A Conversation with Michael Dax on Restoring the Western Wildway Across Jurisdictions

Michael Dax, our Western Program Director, has led our Western team to incredible success in making tangible progress toward the vision of a reconnected, restored, and rewilded Western Wildway. To do so, he has worked with federal, state, Tribal, and private entities within and between state lines, cultural boundaries, and jurisdictions.  

While working across jurisdictions presents unique challenges, Michael has been able to pass important wildlife crossing legislation and conduct on-the-ground research at a landscape level by forging strong partnerships across boundaries. Hear more about Michael’s perspective on this work, its challenges, and its rewards below.

Why are you passionate about restoring, reconnecting, and rewilding North America?  

I moved out West over 15 years ago. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to live in Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and now Colorado – nearly the entire U.S. portion of the Western Wildway.  A large source of my passion for working at a landscape scale comes from my understanding of the connections between these places and how their diverse landscapes form a comprehensive mosaic that defines and shapes the region’s ecology.  

So much of what I think we need to improve on as a society is rooted in concepts that recognize these connections and the importance of wild places not only as isolated spaces but as a functional network of lands and ecosystems where animals from elk to grizzly bears can roam freely. 

What types of viewpoints and perspectives do you bring to your work at Wildlands Network?  

I’ve been proud of our Western team's work over the past few years, both in the policy arena and in on-the-ground research. When we’re considering new projects or opportunities, one question I always ask is: What role will we play? When we’re prioritizing our time and resources, it’s essential that we’re not just one more voice in the crowd but that we’re filling a gap or bringing a unique perspective or set of skills to an issue.  

I think this approach has allowed us to add a lot of value to the places where we’re working, whether it’s beavers in southern Utah, Pacific marten in northern New Mexico, or studying wildlife movement along the U.S.-Mexico border. Also, my experience has taught me the value of developing durable solutions that are based on sound ecological principles and research, as well as broad public support. We try to meet those metrics with all of our projects. 

Why is cross-jurisdictional research in the West so important to restoring North America?  

At this point, I think there’s a general understanding that wildlife don’t recognize or adhere to political boundaries, so it’s absolutely essential that when we research wildlife - whether its population dynamics, behavioral assessments, or migration patterns - that our research transcends jurisdictional constraints.  

If you only study a species during a particular season or point during its life cycle, or only in a section of a species habitat, there’s a lot you could miss that could inform management decisions, including significant causes of species decline or recovery. As a nonprofit, it can often be easier for us to bridge some of those gaps than it can be for agencies whose missions still adhere to jurisdictional boundaries. It's great to have an opportunity to facilitate cross-boundary work. 

What challenges have you faced in the process? What has made these partnerships successful? 

Nonprofits play a really important role in wildlife conservation. Oftentimes, we have flexibility that agencies don’t. Because we aren’t limited to where we operate, we have the opportunity to borrow good examples from one place and bring them to another. However, we are a small team that covers a large area, so there’s a lot of trust-building that has to be done in order to work alongside agency partners. A lot of that work is slow, but I’m excited about the relationships we’ve been able to build over the past few years, the projects that we’re working on, and the contributions we’ve been able to make. 

How are these partnerships bringing the Western Wildway to life? 

I think our research interactions between wildlife and utility-scale solar energy (USSE) development in the Four Corners region provides the best examples. We just initiated a four-year study to understand how pronghorn and other wildlife are interacting with these new USSE developments. In partnership with the Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, and Bureau of Land Management, we’ll be able to do some really impactful research across northwestern New Mexico and eastern Arizona.  

Additionally, we’ve been in frequent communication with wildlife managers in other states in the Western Wildway and beyond who are also concerned about the impacts these developments might have on resident and migrant wildlife. All signs point to a major boom in renewable energy over the next several decades, and, with our established partnerships (as well as future ones), I’m excited for the impact that our research can have on this field. 

What have you learned from working across state, federal, private, and Tribal jurisdictions in the Four Corners? 

There tends to be a lot less communication across jurisdictional boundaries than you might think. Federal, state, and Tribal agencies don’t always collaborate or even communicate with each other within a state, let alone across state lines. A lot of that is starting to change, especially within the connectivity and migration space since, fundamentally, this work is predicated on the idea that wildlife are shared across boundaries. It has been really rewarding to help facilitate greater collaboration and connect people who have these shared values and resources in common. 

How do you envision Wildlands Network shaping the West’s conservation landscape in the future? 

I’ve been especially proud of our ability to pass legislation and secure funding for wildlife crossings not only in the West but across the country. That work is far from over, of course, but we continue to be integrally involved in numerous campaigns that will result in the design, construction, and completion of wildlife crossings. Twenty years from now, I’m confident that we’ll be able to look back and say that Wildlands Network played an outsized role in networks of wildlife crossings that will enhance and reestablish wildlife migrations and make roads safer for drivers and wildlife.