CHARLES WOLF DRIMAL
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION
Charles manages conservation issues related to river protection, climate change, and tribal conservation. He cut his teeth as a conservationist by cofounding the Montana Backcountry Alliance in 2004. He joined GYC in 2011 to work on wildlands protections of Wyoming’s Absaroka Beartooth Front. His efforts contributed to protecting over a million acres of roadless lands from oil and gas surface development and motorized recreation use
In 2014 he shifted his attention to protecting 20 of Montana's iconic, free-flowing rivers with the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. He helped Senator Tester introduce the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act in 2020 and worked with a coalition to pass the East Rosebud Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 2018. Charles is a co-author of the Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment and served an instrumental role in organizing the Wind River Inter-Tribal Gathering to elevate Indigenous connections to the 150th Anniversary of Yellowstone National Park. He has undergraduate and master’s degrees in Environmental Studies and Ecopsychology from Dartmouth College, the University of Montana, and Naropa University.
In his other life, he performs original indie folk music, sits zazen, runs trails, skis powder, dreams of the next surf trip with his wife, and teaches their three children reverence for the Earth. He’s grateful to know the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as home.
Favorite Greater Yellowstone Animal: A tie between red-tailed hawk and wolverine
Conservation Hero: Gary Snyder
Book I’d Recommend: Zen Mind Beginners Mind by Suzuki Roshi
