, hunting, fishing, foraging, and more. It is up to us to safeguard the lands in which we call home. No one is coming to save us.

There is good news to report, however. The good news is that rewilding, a revolutionary, hopeful practice, is redefining restoration ecology and conservation worldwide. Rewilding prioritizes nature-first, nature-led conservation strategies that maximize relationships and functionality within ecosystems by allowing biodiversity to drive balance. While rewilding is historically predicated on megafauna reintroduction, wilderness conservation, and the Three Cs Model- Cores, Corridors, and Carnivores, rewilding in practice is now seen as any net gain of biodiversity- led by average people and scalable to all locals and communities.

We are rewilding to support nature and we are rewilding to support ourselves. We are rewilding to reconnect with our humanity. We are rewilding to take back something that we have lost. We are rewilding to fight for our freedom. Rewilding is not a cause; it is the restoration of our living world and a transformation of how we live. This is the grounding that we need in our changing, complex modern world.

Rewilding, as a discipline, was first authored by a Republican. His name was Dave Foreman. Dave was a devout conservationist. He founded EarthFirst! and The Rewilding Institute, however, one of his main lifelong missions was to engage Republicans in environmentalism. Dave passed away in 2022- his legacy is finally coming true with the growth of the modern conservative environmental movement.

The Republican mind is pragmatic, patriotic, and civic. Republicans work to conserve traditionalism, family values, and economic freedom – why not the environment too? It is detrimental that we have allowed stereotypes, social norms, and propaganda to determine our relationship with nature and control how we live. It is mystifying that we continue to allow elitism and monopolized corporate interests to guide the free market and the decisions that are made for the people of this Constitutional Republic. It is time that we hold modern Republican leaders accountable for our wants and our needs.

America is changing. A renaissance is coming. A resistance is building. It is time that we allow nature to bring us back to reality. There are pathways forward through policy and practice. The Republican Party should be leading the way to safeguard our liberty and environment.

R4R is working to challenge socio-political stereotypes and norms by bringing Rewilding to Republicans. I created R4R to build a forward-thinking community of Republican voters and political leaders focused on rewilding and liberty. R4R is shaping the future by transforming socio-political culture- allowing rewilding to lead the way.

To an America wild and free,

Franny