Charlie Chester

Charles C. Chester

Charles C. Chester teaches global environmental politics at Brandeis University and the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where he is an adjunct assistant professor of international environmental policy. He is the author of Conservation Across Borders: Biodiversity in an Interdependent World , which focuses on case studies of transborder conservation in North America. He is also co-author of Climate and Conservation. Chester has consulted for the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, and other environmental organizations. He is currently cochair of the board of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and has served on the boards of Bat Conservation International and Root Capital.

Photo credit: Flock/bandada by Flickr.com user Rafael Edwards

Confessions of an Ecoporn Addict

By Charles C. Chester / On June 26th, 2013
I’m on a site tour, standing with a group of dedicated conservation advocates in a field just outside of Troy, Montana. It’s a truly unimpressive place. A nondescript forested ridge lies in the far distance, a couple of well-kept houses and not-so-well-kept shacks are strewn about in the near distance, I look down to see some nondescript scrub under our feet—and then there’s the rural highway behind me.
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Tool Chests, Toolboxes, and Tool Belts

By Charles C. Chester / On January 28th, 2013
On Monday, June 18, 1883, “Darwin’s bulldog” made a big mistake. Famous for his pugilistic defense of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, Thomas Henry Huxley played a prominent role in English society—and on this particular day he was delivering the inaugural address to the assembled representatives at London’s “great International Fisheries Exhibition.” Over twenty governmental entities, some as far flung as China and Tasmania, displayed their wares at the Exhibition, so this was no small honor for the great English scientist.
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Revisiting Leopold in the National Parks

By Charles C. Chester / On October 2nd, 2012
The US National Park Service protects National Seashores, National Battlefields, National Monuments, National Historic Sites, National Memorials, and even National Parks. In total, the agency manages 397 “units” across the country and its territories.
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The Wolverine and the Refrigerator

By Charles C. Chester / On July 30th, 2012
One of Marvel Comics' most popular characters, Wolverine, was born with the genetic mutation allowing him to recover rapidly from any injury. Combine that with the Canadian [sic] government's program to replace his skeleton with the indestructible metal adamantium, and you have one tough character. The character's eponymous creature is also one tough critter, one that thrives in frozen mountain habitats and has been reported to scare off grizzlies from their kills.