Published by Patagonia, ROAM by Hillary Rosner highlights the underreported environmental crises of fragmentation—for the sake of wildlife and ourselves
At a time when U.S. support for global conservation is being drastically cut and climate change is forcing wildlife to adapt to new realities, award-winning science journalist Hillary Rosner offers a powerful and timely new book. ROAM: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World (Patagonia, October 2025, hardcover) examines one of the most underreported environmental crises of our time: the global fragmentation of ecosystems and the barriers preventing wildlife from moving freely.
In ROAM, Rosner asks urgent questions: Where will we be in 20 years if we don’t begin reconnecting the natural world? Can we stitch ecosystems back together before it’s too late? And what if rebuilding these ecological connections could also help heal our fractured relationships—with one another and with the planet?
Drawing on more than 200 interviews and reporting from landscapes across the U.S., Central America, Europe and Africa, Rosner introduces scientists, farmers, dedicated volunteers, and others working to restore wildlife corridors and reimagine human infrastructure. Her global reporting underscores the importance of wild animals being able to move freely—and how manmade barriers like roads, fences, farms and sprawl have gotten in the way.
“Humans have literally changed the face of the Earth, on an overwhelming scale ... by making short-term and short-sighted decisions about building and development, without considering the collective impact of millions of people clearing and paving and fencing their own slices of the planet,” says Rosner. “We have prioritized humans over other beings, despite knowing that our fate relies on the interconnectedness of us all.”
Rosner highlights the most pressing and compelling issues surrounding connectivity today, chronicling wide-ranging conservation projects as examples—wildlife corridors that help animals safely cross human barriers, rewilding projects that restore native species and locally led initiatives that blend traditional knowledge with ecological stewardship. ROAM also underscores the role of private landowners and policy advocacy in protecting habitats and ensuring a connected, thriving natural world.
Part environmental investigation, part personal journey, ROAM challenges us to rethink our place in the world. Illustrating a multifaceted approach required to repair our fractured world, Rosner raises the simple but urgent case for treating wildlife as neighbors.
At its core, ROAM is a book about hope: how we can build a future rooted in empathy, science, and coexistence. Reconnecting landscapes is more than a biological necessity—Rosner says it’s an act of moral and emotional restoration.
“We all need to recognize that we are in this together,” she writes. “To attempt to reconnect is an act of hope.”
Hillary Rosner is an award-winning science journalist who has reported on environmental issues from around the world for National Geographic, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Wired, Audubon, and many others. She specializes in telling complex, science-driven stories in ways that resonate deeply with general audiences.
Praise
“Deeply reported and persuasively told, ROAM is a gorgeous testament to the habitats that sustain life on earth—and the power and promise of protecting them. An inspiring and necessary read.”
— Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction
“Read this to understand the science of connectivity—and to feel the determination and hope motivating the quest to honor nonhumans’ right to roam.” — Emma Maris, author of Wild Souls: What We Owe Animals in a Changing World
“Hillary Rosner has written both an elegy and a blueprint. With small and careful adjustments, we can—and must—make a world in which both humans and wild animals can thrive. We must do it now, for their sake and for ours.” — Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
“This book shines a vital, and much-needed, light on the environmental complexities of life in the Anthropocene on a crowded planet. A must-read.” — James Balog, founder of the Extreme Ice Survey and Earth Vision Institute
ROAM: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World
By Hillary Rosner, published by Patagonia
October 14, 2025 | ISBN 9781952338311 | $32 US
Hardcover | 353 pages | Distributed by Ingram / PGW
Multi-city author tour Oct. 15 – Nov. 14, 2025
Printed on 100% post-consumer waste paper
PRESS CONTACT: Stephanie@wildridgepr.com, 512-810-9238