Wildlife will benefit from his leadership. Let's equip one of our most promising young conservation leaders, José Juan Rodriquez Gutierrez Estrada, with the tools he needs to be successful by funding his way to The Wildlife Society Conference in Rohnert Park, CA this February 6th -9th. (No donation is too small. $10 would be a great help!). We need 1700 dollars to invest in this very effective young conservation leader. And with 2300 we could send an additional young conservation leader. --Griff Griffith

Here's a message from José Juan:

"¡Hola!

I'm a passionate advocate for connecting the natural world to people that have been isolated from it. Having grown up in a large city and wanting to expand my horizons, my journey led me to Cal Poly Humboldt.

Despite the challenges of recent years, including a global lockdown, I graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt last year with a major in Wildlife Biology Management and Conservation. This academic journey allowed me to collaborate with the Yurok Tribe and Save The Redwoods League to study previously released California condors, immerse myself in ancient redwood forests through the Redwoods Rising apprenticeship, and gave me the chance to publish an environmental children's book in Spanish.

However, the lockdown during my college years also deprived me of attending conferences and connecting with fellow conservation enthusiasts. Now, I have the exciting opportunity to attend a wildlife conference that could further enrich my knowledge and contribute to my mission. I'm not able to do this on my own but I am reaching out to you for support in making this dream a reality.

Thank you for taking the time to read a piece of my story and I am grateful for any assistance you can provide in helping me attend this conference.

Gracias, José Juan"

More from Griff: This is Griff Griffith–Lifelong conservationist, Spokesfolk and social media edu-tainer for Redwoods Rising, and podcast host for Jumpstart Nature. José Juan is one of the most promising young conservation leaders I’ve met yet. And I know more than a few! He, along with his wife Tania, even written a book about the environment for kids in Spanish! He is also a very accomplished field biologist for his age with experience ranging from California condors to salmon to salamanders. Let's raise $1,700 to cover his wildlife conference expenses. This goal would include a ticket for his wife Tania, an environmental educator and California State Park natural and cultural resource interpreter. Tania is not only a dedicated advocate for bilingual nature education in the parks but also a Cal Poly Humboldt Alumni who is now a dedicated member of the local community.

If we go over our 1700 dollar goal, anything over that could go toward my hotel bill which would be immensely helpful to me, as well.

Conservationists, this is the leadership we want in the future, so let's invest in one of those leaders now. Let's send José Juan to The Wildlife Society Conference!

Thank you for helping. -Griff

Attn: We reached our goal for Jose Juan, Tania, and we even raised enough to pay for some of Griff's hotel. We are now going over our original goal, thanks to you, so we have added a new goal. We are now fundraising to send Indigenous Forestry Major Francisco Saevedra to an upcoming Forestry Conference, as well.