Rewilding Earth Podcast Episode 153: Preparing For A Catamount Homecoming in the Northeast

Date: August 22, 2025
Host: Jack Humphrey, The Rewilding Institute
Guest: Renee Secor, Northeast Rewilding Director, Mighty Earth

Overview: The Homecoming of the Catamount

This episode focuses on the ambitious and increasingly viable plan to reintroduce the catamount (also known as mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, painter, and wildcat) to the Northeastern United States. Host Jack Humphrey and guest Renee Secor, now Northeast Rewilding Director at Mighty Earth, delve into the ecological, cultural, and logistical facets of large carnivore recovery, focusing on how and why the Northeast may soon welcome back this keystone species—and what it will take from communities, scientists, conservationists, and policymakers to make it possible.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Catamount’s Place in Regional Identity and Culture

• Cultural Symbolism:
  • The catamount has become a regional mascot and a commercial icon, symbolizing strength and resilience, despite its absence from the landscape for over a century.
    • “All of the qualities that we had really humans had feared in Catamounts all of a sudden became qualities that we really admired. Their strength, independence, their resiliency, athleticism...” — Renee [00:02]
  • Catamount imagery permeates everything from university mascots (UVM, Middlebury College) to local businesses.
  • “They're on our jerseys, but they're not in our forests. And it's time to bring them back into our forests.” — Attributed to John Davis, quoted by Renee [00:58]

2. Why the Northeast, Why Now?

• Historical Absence:
  • Top carnivores (wolves, catamounts) were eradicated in the 1800s via bounties and deforestation.
  • Unlike in the West, these species have not repopulated the region naturally.
• A Landscape Restored:
  • The Northeast saw massive deforestation but has rebounded—Vermont is now ~80% forested [05:05].
  • Conservation organizations (Northeast Wilderness Trust, Adirondack Land Trust, Nature Conservancy’s Staying Connected) have restored core habitats and vital corridors.

3. Is There Enough Suitable Habitat?

• Challenging Myths of Space:
  • The Northeast boasts huge contiguous habitat blocks, such as Adirondack Park (~6.1 million acres), Green Mountain and White Mountain National Forests [08:04].
  • Studies have identified at least 13 contiguous habitat patches of 10,000+ km², the threshold for sustaining viable cougar populations [08:56].
    • “It is true that the Northeast does have a large contiguous habitat that could sustain large carnivores like cougars or catamounts.” — Renee [08:04]

4. The Major Challenge: Human Factors, Not Habitat

• Natural Dispersal Won’t Work:
  • Modeling shows it would take over 100 years for cougars to naturally recolonize the Northeast. Major blockages: roads, human communities, and hunting pressure in the Midwest and Plains [12:05–13:30].
• Active Reintroduction Needed:
  • “If we want them back in the northeast, it's going to have to be an active effort to reestablish them here and to bring them home.” — Renee [13:57]

5. Coexistence: The Fourth "C" of Rewilding

• Community Buy-In is Essential:
  • Public support and willingness to coexist are crucial—strong scientific design alone isn’t enough.
  • Community education and dialogue are the backbone, as shown in cases like Colorado wolf reintroduction and Patagonian jaguar projects [14:42–15:46].
  • Vermont survey results: a 12:1 ratio of strong support vs. opposition to catamount restoration [16:51].
    • “For every one person opposing cougar reintroduction, there are 12 people who strongly support it.” — Renee [16:57]
• Addressing Concerns:
  • Opposition often comes from rural communities, concerned about livestock or safety. Most “conflict” is perceptual, not actual [18:16–20:44].
    • “There's a difference between perception of conflict and actual conflict…what we know is that they're extremely, extremely rare. Far less likely than…even vending machines.” — Renee [19:34]

6. Practical Solutions & Unique Northeast Context

• Conflict Mitigation Tools:
  • The Northeast’s smaller farms, lack of public land grazing, and existing use of night enclosures offer promising context for successful coexistence [31:51].
  • Effective tools: livestock guardian dogs, electric fencing, fox lights, and newly developed conflict-reduction technology [33:05].
• Learning from Elsewhere:
  • Lessons from wolf and jaguar reintroductions: persistent relationship-building and agency/citizen collaboration are key, both pre- and post-reintroduction [25:13–27:30].

