About Western Wildlife Conservancy
Western Wildlife Conservancy works to preserve and protect native wildlife species through research, education, and advocacy focusing on the needs of large carnivores.
Our Vision
Democratic and scientifically virtuous wildlife governance that treats wild land and wildlife as a public trust.
Holistic, ecologically-based wildlife management guided by ethical respect for the beauty of healthy ecosystems and the intrinsic value of all animals.
A network of protected wild landscapes across the continent featuring large expanses of functional wildlife habitat connected by wildlife movement corridors adequate to support enduring viable populations of native wildlife in peaceful coexistence with humans.
Kirk Robinson, Ph. D.
Executive Director
Kirk is a native Utahn. He has spent a big part of his life exploring the deserts, plateaus, rivers and mountains of the West. Before founding Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk was a university professor of philosophy and taught at several colleges and universities in Montana and Utah.
In the 1990s, Kirk and some friends from the Utah Wilderness Association began working to reform Utah wildlife governance and management to make it more democratic, ecologically sound, and compassionate. This led to the founding of a non-profit organization, Western Wildlife Conservancy, to address the issues. Of particular concern is the scientifically and ethically misguided way that native carnivores such as mountain lions, black bears, and gray wolves are treated. The vital role that these intelligent and magnificent creatures play in maintaining the health of ecosystems goes unappreciated, as evidenced by a long history of persecution. In addition to being Executive Director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk is on the Leadership Council of The Rewilding Institute and the Advisory Committee of Wildlife For All.
Prior to Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk was a Professor of Philosophy. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cincinnati and has taught at universities in Montana and Utah. In 2004, he graduated from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah with a certificate in Natural Resource Law to better equip him for work on wildlife conservation issues. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, x-c skiing, river trips, playing the acoustic guitar, and time spent with friends and with his dog Bingo.
Joni Wirts
Board Member
Seeing a wild wolf in Alaska while backcountry skiing was part of the inspiration for a lifelong commitment to wildlife protection. Joni has been a passionate wildlife activist for many years and has acquired diverse experience and education through various endeavors. Joni splits her time training to become a nurse practiitoner, parenting her son, recreating in the Wasatch mountains, and staying active in wildlife issues. Joni initially became involved in wildlife protection issues as a concerned citizen. She began attending and speaking at Wildlife Board meetings, and surrounding herself with like-minded activists in Utah. Joni became a WWC Board Member in 2021. Joni was a Wildlife Protection Intern for the Humane Society of the United States while also studying ecology at the University of Utah for two years. Recently Joni has worked to oppose wildlife killing contests by organizing a campaign in her county. She is also learning how to keep the public engaged with our issues through outreach and education strategies.
Joan Gallegos
Board Member
Joan Gallegos loves living in the Central Wasatch as being in the mountains every day is a special treat for her. Joan has a love of wildlife and enjoys living next to the moose, elk, deer, bobcats, eagles, and coyotes that are frequent visitors to the wild lands surrounding her house. Her passion for protecting large predators began in Michigan in the late 1970s when the eastern gray timber wolf was returning to the Upper Pennisula. She was active in the Wolfstock Foundation, an organization dedicated to assisting with the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s.
Advocating for banning kill contests and coyotes has been a focus of her recent work. Presently, she is concentrating on overturning the egregious mountain lion state law which allows for increased hunting of this species year-round. Joan has been a Board member of the Western Wildlife Conservancy since 2022 and is active in advocating for the preservation of large predators and the return of the gray wolf to Utah.
Steve Erickson
Board Member
Steve Erickson has been a community organizer, nonprofit executive director, and an advocate for peace and social, economic and environmental justice for over forty years. He has led numerous successful campaigns and influenced policy on a wide variety of issues, from establishing the first resource center and transitional housing for homeless teens in Salt Lake City and working for justice for downwinders to halting plans for the development of biological weapons labs, electronic warfare ranges and private prisons in the state. He currently serves as a consultant and Board member of the Great Basin Water Network. He is a lobbyist for the Utah Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, a low income advocate for the anti-poverty nonprofit Crossroads Urban Center, and is the volunteer director of the watchdog group Citizens Education Project.