Hank Fischer

Hank Fischer is special projects coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation. From 1977–2002 he covered the Northern Rockies (Montana, Idaho and Wyoming) for Defenders of Wildlife. Fischer has been intensively involved with endangered species restoration, particularly with efforts involving wolves, grizzly bears, and black-footed ferrets. In 1987 he created Defenders of Wildlife’s Wolf Compensation Trust, which uses private funds to compensate livestock producers for verified livestock losses caused by wolves. In 1997 he created a similar program for grizzly bears.

Fischer was a leader in the ten-year effort to restore wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho, chronicled in his 1995 book, Wolf Wars. More recently, he led a collaborative effort between conservationists, the timber industry and organized labor to restore grizzly bears to central Idaho. He has been involved in a variety of issues involving public lands and has led efforts to create statewide wildlife viewing systems for Montana and Idaho. Fischer is author of the Montana Wildlife Viewing Guide (1993) and was project director for the publication, Building Economic Incentives into the Endangered Species Act. He holds an M.S. in environmental studies from the University of Montana. He has won numerous awards, including the 2001 Edward Lowe Enviro-Capitalist Award.