7. Ecological, Philosophical, and Cultural Restoration

• The Loss is More than Ecological:
  • Reintroducing catamounts is seen as both ecological repair (reinstituting keystone predator) and cultural healing.
  • “This offers a chance to confront that kind of profound ecological and cultural loss.” — Renee [28:16]
  • “Being in an ecosystem with its full suite of species is something really special, even if you're not physically seeing that animal, knowing that we're kind of one part of this larger kind of intricate web of life…” — Renee [30:36]
• Analogy of Legacy:
  • Rewilding is compared to “planting a tree whose shade you’ll never sit in”—most will never see a catamount, but all benefit from an intact ecosystem [31:08].

8. Timelines, Public Involvement, and Next Steps

• Timeline:
  • Hopeful scenario: five years for a feasibility study and strong public consensus, possibly cougars on the landscape within a decade [34:32].
    • “In a hopeful vision, five plus year timeline, obviously big goal, definitely within the next decade, it would be amazing to see cougars on the ground…” — Renee [34:45]
• Get Involved:
  • Mighty Earth is building a robust volunteer network. Sign up at mightyearth.org, and a campaign page is forthcoming [36:38].
  • Citizen scientists and local advocates are encouraged to participate in “catamount conversations” and groundwork.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Catamounts as Cultural Icons:

  • “They're on our jerseys, but they're not in our forests. And it's time to bring them back into our forests.” — John Davis, via Renee [00:58]

• On Habitat Suitability:

  • “It's a region that underwent 80% deforestation in some areas and now has rebounded in so many ways due in large part to some of the key conservation groups…” — Renee [24:36]

• On Coexistence:

  • “A coexistence-friendly landscape is a prerequisite to large carnivore recovery.” — Renee [24:16]

• On Perceived vs. Actual Conflict:

  • “Perceived conflict is actually the vast majority… it doesn't help that these are highly sensationalized in the media…” — Renee [19:04]
  • “You're far less likely to be killed by a cougar than…vending machines.” — Renee [19:40]

• On Rewilding Philosophy:

  • “Rewilding… is almost our recognition again that we're one species among… many that are bound together in like this intricate web of life.” — Renee [31:53]

Important Timestamps

• 00:02 — Catamounts as cultural icons and mascots
• 02:16 — Renee explains her role and Mighty Earth’s mission
• 05:05 — Restoration success and the history of carnivore loss
• 08:04 — Habitat availability and size in the Northeast
• 13:57 — Why active reintroduction (not waiting) is needed
• 16:51 — Public support ratios for cougar restoration
• 19:04 — Addressing conflict: myth vs. reality
• 24:16 — The necessity of coexistence as a "fourth C"
• 28:01 — The cultural and ecological loss of catamounts
• 31:08 — “Planting a tree whose shade you'll never sit in” as legacy analogy
• 33:05 — Tools for conflict mitigation
• 34:32 — Realistic timeline for reintroduction
• 36:38 — Public involvement and how to help

How Listeners Can Get Involved

• Volunteer & Stay Updated:
  • Subscribe at mightyearth.org for newsletters and campaign updates.
  • Watch for the upcoming Eastern Rewilding Project campaign page.
• Ground Truthing & Citizen Science:
  • Northeast residents can sign up for on-the-ground opportunities (check podcast info or Mighty Earth links).
  • Attend “catamount conversations” and public forums.
• Find Resources:
  • Extra materials and actionable links will be posted with the episode at rewilding.org/pod.

Tone & Takeaways

The episode is passionate, hopeful, and pragmatic. The speakers stress that ecosystem restoration must be a cooperative process—a blend of science, heart, cultural healing, and community action. The Northeast is poised to make history, but success will depend on continued outreach, education, and the willingness to embrace coexistence.

Listen and learn more at: rewilding.org/pod
Contact & volunteer: mightyearth.org