Michelle Lute is the Executive Director of Wildlife for All, a national movement to reform state wildlife management to be more democratic, just, compassionate, and focused on protecting wild species and ecosystems.
Michelle has always wanted to work with animals. First she wanted to be a vet. Then she wanted to be an attorney focusing on wildlife cases. But she found her path by becoming a scientist, and holds a PhD in wildlife conservation (from Michigan State). Her area of specialization is carnivores. She joined Wildlife for All in 2023.
For a long time in my wildlife advocacy career, I started butting up against the realization that was the foundation of Wildlife for All: a number of wildlife advocates realized [we were fighting archaic methods like leg-hold traps and wildlife killing contests] state by state by state. … And if we looked at the process by which decisions get made on the state level, maybe we’d get better wildlife management and achieve actual, authentic wildlife conservation … by focusing on the decision-making process [itself] … We’re not focused on a partiular practice or a particular species.
Michelle Lute, PhD, Lunch + Legislation, April 7, 2025
Michelle noted that with the current Administration, more focus will be on staautte-level advocacy rather than federal level activity. She sees this as an opportunity for WFA.
When an audience member asked about defining “conservation”, WFA’s values came into sharp focus. Authentic conservation is focused on ecosystem not species (usually game) level while considering the intrinsic value of individuals.
Michelle also discussed the word “science” and how it is used by both wildlife advocates and those representing more consumptive approaches to wildlife policy. Here’s a link to the full interview. The discussion about science begins ~ 28:28. It’s worth a listen!