Jim Williams is the Wildlife Biologist and Partnerships Manager for the Heart of the Rockies Initiative, which supports 31 land trusts and their Indigenous partners across the transboundary Rocky Mountains. Through the Initiative’s Keep It Connected program, he works to protect wildlife habitat connectivity by helping keep working agricultural families on the land and supporting local and regional land trusts throughout the northern Rockies.

He is an The Explorers Club Fellow and professionally certified wildlife biologist, Williams spent 31 years with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. In 2024, he received the prestigious Alan Rabinowitz Memorial Award from The Explorers Club. He was also honored with the Wildlife Collaboration Award from the National Park Service in 2023.

Williams earned undergraduate degrees in biology, with an emphasis in marine biology, from San Diego State University and Florida State University, and a graduate degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University. His master’s research focused on mountain lion ecology along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, launching a lifelong commitment to mountain lion and wildlife conservation throughout the Americas.

As a wildlife biologist in central Montana, Williams managed a wide range of big game species, including pronghorn antelope, elk, mountain goats, and mountain lions. He worked closely with private agricultural landowners on wildlife coexistence issues and helped develop conservation easements, wildlife management areas, and other habitat protection initiatives.

Later, as Wildlife Program Manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, he led teams of research and wildlife management biologists, helping develop grizzly bear monitoring and research programs, launch western Montana’s first wolf conservation program, and advance numerous wildlife habitat conservation efforts. He subsequently served as Regional Director for northwestern Montana, providing leadership for wildlife, fisheries, parks and recreation, game wardens, and administrative operations.

Beyond his agency work, Williams served as associate producer of the Back from the Brink – Montana’s Wildlife Legacy documentary for Montana PBS and has collaborated with wildlife biologists in both Chile and Argentina on a variety of conservation projects.

In 2018, Patagonia Books published his autobiography, Path of the Puma, which chronicles his wildlife conservation adventures and the story of mountain lion conservation across the Americas. More recently, Penguin Random House released the audiobook edition, narrated by Williams himself.