As the state’s first bear biologist in the 1970s, Eric Orff began a half century career as a “forest ranger who works with animals,” his stated dream job as a 7-year-old. A respected wildlife biologist, with more than thirty-one years at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and another fifteen years with the National Wildlife Federation, he still publishes a video blog called “What’s Wild in New Hampshire” that regularly receives hundreds of thousands of views each week.
Known for his educational programs and political action—If Only Moose Could Vote—Eric has been a literal voice in the wilderness, declaring the threat of climate change to be real, based on what he has seen in the woods. Sharing his knowledge of the changing climate even when his audience didn’t want to believe it.
His trademark humor and kind heart, coupled with a solid scientific foundation make him someone people like to listen to when they want to know what’s happening in the woods, rivers, and fields of New England. Wildlife is now more abundant across the region than since colonial times, thanks to Eric and people like him.
From stories of rehabbing bats in the laundry room, to riding a whitetail buck who didn’t quite cooperate with a tagging effort, Eric’s stories will make you laugh, and help you connect with the wild nature that lives within us all.