Marissa Ortega-Welch
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marissaortegawelch.bsky.social
Marissa Ortega-Welch
@marissaortegawelch.bsky.social
Science & environmental journalist.
Producer of How Wild, a podcast about wilderness and how it's changing: howwild.org
Editor, KALW Public Media
Bird nerd
she/her


Pinned
Nice to see you all here! For the record, I came to this party a while ago & no one was here so I left.

I'm a journalist & creator of the How Wild podcast. I can't promise I'll be very active on here, but I like reading others' snarky/smart takes on things!

www.npr.org/podcasts/510...
How Wild
How Wild hits trails around the country, exploring the meaning of wilderness. A century ago, the U.S. set aside the first official wilderness. You'll hear stories from rangers, scientists, hikers, environmentalists, and Tribal leaders as they grapple with the realities of wilderness on a changing planet, and whether the concept of "wilderness" has ever really existed.
www.npr.org
This Tuesday 7/22 at 7pm

I'll be interviewing the former director of the National Park Service Jon Jarvis about the state of national parks and public lands and the current threats to them.

If you're in the Bay, come join us!

It's free to register below.

www.eventbrite.com/e/how-wild-t...
How Wild: The State of California’s Public Lands
KALW's How Wild podcast hosts a special live edition about the state of California public lands in light of federal government cuts.
www.eventbrite.com
July 18, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
Clio's is a treasure, and this sounds like a conversation of interest to all of us who love the bay and the ocean.
Bay Area folks - come thru! Me and Charles Hood in convo at Clio's Books this Thursday!

This is such a good book and I'm looking forward to nerding out with Charles about albatross, flying fish, and arguably one of the most wild places of all, the ocean.
Oakland! Thurs 7/17 Heyday author Charles Hood is here fr SoCal talking w/ @marissaortegawelch.bsky.social at Clio's about his new book of essays on the Pacific Ocean, its wild ways, and the birds that spend a lifetime above and on its waters.

thethirdplace.is/event/charle...
July 15, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Bay Area folks - come thru! Me and Charles Hood in convo at Clio's Books this Thursday!

This is such a good book and I'm looking forward to nerding out with Charles about albatross, flying fish, and arguably one of the most wild places of all, the ocean.
Oakland! Thurs 7/17 Heyday author Charles Hood is here fr SoCal talking w/ @marissaortegawelch.bsky.social at Clio's about his new book of essays on the Pacific Ocean, its wild ways, and the birds that spend a lifetime above and on its waters.

thethirdplace.is/event/charle...
The Third Place | Software for Local Businesses to Build a Sense of Home and Community
thethirdplace.is
July 14, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Yosemite has now banned flags in wilderness areas, saying they're a violation of the Wilderness Act. This is coming after a year of El Cap climbers having hung a large banner saying "Stop the genocide," an upside American flag, and a trans pride flag. From SFGate:

www.sfgate.com/california-p...
Yosemite bans flags at El Capitan with threat of 6-month jail sentence
There are steep new penalties for those who hang flags in Yosemite.
www.sfgate.com
June 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
National Parks and other Dept. of Interior sites are now required to hang signs around their properties with a link to a website where visitors can report if the park has any info that is "negative about either past or living Americans." Here's the official template for the sign.
June 6, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Advocates at Olympic Nat'l Park call on Sec. of Interior Doug Burgum to "stop firing rangers."

"My family works for the park.[...]They have been going to bed in tears every single night not knowing if they are going to show up to their dream career in the morning."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybBy...
Olympic National Park – Doug Burgum | May 13, 2025
YouTube video by #KQ6eKX9#f6k9j6o
www.youtube.com
May 15, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
El Capitan displays a massive American flag upside down—the traditional signal of distress or extreme emergency.
February 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
People are demonstrating outside of Oakland’s Kaiser building tonight, where Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is speaking. Folks are chanting things like Stop the coup,” “Do your job,” and “Grow a spine.”
February 22, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
🎙️ON AIR:

We're speaking with environmental journalist @marissaortegawelch.bsky.social , environmental historian Phoebe Young, and outdoor educator Aparna Rajagopal about the complex history and future of our wildest landscapes.

❓What does wilderness mean for you?

📻 Listen:
Forum from the Archives: What Does Wilderness Mean in our Modern World? | KQED
We talk about the complex history and future of our wildest landscapes.
buff.ly
February 17, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
Hundreds of protesters gather outside Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to demand it roll back restrictions on transgender care for youth:
February 7, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
California DOE fires back against Trump's executive order:

"It does nothing"

"It is against federal law for the White House to dictate what educators can and cannot teach"

Will not comply.
January 31, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
Donald Trump has just released a national under 18 trans care ban executive order. I am working through specifically how it tries to do this, and will live tweet here section by section as I read through it.

It is not yet on the website, but has been released via press release.
January 28, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
this is the thing not to lose sight of.

yes, the biology of sex is complex and fascinating, with nearly endless diversity.

but also we don't use biology to decide who gets human rights. like, historically speaking that has not led to good places!
Yes, but... Remember that they don't care about truth, or science, or biology. Science alone won't win political battles. Being right doesn't mean we get to control the narrative. I recommend that scientists say things like "You're wrong about the biology, but also trans rights are human rights."
January 21, 2025 at 11:09 PM
FYC, Starter Packs to add me to:

- Long-form narrative audio journos who only listen to Drag Race recap podcasts
- Birders but ones who aren't that obsessive & like what really is a species, ya know?!
- Anxious people who drink coffee & then wonder why they have an anxiety attack every day at 10am
November 26, 2024 at 8:25 PM
The show I work for, KALW's Crosscurrents, is doing a live event on Friday! I'll play an excerpt from HOW WILD along with performances from Uncuffed's Greg Eskridge, Sights & Sounds' Jenee Darden, a local poet & dance troupe.

If you're in the Bay, come thru!

www.eventbrite.com/e/crosscurre...
Crosscurrents Live
Be in community with the Crosscurrents family for an uplifting evening of joyful Bay Area stories.
www.eventbrite.com
November 20, 2024 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Marissa Ortega-Welch
2 #podcast series I’ve been really enjoying are “The 30 Year Project” hosted by @jduffyrice.bsky.social for Vera Institute, & “How Wild” hosted by @marissaortegawelch.bsky.social in partnership w/ KALW & @npr.org
I highly recommend them both!

⚖️ www.vera.org/podcast
🌳 www.howwild.org

#law #eco
September 17, 2024 at 2:55 PM
Nice to see you all here! For the record, I came to this party a while ago & no one was here so I left.

I'm a journalist & creator of the How Wild podcast. I can't promise I'll be very active on here, but I like reading others' snarky/smart takes on things!

www.npr.org/podcasts/510...
How Wild
How Wild hits trails around the country, exploring the meaning of wilderness. A century ago, the U.S. set aside the first official wilderness. You'll hear stories from rangers, scientists, hikers, environmentalists, and Tribal leaders as they grapple with the realities of wilderness on a changing planet, and whether the concept of "wilderness" has ever really existed.
www.npr.org
November 18, 2024 at 11:08 PM