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William (Bill) D. Toone October 1, 1955, San Diego, California Bachelor of Science, University of California, Davis Master of Science, University of California, Davis

Spouses (1) Cynthia (Cyndi) Kuehler (two children: Emily and David) (2) Deborah “Sunni” Black, Married May 13, 1990

Memberships: Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

Books: On the Wings of the Condor, CCS Publications, 2022

Awards: Winner 2023 AARP Purpose Prize

Overview Bill Toone is an internationally recognized conservation biologist. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Toone is the founder of the ECOLIFE Conservation and the author of On the Wings of the Condor. Bill has appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, worked on wildlife films with Olivia Newton-John, featured in the PBS documentary The Real Jurassic Park, and appeared on the CBS Sunday Morning Show with Charles Osgood. He is among the winners of AARP’s 2023 Purpose Prize.

Education: Toone graduated from the University of California at Davis with a master’s in science, 1979.

Career: Toone admits he was “always drawn to animals. . . literally for as long as I can remember.” Raised in a rural environment, his interest in all living things initially focused on snakes and lizards, but when he was six Toone became fascinated by birds. “Baby chickens at the San Diego Zoo iced it for me,” Toone recalled. “While a focus on birds drove the early years of my professional career - condors - I never lost the appreciation for everything else.” As a boy of eight, he began looking for work in his field of interest. At 16, he was hired to pick up trash at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (now the Safari Park) and used this experience to coincidentally observe birds and their behavior. He soon became interested in the study of reproductive failure in endangered species of birds. He began his graduate studies at University of California Davis where he was assigned to a project on reproduction of the California condor. After receiving his degree in science, Toone simultaneously realized two lifelong dreams. He returned to the Zoological Society of San Diego (now the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance) as a condor keeper and was soon appointed to the California Condor Recovery Team. During his time on the Recovery Team, he and Dr. Noel Snyder collected the first California condor egg to be brought into captivity. Bill and his team were responsible for the rearing this chick, which they named Sisquoc (the Chumash word for quail). Three other chicks were collected that first year. The success of rearing Sisquoc, and the ensuing positive media attention was a catalyst in shifting attitudes toward the type of biological interventions that led to the success of the program. Frustrated by the programs that consistently evolved into simply doing research or education, Toone realized he wanted to lead a program that would apply the data and education to making measurable environmental changes. Toone became aware of how plant and animal life was being threatened as the effects of climate change became more apparent. He realized that it wouldn’t be long before human life was also threatened. This led him to encourage the Zoological Society to launch a new division dedicated to what he called, “Applied Conservation.” He was given the title of Director of Applied Conservation Programs at the Zoological Society of San Diego. Toone became involved in programs to conserve various species, including iguanas in the Bahamas, mountain gorillas, giant Chacoan peccary (a South American pig-like mammal), armadillos, owl monkeys, elephants, insects and spiders. Yet he felt his vision had never fully been realized by the Zoological Society, and after Cyclone Hudah destroyed a community he had worked in, Toone was further disappointed that the conservation community saw little reason to help the people effected by the tragic storm. Toone decided it was time to re-examine his view of conservation. After some soul-searching, he co-founded ECOLIFE Conservation with Eric Hallstein in 2003. Toone resigned from the Zoological Society five years later. ECOLIFE is an international organization “dedicated to providing solutions to mutually benefit underserved communities and imperiled wildlife around the world.” Dedicated to addressing the largest drivers of species extinction and human death, ECOLIFE focusses primarily on rapidly expanding rural agriculture and indoor cooking fires. Toone established five criteria for replacement stoves. They must use 60% less fuel, reduce emissions, be safe for kids, remove smoke from the house for improved indoor air quality, and be culturally appropriate. While serving the indigenous people living adjacent to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, Toone adopted the Patsari Stove (meaning caretaker” in the indigenous Purepecha language). Patsari stoves are constructed on-site using cement bricks and sheet metal chimneys. Soon women were spreading the world and vying for an opportunity to be the next home with a less smokey and more efficient stove. “Safe efficient stoves save trees and people,” Toone wrote. “ECOLIFE supports people using the fuel they love –be it wood, charcoal, or even dung.” ECOLIFE provides cookstoves for thousands of homes all over the world, reducing CO2 emissions, smoke, and the amount of wood needed for cooking, thus saving trees. Gold Standard, a recognized global organization for certification of carbon reduction projects, has verified and certified the benefits of these stoves. “Gold Standard certified” indicates a project has undergone a strict review of Voluntary Emission Reduction credits. These carbon credits are then sold on the voluntary market to organizations committed to reducing their carbon footprint. This commitment to verifiable impact is essential to conservationists like Bill Toone and groups like ECOLIFE. In addition to proving that they “walk their talk,” the stove project speeds the approval of new conservation projects and attracts additional funding. When describing the mission of ECOLIFE Toone observed, “When we talk about wildlife conservation, we must realize it is a dynamic process. You cannot pick and choose components of a system to conserve any more than you can choose to protect your liver but ignore your heart. Conservation demands and deserves no less than a holistic approach.”

Personal Life Toone’s early childhood in Poway, California is reflected in his attitudes towards conservation and his approach to life in general. Together with his wife Sunni, Toone remains engaged in the conservation community despite his retirement in 2023. He has two children from his first marriage, Emily and David, and grandchildren. He lives in Escondido, California and enjoys gardening, woodworking and many pets not far from his childhood home.

Additional Resources 1.	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWQEWp_AAjw (TEDx ECOLIFE) 2.	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmRatEylBNg (Bill Toone on California Condor) 3.	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmTxjrHdd5M&pp=ygUKQmlsbCBUb29uZQ%3D%3D (NCCCA “Roar of the Monarch Butterfly” Event with Bill Toone ECOLIFE Conservation) 4.	www.ecolifeconservation.org (additional information about ECOLIFE)