Leigh Baker
Leigh’s love of nature began at Jack Hanna’s Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio. Holding her mother’s hand at the bald eagle exhibit, Leigh listened as her mother explained why some species were endangered and how people worked to save them. Leigh’s interest in becoming a wildlife biologist was fully supported by her father, who led her to believe that she should travel widely and pursue her passions, even in fields that women did not widely populate. Leigh holds a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, focusing on international wildlife conservation and protected areas management. She completed her undergraduate degree in environmental science with a focus on marine science at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. Leigh was employed as an associate conservationist for the Wildlife Conservation Society and spent three years studying the impacts of natural gas development on pronghorn. She also was an ecologist with the Conservation Research Center of the Teton Science Schools assessing mule deer road crossings and moose habitat in Teton County, Wyoming. Her work in the region has been anything but boring, having hung blood lures in mountain lion research studies, camera-trapped grizzly and black bears, remotely weighed pronghorn on buried scale systems and helped reduce moose-vehicle deaths. She was even invited to observe the first of the wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.
Leigh believes that small efforts by committed citizens can change the world, and this inspiration drives her to share her expertise as an Expedition Leader. She guides in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks year-round and has called this area home since she took a Greyhound bus to Livingston, Montana, north of Yellowstone National Park when she was 19. Since then, Leigh has worked in Yellowstone and Grand Teton as an environmental educator, wildlife biologist and conservationist. Leigh has a depth of experience working with local landowners, conservation nonprofits and local, state and federal agencies. She respects the spectrum of opinions within the region, especially regarding wildlife, and has used her expertise as the executive director of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation to make a positive and lasting impact.
Outside of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Leigh has studied tide pools in Oregon, analyzed the reintroduction of grizzly bears to California and explored Alaska. In all her years of wildlife research in the field, she has been approached by a grizzly bear, followed for a day by a coyote, charged by a mama moose (twice), chased by an elk, sniffed by a deer, raced by pronghorn, barked at by prairie dogs, growled at by a mountain lion, startled by thumping grouse and enamored by an unexpected nest of burrowing owls. She has gracefully navigated a field of bison during the August rut and narrowly avoided a rattlesnake strike. Leigh is enthralled by all that life in this ecosystem has to offer. Her passions lay not only in wildlife conservation but, most importantly, in spending time with her husband, twin daughters and son. She looks forward to guiding your Yellowstone and Grand Teton adventure.
Upcoming Adventures with Leigh:
Hidden Yellowstone & Grand Teton Safari
Our Story
