David John Mattson

David John Mattson  

June 11, 1954 to February 2, 2025

To a blank spot on a map! That is where David Mattson always wanted to go: places as far from the sign of humans and as full of wild animals as he could get. His quest began on the family ranch in South Dakota’s Black Hills where he discovered the secret haunts of elk and black bear—but not wolves because his grandfather and other homesteaders killed the last ones in the state.

David burned to atone for such losses. As a boy, he spent hours on the ranch house floor studying maps that led him to the wildest country remaining in the lower 48 states: Yellowstone. There, in the company of grizzly bears, David found home—and his superpowers. Yellowstone Park hired David to study grizzlies shortly after the last few hundred animals were protected under the Endangered Species Act. With stringy blond hair and wild blue eyes, he appeared to some as a “country rube” willing to wear out a pair of boots a season crossing Yellowstone’s high country and glacial-fed rivers to collect data on grizzlies. That was until David opened his mouth and impressed veteran researchers with his observations of bear behavior, food habitats, human-bear connections—and more.

David saw large carnivores as icons of a vanishing wilderness and prisms through which to understand ecosystems and the wider world. He expanded upon the work of pioneer grizzly bear researchers Frank and John Craighead and shed new light on ecological connections and the role of grizzlies and other large carnivores as barometers of the health of ecosystems. His work underscored what the ancients have long known: the Great Bear is a mirror of ourselves and a test of our compassion.

David’s colleagues could barely match his blistering pace or his prodigious output—over 1000 papers, essays, reports, articles, lectures, testimony, public talks, radio and TV interviews, and opinion pieces during his 37-year career—on topics ranging from ecology, governance, ethics, and leadership to deeper questions about “what happens between our ears.”

David was a Renaissance man in a khaki field vest who challenged conventional siloed thinking and devoured disparate fields of study like a grizzly gorging on whitebark pine seeds before denning.

He shrugged off his role as one of the world’s pre-eminent experts on grizzly bears, mountain lions, and other large carnivores—as well as accolades, awards, and degrees that included a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology from the University of Idaho (2000). His was a humble and practical path: solving problems between wildlife and people while striving to uphold principles of democracy to serve the broader public interest.

He believed that decisions should be based on facts, evidence, reason, and a sense of moral responsibility for the land. It was this combination of intellect, passion, and principle that inspired others to fight for wild animals and the ecosystems they depend on.

David loved the details of behavioral ecology. He was the first to document grizzlies rubbing on trees and eating dirt, wasps, earthworms, mushrooms, and fat-rich cutworm moths in remote alpine cirques. His observations of bears during their fall feeding frenzy reminded him of their ability to seemingly die and emerge in spring with new life.

Not all of David’s studies were smart. After surviving a Park Service study where he deliberately harassed grizzlies in the backcountry 24/7 to see what they would do, David quipped that “grizzlies show remarkable restraint in the face of human stupidity.”

Ever curious, David expanded his interest in large carnivores worldwide and conducted groundbreaking research on mountain lion ecology in the Southwest. There he discovered cougars swimming across the Grand Canyon, a male roaming hundreds of miles across the parched desert on a seeming lark, and denning mothers protecting kittens by slaughtering predatory coyotes nearby.

Other highlights of David’s career include roles as Research Wildlife Biologist and Station Leader with the U.S. Geological Survey in the Southwest, as Western Field Director of the MIT-US Geologic Survey’s Science Impact Collaborative, and as Lecturer and Visiting Senior Scientist at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

At times, David risked his career to defend his “inconvenient” research that argued for more restraint and changes in management. He became a hero among scientists who similarly suffered from speaking truth to power.

Through controversy, David discovered another superpower: collaborating with environmental lawyers to save wildlife and restore ecosystems. For 30 years, he was a leading architect and spokesperson of campaigns to protect grizzlies and the largest intact ecosystems in the lower 48 states. With litigators, he crafted winning strategies that reversed policies that harmed bears and their habitat and incorporated lessons into future campaigns.

David loved sharing his insights and observations about the mysteries of the lives of grizzlies, cougars, and their ecosystems with those who might never see them in the wild. To his students, he was a nurturing mother bear. To fellow travelers seeking to save this precious earth, he shone as the north star to light the way.

David’s wanderlust lured him to other “blank spots” including Far East Russia, Japan, Alaska, and the Yukon. But his home range was the Northern Rockies and the West. He passed away in his sleep in his home in Montana’s Paradise Valley after a long illness.

David is survived by sons Zac and Sky, former spouse Susan Bischoff, sister Donneen, and beloved wife Louisa Willcox, as well as dogs Reilly and Maggie and cats Lucky and Puddum.

In the spirit of The Big Lebowski, one of David’s favorite films, his ashes are stored for now in a Folger’s coffee can —until the time when bears reemerge and when the wildflowers flush the mountainsides with color.

To honor David’s work, please consider donating to one of these charities:

Western Environmental Law Center (and the work of Matt Bishop): 103 Reeders Alley, Helena, MT 59601

Alliance for the Wild Rockies (and the work of Mike Garrity): P.O. Box 505 Helena, MT 59624

Native Ecosystems Council (and the work of Sara Johnson): PO Box 125: Willow Creek, MT 59760

Herding Rescue Dogs of Wyoming: wyoasr@gmail.com, (307) 752-0812