Resources

Senior contributing photographer Forest Woodward grew up not far from where he built his treehouse, in southern Appalachia. He was raised and homeschooled by alternative-minded parents who encouraged his freedom to explore from early on. At ten, he began formal study of photography and at twelve he became the youngest student to attend the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, where he learned the traditional zone system under Ansel Adams’ former student, Neil Chaput de Saintonge. He divides his time between Colorado’s Gunnison Valley and western North Carolina. forestwoodward.com, @forestwoodward

Writer and photographer (and trapper, commercial fisherman, and adjunct professor) Seth Kantner grew up in a sod igloo in the Arctic. In 2006, he was nominated to be Alaska’s state writer laureate, but he turned the position down so he could work on Shopping for Porcupine, his 2009 memoir, which reflects on wilderness, global warming, human encroachment, and the changes that slowly make their way to Northwest Alaska. sethkantner.com

As the mother of two-year-old Scarlett, Mary Anne Potts has experienced firsthand the challenges of weaving work, adventure, and motherhood. She is a frequent contributor to Adventure Journal; her last piece was an interview/profile of conservation photographer Joel Sartore in AJ17. @maryannepotts

We’ve worked with a lot of writers, but few are as prolific and reliable as contributing editor Craig Childs. When an assigned story was delayed indefinitely because of travel restrictions, he emailed to say, “Hey, I have an idea about a bear encounter, what do you think?” A day later, this story showed up, and we didn’t have to change a comma. His books include Finders Keepers, House of Rain, The Secret Knowledge of Water, and Virga & Bone. houseofrain.com

Author Christopher Ketcham’s This Land: How Cowboys, Corruption, and Capitalism Are Ruining the West is a deep dive into the scandalous but unsurprising pillage of the American West by welfare ranchers and fossil fuel interests, with the complicity of government officials meant to protect public lands. This story is adapted from the book, which you owe yourself to read. christopherketcham.com, @cketchamwild

Photos: Chris Dahl-Bredine, shotfromabove.com, @shotsfromabove. Michael CB Stevens, michaelcbstevens.com, @michaelcbstevens

If you’re overwhelmed by the climate emergency and not sure where to turn, Bill McKibben and the organization he founded, 350.org, are the place to start. McKibben is blunt about the fact that systemic and structural changes are the only way to slow global warming, which means finding bigger levers to pull. 350 has chapters everywhere; if you don’t find one to join, start one.

We also recommend you sign up for McKibben’s environmental newsletter for the New Yorker (newyorker.com) and that you follow David Roberts at Vox, whose reporting is comprehensive, insightful, solution-based, and, as McKibben says, “always reliable.” vox.com

Our interview with McKibben was conducted by senior editor Emily White, who hails from Seattle via Ohio and a few other points in between.

Photos: Kiliii Yuyan, kiliii.com, @kiliiiyuyan

Having ridden in Brendan Leonard’s Astrovan (atop the mattress, in the back, no seatbelt because the second row seats went missing in a Denver alley in 2014), we can vouch for its comfort, reliability, and generally awesome Astrovan steez. These days, to the best of everyone’s knowledge, the van is in Denver but contributing editor Leonard has moved on to Missoula, Montana. semi-rad.com, @semi_rad

Colorado-based author Francis Sanzaro is the editor of Rock & Ice, Ascent, and Gym Climber magazines. With master’s degrees in philosophy and religion and a doctorate in philosophy of religion, he’s particularly good at campfire talk. This is his first piece for AJ. fsanzaro.com, @francis_salzano

AJ senior editor Justin Housman recently moved from the streets of San Francisco to the woods of Marin County. It’s done wonders for his mountain biking, a bit less so for his surfing, except when forced to do “research” for stories like this. @hzahorseman, @JustinHousman

After traveling full-time in their self-converted Ford Transit van, Megan McDuffie and Michael van Vliet have recently landed in Bend, Oregon. freshoffthegrid.com, @freshoffthegrid

Sterling Lorence still lives, rides, and shoots on Vancouver’s North Shore. His advice to his younger photographer self? Invest sooner in fast, sharp prime lenses. “The woods are thick. How on earth do you stop that action in that little amount of light? If you don’t have f2.8 or faster, you shouldn’t even bother trying.” sterlinglorence.com, @eyeroam