Born in 1917, Walter “Howdy” Howard grew up on the campus of UC Davis, where his father was a Professor of Horticulture. Howard describes a lifelong love of the outdoors, which propelled him to study zoology at UC Davis, with the intent to focus on wildlife. Howard obtained his PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was the first person to focus on what would later be called animal ecology. After graduate school, Howard took a job at the Experiment Station, researching pocket gophers. When joining the faculty as a professor, Howard became the first Professor of Ecology, housed in what is now known as the Department of Wildlife, Fish, Conservation Biology. Over the course of his career, Howard conducted groundbreaking research in the areas of pest management, wildlife conservation and ecology. Howard retired from the university in 1987. Interview topics include: ANR, 1940s-1980s; ecology; pest management; wildlife conservation; experiment station research; UC Davis; public-private research partnerships; applied research.