Authors

Rachel Tilseth

About Rachel Tilseth

She is a Menomonie, Wisconsin-based environmental writer, filmmaker, and owner of Wolves of Douglas County WI Films & Media, The Red Cedar Watershed Ledger, and a UW-Stout graduate. Her work explores the intricate relationships between humans, wildlife, and local ecosystems. Through award-winning documentaries like People & Wolves, she seamlessly intertwines emotional depth with vital cultural and environmental education. Tilseth highlights environmental and economic causes that threaten vulnerable ecosystems. Through freelance writing, she advocates for sustainable coexistence between human communities and apex predators. As a documentarian, Tilseth has established a formidable voice in conservation media. Her acclaimed short film, People & Wolves: A Story of Coexistence, won Best Documentary Short at the Red Cedar Film Festival. The project features insights from renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, alongside perspectives from Ojibwa tribal members, hunters, and biologists. Operating independently of traditional non-profits, Tilseth champions grassroots citizen organizations. She works to educate the public on ecological economics and environmental sustainability to foster coexistence with nature.

 Danny Akenson

Danny Akenson is a community organizer for GROWW (Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin) and a UW-River Falls graduate. Having grown up in a small town in western Wisconsin, he has seen first-hand the impacts of rural areas losing opportunities all while our environment pays the price. For four years, he has organized with the hope that rural Wisconsin can be a land of opportunity again.

Jan O’Neill-editor at large…

Given Jan’s extensive 45-year nursing background, protecting the health and well-being of the Menomonie area has been her life’s work. With deep local roots in the Red Cedar River Watershed, she views environmental conservation as a natural extension of public health. Jan is dedicated to halting the proposed mega data center to preserve the community’s natural resources, advocating instead for sustainable, community-driven economic development that protects the long-term quality of our watershed.