Becca Aceto - Forging Her Own Path in the West
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson
Mountain & Prairie Media
4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 17 October 2019
⏱️ 72 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Becca Aceto is an Idaho-based conservationist and is currently the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the Idaho Wildlife Federation. Prior to this position with IWF, she worked in a variety of jobs closely connected to Idaho'sIdaho's rugged landscapes—as a naturalist, Forest Service wilderness ranger, and a Forest Service Wildlife Technician. Given her professional commitment to the lands and wildlife of the northern Rockies, you might assume that she's a native westerner, but in fact, she grew up in Ohio and attended the University of Kentucky before heading West after graduation.
As the oldest of six siblings, Becca has never been shy about "putting herself out there," learning new skills, or diving head-first into new experiences. She's studied various types of conservation in far-flung places like Thailand and Costa Rica, and she moved to the small town of Stanley, Idaho, without knowing a soul who lived there. Most recently, in 2017, she took up hunting and has fallen in love with the sport, becoming the Idaho ambassador for the sportswomen's group Artemis. Becca's willingness to step outside her comfort zone both professionally and personally can serve as a blueprint for many non-western young people who want to build a fulfilling life and career for themselves in the Rocky Mountains.
Becca and I caught up between a few of her fall hunts and had a wonderful conversation, discussing everything from her early days in Ohio to her current life and work in Idaho. We started by chatting about her upbringing—her childhood spent fishing in a small neighborhood creek, her love of horses, and the positive influence of her grandmother (who happens to be a Buddhist and a vegetarian). We talked about her time working as a ranger and some of the hard-won lessons she learned by suffering in the backcountry. We talk a lot about her relatively new journey becoming a hunter and some of the challenges and opportunities that come with learning to hunt as an adult. We also discuss the important conservation work of the IWF, in politics, on-the-ground stewardship, and public lands advocacy. As usual, we discuss lots of books and the best advice she's ever received.
We cover a lot in a little over an hour, and I jump around with my questions even more than usual, so be sure the check out the episode notes for a list of everything we discuss. Enjoy!
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https://mountainandprairie.com/becca-aceto/
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TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- 4:00 - Where Becca grew up
- 6:10 - Decision to study natural resources at University of Kentucky
- 8:45 - Working in Costa Rica
- 10:00 - Decision to move West
- 11:30 - First jobs in Idaho
- 14:30 - Bravery to move out West on her own
- 16:30 - Becca's Buddhist, vegetarian grandmother's influence
- 19:30 - Working conditions as a forest ranger
- 21:00 - Importance of discomfort and fear
- 25:00 - Starting to work at the Idaho Wildlife Federation
- 29:15 - Importance of politics
- 30:00 - Threat to public lands
- 34:30 - Learning to hunt
- 38:30 - Hunting lessons learned from year to year
- 42:45 - Artemis sportswomen
- 45:20 - Need for diversity in hunting and conservation
- 47:00 - Advice for novice hunters
- 49:15 - Becca's most recent hunting trip
- 57:00 - Writing
- 1:00:15 - Favorite books
- 1:02:30 - Favorite films
- 1:04:30 - Out-of-the-ordinary hobbies
- 1:06:00 - Favorite location in the West
- 1:07:00 - Best advice ever received
- 1:08:30 - Words of wisdom
- 1:10:00 - Connect with Becca
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey is Ed, I want to thank four brand new podcast supporters, Sam Dunn, Ellick Sheaf, Joe Lavarini, and Catherine Roos. |
| 0:10.0 | These four folks signed up to support the podcast via Patreon and you can go to |
| 0:14.1 | Mountain and Prairie.com slash support if you want to learn more about that but thank you |
| 0:17.9 | thank you thank you very much. Second thing I'm recording this in North Carolina on my way to the Land Trust |
| 0:25.3 | Alliance's annual conference in Raleigh. And so I know a lot of conservation |
| 0:30.9 | people listen to this. So if anybody is there and wants to meet up, |
| 0:35.1 | send me an email, it'd be cool to meet in person. |
| 0:38.0 | Thanks a lot. |
| 0:38.6 | I hope you to some of the Hey, this is Ed Roberson, and this is the Mountain and Prairie Podcast, where I introduce |
| 0:54.1 | you to some of the innovative individuals who are shaping the future of the American West. |
| 0:58.2 | I meet most of these people through my work in land conservation, or through my hobbies and interests that revolve around spending time up high in the mountains. |
| 1:06.2 | My guests include ranchers, writers, entrepreneurs, conservationists, athletes, artists, adventurers, |
| 1:12.1 | pretty much anyone who's doing important work has an interesting story and loves the American West. |
| 1:18.0 | My guest today is Becca Aceto. |
| 1:21.0 | Becca is an Idaho-based conservationist and is currently the Communications and Outreach |
| 1:25.1 | Coordinator for the Idaho Wildlife Federation. |
| 1:28.3 | Prior to this position with IWF, she worked in a variety of jobs closely connected to Idaho's rugged landscapes as a naturalist, a Forest Service wilderness ranger, and a Forest Service wildlife technician. |
| 1:40.0 | Given her professional commitment to the lands and wildlife over the Northern Rockies, you might assume she's a native Westerner. |
| 1:47.0 | But in fact, she grew up in Ohio and attended the University of Kentucky before heading west after graduation. |
| 1:53.2 | As the oldest of six siblings, Becca has never been shy about putting herself out |
| 1:57.2 | there or diving headfirst into new experiences. |
| 2:00.1 | She studied various types of conservation in far-flung places like Thailand and Costa Rica, |
... |
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