Faces of NWF

John Kostyack is Vice President of Wildlife Conservation for the National Wildlife Federation, where he leads NWF's effort to safeguard wildlife and people through innovative ecosystem protection and restoration strategies. A key focus of his work is making ecosystems resilient in the face of intensified storms and droughts and other harmful effects of climate change. Among his other responsibilities are national and regional campaigns to protect and restore forests, prairies, coasts and estuaries, advocacy on Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and other key legislation, and siting of renewable energy.

John frequently writes and lectures on meeting the challenges of conserving U.S. wildlife and ecosystems in a warming world. His recent publications include an article on updating the National Flood Insurance Program to address the impacts of global warming on coasts and floodplains and a book chapter on the future of the Endangered Species Act in a warming climate. He serves on the steering committee of the Wildlife Habitat Policy Research Program, a national grant-making program developing new tools to accelerate conservation of U.S. wildlife habitat.

John is a longtime leader on Endangered Species Act advocacy. He helped to win the endangered species conservation tax incentive for private landowners passed by Congress in 2008 and has won a series of important court rulings through his legal advocacy, including rulings to protect the Florida panther, the Florida Key deer, the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the Swainson's hawk. The Florida Key deer case, which challenged subsidies for coastal and floodplain development in endangered species habitat, set a national precedent that has led to important reforms in the National Flood Insurance Program.
 
John holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and J.D. cum laude from Stetson University College of Law.

To interview John, please contact Aislinn Maestas, Online News Editor, at maestas@nwf.org or 202-797-6624.