David Parsons talks about Mexican wolves and ubiquitous coyotes in this interview. Dave is a Board member of Project Coyote and vice-chairman and a science fellow of The Rewilding Institute (a conservation think tank) and is the Institute’s Carnivore Conservation Biologist. Dave serves on several regional steering/advisory committees for organizations and coalitions advocating for wolf recovery and landscape-scale conservation in the Southwest. Dave’s interests include the ecology and conservation of large carnivores, protection and conservation of biodiversity, and wildlands conservation.

David Parsons received his Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University and his Master of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology from Oregon State University. Dave is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where from 1990-1999 he led the Service’s effort to reintroduce the endangered Mexican gray wolf to portions of its former range in Arizona and New Mexico.

In addition to several previous awards for his work on behalf of wildlife, in May 2008, Dave received the “Outstanding Conservation Leadership Award” from the Wilburforce Foundation and the “Mike Seidman Memorial Award” from the Sky Island Alliance for his conservation achievements.

Dave is the owner of Parsons Biological Consulting, which provides technical services, information, and policy advice on matters relating to wildlife and wildlands conservation. He enjoys wilderness backpacking and searching for wildlife and lives in Albuquerque.