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My writing has appeared in publications like Outside, Mountain Outlaw, Montana Free Press and Mountains & Minds. While my curiosity is far-ranging and easily triggered, common themes include people who follow brave and unusual callings, the on-the-ground impacts of public policy, and what it means to live in the West in the 21st century.
"Whose Crazies are they?"
An island range patterned with checkerboard land ownership, the Crazy Mountains are the backdrop to one of the most “vexing” land-use debates in the state. Crow Indians, the Northern Pacific Railroad, the U.S. Forest Service, ranchers, recreationists and politicians have all claimed ownership in parts of the Crazy Mountains at various times, seeding more than a century of access and land-use disputes that continue to this day. Between an active lawsuit, two land-swap proposals winding through Forest Service administrative channels, and pending development of some of the largest private properties in the foothills of the Crazies, the future of one of the state’s most iconic and disputed landscapes is playing out now.
"Calls mount to recall popular avalanche beacon after possible malfunctions"
"She said she didn’t want another family to endure the loss she and her son have lived through, and she was trying to keep other backcountry skiers from experiencing the trauma of digging a deceased friend out of the snow, as her husband’s ski partners did." Several months after coverage of the beacon failure started rippling through outlets like Adventure Journal, Pieps/Black Diamond began a product recall for this model of beacon.
"Death on the Tracks"
"It started in June, when a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train struck a collared sow east of Marias Pass in the predawn hours. Unlike many grizzly fatalities on railroad tracks, there was no evidence of an attractant — a carcass or spilled grain — on the tracks when the sow was hit, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Her two yearling cubs were later killed near the same location as their mother by an Amtrak passenger train." For Montana Free Press.
"Living with Fire"
The West has a complicated relationship with wildfire. By turns its been derided as an enemy to be vanquished, celebrated for its regenerative potential, used as a scapegoat for politcally-motivated logging agendas, and feared for its impact on air quality and watersheds. "Living with Fire," a three-part series published by Montana Free Press, seeks to understand how the U.S. has historically related wildfire and two major public- and private-sector developments shaping our path forward.
"Forgotten communities"
Rural Montana was hit especially hard when state budget cuts passed November of 2017 resulted in the closure of dozens of public aid offices across the state. In little more than a year, Livingston (pop. 7,529) lost its Office of Public Assistance, job services and mental health center. With another closure looming, this time to the Department of Child and Family Services, Livingston residents rallied around the "forgotten community" in their midst. For Montana Free Press and Missoula Independent.
Montana and Wyoming are two of the top-ranked states for start-up activity in the United States. A collection of sharp and scrappy small business owners in Greater Yellowstone talk about why that is. For Mountain Outlaw magazine.
For most of his life, a 14-year-old boy from Atlanta had a very powerful message without a way to share it. His name in Farsi means "message." For Mountain Outlaw magazine.
Featured Outlaw: Mandela van Eeden
In a world with too many languages to learn in a lifetime, Mandela van Eeden says music is an international language, humanity’s common denominator. The Grand Canyon raft guide, host of "The Trail Less Traveled" and yoga instructor doesn't leave home without her skeleton key of choice. For Mountain Outlaw magazine.
'Bison 1 million'
A year after the bison was named the official mammal of the United States, the National Bison Association unveiled its plan to more than double the population of the iconic animal. If all goes as planned, there will be 1 million bison in public, private and tribal herds by 2027. For Explore Big Sky newspaper.
Yellowstone wildfires burn 62,000 acres
2016 marked Yellowstone National Park's biggest wildfire season since 1988. After the smoke cleared, Western wildfire historian Rene Eustace shared stories from '88, the year of fire so intense that it spurred changes to fire modeling programs. For Explore Big Sky newspaper.
King of Rec
As the leader of Colorado's Office of Outdoor Recreation, mountaineer-turned-policy-maker Luis Benitez believes that outdoor recreation can save the world. For Mountain Outlaw magazine.
Doctor Luanne Freer talks triage, altitude illness and body recovery at the world's highest-elevation ER in a Q-and-A for Outside Outline.
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