Rita Clagett

Rita Clagett

Rita Clagett Kenya, Safari Lab

Rita Clagett Michael, Ani, Jan, Noah, Aaron

Rita Clagett Michael posing during a road trip with Rita through Yellowstone and Glacier.

Brenna Kupferman Brenna and Michael's wedding - September 5, 2004

Rita Clagett from Brian Miller: You all know what Michael has done for nature. I don’t need to expound on that legacy. Michael’s dedication and relentless pursuit of good science has stimulated many others around him to pursue careers in conservation. But his scientific achievement was not for personal glory. Michael had a genuine love of nature, and that was his purpose. He once said he felt as if he hadn’t done enough. Indeed, the health of nature has continued to decline, but think where we would be if there had been no Michael Soulé. Michael made our world a better place. He inspired a new army to carry on when he was gone—and we will. Kudos, my friend. You live on in all of us. We will do our best to uphold your example. ~ Brian Miller

Andrew Wong WildCountry Science Council, Australia's 'Wildlands Project'

Andrew Wong Michael was the co-Chair of the WildCountry Science Council for The Wilderness Society Australia... Australia's version of the Wildlands Project.

Andrew Wong Michael with Virginia Young and Alec Marr in Monga National Park, NSW, Australia, in March 2008.

June Soulé June and Michael in Clatskanie Oregon, newly engaged

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Rita Clagett Michael and June married May 9 in Albuquerque, NM

Rita Clagett Here in the valley, we were blessed to know Michael as a friend, and eat, drink and play with him regularly. Michael and Philip, Michael and Dawn, Michael and Cyn

June Soulé June and Michael dodging winter in Trinidad and Tobago. Snorkeling, birding, fruit consumption, mosquito bites

Rita Clagett from Camilla Fox, taken at Project Coyote's Science Advisory Board meeting in Yellowstone. Here is Project Coyote's tribute: http://www.projectcoyote.org/about/michael-soule/ Check out these links for videos featuring Michael: http://www.projectcoyote.org/mediaroom/videos/wildlife-killing-contests-as-senseless-and-cruel/ http://www.projectcoyote.org/mediaroom/videos/on-killing-predators-to-protect-livestock/ http://www.projectcoyote.org/mediaroom/videos/michael-soule-why-i-joined-the-project-coyote-science-advisory-board/ http://www.projectcoyote.org/mediaroom/videos/fostering-coexistence/

Nathan Spillman Michael at closing ceremony at the Society for Conservation Biology's North America Congress for Conservation Biology in Missoula in July 2014.

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Rita Clagett ever playful

Pamela Hassinger

Rita Clagett Michael's niece Brenna sings his favorite song

Nathan Spillman The twin, and twined, lives of Michael Soulé and John Pearse. Michael and John were born on the same day in 1936 and met as graduate students at Stanford in 1959. They shared an apartment in Pacific Grove with George Cooper, and Bill and Diane Austin, and then a house in Palo Alto with Harry Recher. They completed their PhDs in Biological Sciences in 1965 and both took their first teaching positions in Africa, John in Egypt, and Michael in Malawi. Their various teaching posts that followed included time at UC San Diego, research and sabbatical time in the South Pacific, and finally, both finished their academic careers as professors at UC Santa Cruz, retiring in 1994. While John continued his connection with the university and his mentoring of many graduate students, Michael pursued a path of wildlife advocacy, founding Wildlands Network. It was on a Wildlands benefit trip to Africa that I met John and Vicki in 2014. John was always in Michael's thoughts. Michael was aware that John had been struggling with complications of cancer and stroke. When we returned this year from Baja California, Michael knew his friend's situation was dire. The Covid 19 pandemic made the prospect of a visit unlikely, so Michael made regular video calls to John to comfort him and compare notes on the inconveniences of aging, and the blessings of having wives to love and care for them. Rather surprisingly, Michael suffered a stroke June 9 that left him paralyzed on his right side, and died before John on June 17. John died July 31, paralyzed on his left side, of complications from stroke, cancer, and atrial fibrillation. I like to think of Michael, somewhere out there, raising a martini glass to welcome John aboard, and reviving the rich and intellectual (but of course also party-house) scene that must have been the most exciting time of their lives. I hope they have a spotting scope trained on some thrilling Pleistocene megafauna, on eternal safari. Meanwhile, the twin sister widows Vicki and June compare notes, and contemplate what the future might be like as we carry on, forever altered by their glorious smiles, and so much else that they are. She knows exactly how It Is, and her words comfort me. To read about John: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnsbigadventure/ and #tidepoolingwithJohn

Rita Clagett Bron Taylor's essay "Michael Soulé on spirituality, ethics, and conservation biology" published in Conservation Biology

Rita Clagett Michael's obituary in Science, written by David W. Inouye and Paul R. Ehrlich.

Nathan Spillman Michael in his element. Photo by Kim Vacariu.

Rita Clagett An 8-minute slideshow with images from Michael's infancy through recent years.

Rita Clagett Enjoy this 20-minute video celebrating Michael's 80th birthday, with tributes from colleagues and photos gathered from friends and family, produced by Rita Clagett