Todd Wilkinson

Todd Wilkinson is an American environmental journalist and author who has spent more than three decades covering the natural world of the American West, with a particular focus on wildlife conservation, public lands policy, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Based in Bozeman, Montana, he has written for numerous national publications and is a contributing editor at Mountain Journal, an online publication he helped found to cover conservation issues in the Mountain West with depth and rigor.

Among his most celebrated works is Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone (2015), written in collaboration with renowned wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen. The book documents the life of Grizzly 399, one of the most famous and studied wild bears in North America, through Mangelsen’s extraordinary photographs and Wilkinson’s penetrating text. The book became a touchstone for conversations about grizzly bear recovery and the politics of predator conservation in the American West.

Wilkinson is also the author of Last Stand: Ted Turner’s Quest to Save a Troubled Planet (2013), an examination of the media mogul’s sweeping conservation efforts on his vast ranch holdings across the American West. The book explores how private land stewardship can intersect with broader conservation goals, and asks important questions about the role of wealth, power, and vision in the future of biodiversity.

A tireless advocate for rigorous, independent science journalism on conservation issues, Wilkinson has been a consistent voice in debates about wolves, grizzlies, bison, public lands grazing, and the future of wild places in the American West. His career reflects a deep commitment to the idea that conservation depends on informed public debate, and that journalism plays an indispensable role in making that possible.