Join host Jeff Corwin on an epic adventure across the Great Plains of the United States on a mission to understand the connection between the incredible species that call it home. First, Jeff travels

Join host Jeff Corwin on an epic adventure across the Great Plains of the United States on a mission to understand the connection between the incredible species that call it home. First, Jeff travels to the Canadian border to help Native American tribes re-establish bison across tribal lands. Jeff learns how ancient bison herds once shaped the Great Plains and how modern conservationists are fighting to bring those herds back. Later, Jeff works with biologists to manage a delicate population of black-footed ferrets, a species once believed to be extinct. Jeff discovers how wild bison play a vital role in ferret survival and the survival of the Great Plains themselves. Video transcript: Jeff Corwin: Welcome to Northeast Montana, home of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian community. I'm with Jonathan Proctor, from Defenders of Wildlife. It's now about minus nine. Look at our backdrop, we've got American bison. John, they are forever interconnected to this ecosystem. Jonathan Proctor: Yes, this is one of the most important keystone species in the entire Great Plains. This species had an outsized importance, numerous impacts on the environment that benefited a whole host of other wildlife. Jeff Corwin: The bison behind us are descendants of a great and ancient herd, over 30 million animals that moved like a living wave across North America. But this species was nearly wiped out with the western expansion of America and industrial hunting. The deliberate mass slaughter of bison was devastating to the Great Plains, and especially to the native tribes that depended upon them as a food and cultural resource. Tragically, at the start of the 20th century, fewer than 1000 American bison were left alive. Jonathan Proctor: The loss of the bison historically, about a hundred years ago, had ripple effects throughout the entire Great Plains. All of the predators and scavengers that depended on the bison for food disappeared as a result. Bison graze down the grass, which benefit prairie dogs, and so many other species depend on prairie dogs. So when the bison were removed, the whole system unraveled. Jeff Corwin: So, the big challenge we face is to reintegrate them into the ecosystem because this environment, the prairie needs the bison. Jonathan Proctor: To achieve that goal, we need to restore at least 10 large bison herds back to the Great Plains. When we get to that level, we will have truly saved the bison and the environment that it once evolved in and helped create. Jeff Corwin: Leading the charge is the Intertribal Buffalo Council, a group of 76 native tribal communities working to establish new and wild bison herds across the Great Plains. This morning, Robbie Magnan and his team are moving 56 bison from Montana to their new home in Oklahoma. Robbie, for the many tribal communities, bison are so very important, even today. Robbie Magnan: Yes, that's very much so. They're helping us restore our culture, because they've always been part of our culture. And now, we have our opportunity to reconnect with them and restore our culture with them. Jeff Corwin: But here's the thing, we can't get these bison to Oklahoma until we corral them, and that my friends, is going to be a challenge. You ready to do this? Robbie Magnan: Yeah. Jeff Corwin: All right, let's go. Speaker 4: All right, look sharp, stay together. Jeff Corwin: So, what is the plan, Robbie? Robbie Magnan: The buffalo are in a temporary holding pen that we have to round them up. Sometimes it's not so easy. Follow me! Jeff Corwin: Woo, hold on. So you can kind of see what we're trying to do, right here. It's a little bit of chaos, organized chaos. And what we're trying to do is move them into the corral, make sure they're healthy, and then share them with another Native American community. Ooh. Robbie Magnan: You okay? Jeff Corwin: Yeah. Ooh, rock. Rock. Robbie Magnan: Take what you got. Take what you got, guys. Take what you got! Speaker 5: Here they come. Jeff Corwin: Okay, so we didn't get the whole herd, but we've got about half the herd, right here. We're moving them down this quarter and into the corral they go. Robbie, who do I invoice my chiropractor bill to? Now that we've got almost half the herd into the pen, Robbie guides them into a series of smaller quarters. Here, they can be individually identified and have their final health checks before their trip to Oklahoma. Robbie Magnan: Okay, get in there. Jeff Corwin: All right, all right, there we go. We've hit our character limit. Leave a comment for the rest of the transcript.

