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Heidi Ridgley
Senior Editor, Defenders Magazine
As senior editor for Defenders Magazine, Heidi travels all over the country—and sometimes outside it—to write about wildlife in peril and how Defenders of Wildlife and others in the field of conservation are helping to ensure our planet’s most charismatic creatures survive into the next century. Some of her most interesting assignments have included traveling to the Pantanal in Brazil—to get up close and personal with giant river otters impacted by logging and by mercury contamination from gold mining—and clambering around abandoned mines in Illinois in search of the endangered Indiana bat. She’s also chased after cougars in Missouri, sought out ocelots along the Gulf Coast of Texas and spent hours observing San Joaquin kit fox families romping in California.
Before working at Defenders of Wildlife, she was an editor at National Wildlife magazine.
Heidi has degrees in journalism and history from the University of Wisconsin.
Contact Information
Email: heidi.ridgley@defenders.org


















