John Davis, Wildways Trekker

In 2011, John Davis completed TrekEast, a 7,600-mile muscle-powered exploration of wilder parts of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada—sponsored by Wildlands Network and following lines suggested in Dave Foreman’s book Rewilding North America—to promote restoration and protection of an Eastern Wildway. In 2012, John wrote an e-book series about that adventure, Big, Wild, and Connected, published by Island Press. In 2013, John trekked north from Sonora, Mexico along the Spine of the Continent as far as southern British Columbia, Canada promoting habitat connections, big wild cores, and apex predators—all of which would be well served by fuller protection of the Western Wildway he explored during TrekWest (which is featured in the film Born to be Wild).

John Davis serves on boards of RESTORE: The North Woods, Eddy Foundation, Wild Farm Alliance, Champlain Area Trails, and Cougar Rewilding Foundation. John served as editor of Wild Earth journal from 1991-96, when he went to work for the Foundation for Deep Ecology, overseeing their Biodiversity and Wildness grants program from 1997-2002. He then joined the Eddy Foundation as a board member and continues to serve as volunteer land steward for that foundation in its work to conserve lands in Split Rock Wildway. This wildlife corridor links New York’s Champlain Valley with the Adirondack High Peaks via the West Champlain Hills. John served as conservation director of the Adirondack Council from 2005 to 2010, and again joined that team as Rewiding Advocate in 2024. He was the Executive Director of The Rewilding Institute for several years and is now their Wildways Scout.