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Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure through central Florida as he helps save threatened gopher tortoises from a new real estate development. Later, Jeff uncovers how gopher tortoises contribute to

Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure through central Florida as he helps save threatened gopher tortoises from a new real estate development. Later, Jeff uncovers how gopher tortoises contribute to Florida’s entire ecosystem by providing important habitat for many other species. To learn more about the wildlife featured in the episode, visit www.defenders.org/wildlifenation Video Transcript: Jeff Corwin: Our adventure begins in Central Florida, where an amazing species of reptile has lived for  millions of years. Jeff Corwin: So friends, right now, we're working with an incredible project, and it's all about rescuing these amazing creatures. This is the incredible, the iconic, gopher tortoise. Kent, I can't think of a more amazing symbol of old wild Florida than this, but today they're in serious trouble. Why are these tortoises disappearing? Kent Wimmer: Because of development pressures and land uses that don't protect their habitat. Jeff Corwin: In Florida, neighborhoods are popping up left and right. How many people move here every day? Kent Wimmer: 1,000 people a day. Jeff Corwin: To make room for people, means we lose habitat, and a species like this depends on a very specific type of habitat. Jeff Corwin: Gopher tortoises are expert diggers. Every year, they dig out several long tunnels deep underground, where they are protected from weather, fires, and predators.  And these master excavators play a critical role in Florida's entire ecosystem. Kent Wimmer: Gopher tortoises are one of nature's engineers. Over 360 species live in gopher tortoise burrows. They're one of the most important species we have in Florida. Jeff Corwin: We've got Kent from Defenders, and we have Carissa who is from Saving Florida's Gopher Tortoises. Carissa, these tunnels can go how many feet? Carissa Kent: In the center of the State, they'll go down to 25, 35 feet. They dig to the water table. Jeff Corwin: You're talking about 25 feet down. Carissa Kent: Correct. Jeff Corwin: I'm not talking length- Carissa Kent: Length. Jeff Corwin: ... just down. Carissa Kent: Just down. Jeff Corwin: This sandy type soil you find in Florida is ideal for tortoises. But, it's also ideal for homesteading,  real estate, and construction, isn't it? Carissa Kent: Correct. So the same places that tortoises want to live, humans want to live. So, there has to be a balance there somewhere. So we work on projects, unfortunately, that had an old permit system, where the developers are able to purchase a permit to bury them alive. Jeff Corwin: Under Florida regulations, many older gopher tortoise permits still allow developers to destroy their burrows and seal them underground beneath layers of concrete. And many other species that live in their burrows, can be routinely killed.   Jeff Corwin: This lot, which is home to gopher tortoises, is now going to be ripped up, torn down, and made room for a development, a neighborhood. That's where Carissa's group with partners like Defenders come in. We've come to this place, to get whatever tortoises are living here out of harm's way. Because if we don't, they'll be forever buried under a neighborhood of concrete. Carissa Kent: Correct. Jeff Corwin: All right. Shall we go save some tortoises? Carissa Kent: I'm ready. Kent Wimmer: Let's go. Jeff Corwin: Let's do it. Carissa Kent: Let's go. Carissa Kent: All right, found one guys. Kent Wimmer: Hey. Carissa Kent: All right. It's right here. Jeff Corwin: All right. Yep, I can see that. Kent Wimmer: Good job. Carissa Kent: Yeah, I see tracks and some nice little trails right there. So, we're hoping this is definitely  a gopher tortoise that's physically in here. Jeff Corwin: There could be dozen of critters down there, but there's only one way to find out, and we've  got some technology to do that, don't we Carissa? Carissa Kent: We sure do. Jeff Corwin: Carissa carefully feeds a small camera deep into the hole, to see if anyone is at home. Carissa: All right. It's curving to the left a little bit. And- Jeff Corwin: Look at that. A tortoise. Carissa Kent: There is our tortoise. Kent Wimmer: All right. Jeff Corwin: So, we've confirmed tortoise, what do we do? Carissa Kent: It's time to excavate. Jeff Corwin: All right, let's do it. Carissa Kent: All right, let's go. Kent Wimmer: All right. Jeff Corwin: In order to safely excavate the gopher tortoise, we rely on some heavy-duty industrial earth moving equipment to help clear away the top soil. Jeff Corwin: This is about being very, very gentle and approaching this hole as gingerly as possible, isn't it? Carissa Kent: Absolutely. Obviously, we're digging with very, very large machinery here, so our number one goal is not to hurt this tortoise. But we need this machine to get this tortoise out of the ground. So how we do that, is delicately. We've hit our character limit. Leave us a comment for the rest of the transcript.

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This episode, dropping October 22, 2021, features Kathy Baughman McLeod (Atlantic Council). She discusses extreme heat risks, insurance solutions, and global climate resilience. Learn more at

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