WELCOME

I’ve always loved wildlife. When I was about six years old, I started an “Endangered Species Club” in my backyard treehouse (we had three members), and went door to door and my neighbors for spare change to “save the animals.” When one neighbor asked what I was going to do with the money, I said, “Maybe scientists can build machines or something.” 

 

My passion for wildlife and the outdoors inspired my first dream job to become a park ranger. I spent the first half of my career working for different public land management agencies and non-profit organizations. Sometimes with official title of “park ranger,” and sometimes with other titles. The heart of a park ranger have always guided me: protect those less able to protect themselves, including wildlife and the land itself; serve my communities and those in them; and share whatever knowledge and wisdom I’ve picked up during with whomever is willing to learn.

 

I figured I would eventually write a memoir, become an educator, and/or start a business. Appease my family and friends by compiling and sharing my adventures, mishaps, and amusing anecdotes from my time as a park ranger, teach the next generation of conservation professionals, and earn a bit of money to supplement my retirement savings. The word “eventually” gnawed at me though. In early 2020, I lost two loved ones unexpectedly; one of my best friends and a cousin. Both men were only in their early 40’s, and it was an awful reminder there was no guarantee I would live to retire and work on those eventual projects.

 

I was (and am) also concerned that the world’s challenges are not happening tomorrow. Climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the sixth mass extinction, the collapse of ocean ecosystems, and the increasingly severe environmental hazards and are not going to wait another 20 or 30 years for me to eventually work on and address. They’re happening now, and action is required now. It’s not going to be just government actions that address these issues. There is a role for individuals, academic institutions and researchers, non-profits organizations and NGOs, and the private sector.

 

So in 2025, I hung up my ranger hat, and committed myself to Oso Strategics LLC full-time. Oso Strategics is my effort to connect with stakeholders I wouldn’t otherwise cross paths with, and collaborate with them on building a more sustainable and just world for all of us, including the wildlife we share the planet with. Broadly speaking, Oso Strategics is a Community and Economic Development firm, and we are interested in everything it takes to create sustainable communities. We specialize, however, in working with entrepreneurs and business owners to launch sustainable tourism businesses in rural communities, develop and improve their businesses, and grow as business and community leaders.

 

I hope Oso Strategics’s work will inspire people to appreciate and conserve the world around them and share it with others. And maybe fund those wildlife saving machines.

Welcome,

Joe, Founder & CEO