Untitled Document

I write about natural history, whether it is an exploration of hibernation, a journey to find salmon in Seattle, or an essay about Douglas fir growing in my backyard. One of my goals is to encourage people to look more carefully at the natural world around them. I hope that my essays and articles will provoke the reader to ask more questions, to go outside and investigate, to delve deeper into the subject, to reevaluate what they may have taken for granted.

At present I am working on a book about the natural history of Seattle that will incorporate these goals through personal musings, natural history observations, and scientific facts, forming a multitextured fabric of the wilder sides of the city. Stories will include a year in the life of a pair of nesting bald eagles at Green Lake, an exploration of the Seattle Fault, and an investigation into the past, present, and future of Seattle's burgeoning Canada geese population.

I am also interested in addressing the historical part of natural history by investigating the lives and ideas of scientists and explorers who made earlier contributions to the field. Who named a certain plant or animal? Who discovered it and why were they there? How have landscapes changed with human occupation? These are integral ways of understanding and appreciating the natural world.

Background
After getting my bachelor's degree in geology, I was fortunate to live in Moab, Utah, for nine years. Between 1987 and 1992, I taught and coordinated natural and cultural history workshops to people from 7 to 70 at Canyonlands Field Institute, a non-profit educational organization based in Moab. I also spent three years as an Interpretive Park Ranger at Arches National Park. During this time, I expanded my knowledge of geology, while also developing an interest in plants and animals. After a short interlude in the East, where I worked at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, in Brookline, Massachusetts, my wife and I moved back to Seattle, where I grew up.

I have been freelancing full time since 1998. In addition to writing A Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country and Grand Views of Canyon Country, I am the co-author of A Naturalist's Guide to the White Rim Trail and a contributor to Insight Guide: Seattle, Insight Guide: American Southwest, and Discovery Channel-Insight Guide: Caves, Cliffs, and Canyons. My work has appeared in national, regional, and local magazines and newspapers. I teach children's programs at the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle and am a member of the Puget Sound Science Writer's Association, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and the Northwest Independent Editors Guild