Celebrating Our Wildlife Conservation Heritage

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What is the Celebrating Our Wildlife Conservation Heritage (COWCH) Project?

As several key representatives of the first generation of wildlife professionals passed away in 1999, The Wildlife Society Council adopted the COWCH Project with the goal of preserving the history and evolution of the wildlife profession by interviewing influential wildlife biologist, educators, managers, and other pioneers.

To date we have recorded more than 60 COWCH interviews with distinguished leaders in the wildlife profession including students of Aldo Leopold, charter members of TWS, Aldo Leopold Award winners, past-presidents of TWS, and other trail-blazers in wildlife management and conservation. These interviews — along with many more we hope to produce — form a priceless record of the roots of the wildlife profession, which began in the 1930s with Aldo Leopold’s Game Management and the founding of a Department of Game Management at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Who is eligble to be interviewed?

Interviewees could include TWS charter members, Aldo Leopold Award winners, past-presidents of TWS, people who have received noteworthy chapter and section recognition, and others who state chapter members feel have made noteworthy contributions to wildlife conservation in their state or region. Before you decide, see the list of available interviews.

Please consult the interview guidelines before conducting an interview.