Writing

04/01/1999
On Not Encountering an Eastern Panther

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“On Not Encountering an Eastern Panther” is an essay that appeared in Shadow Cat: Encountering the American Mountain Lion, Edited by Susan Ewing and Elizabeth Grossman, Sasquatch Books, 1999

“Sometimes it seems that I am the only person I

01/01/2000
Daniel Boone Slept Here

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“Daniel Boone Slept Here” was published in Sierra Magazine, January/February 2000.

“Legend has it that Daniel Boone was asked if he had ever been lost during his decades of exploring uncharted wilderness. ‘No,’ replied America’s quintes­sential pioneer, ‘but I was plumb bewildered for …

01/01/2001
Contemplating a Cougar Comeback: a Bioregional Venture into Carnivore Country

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“Contemplating a Cougar Comeback:  a Bioregional Venture into Carnivore Country” was published in Orion Afield, winter 2000-01.

“‘So THE MORAL OF THE STORY,’ said wildlife tracking instructor Susan Morse, ‘is always save some of your shit.’ We clustered around her to gaze at the …

07/01/2002
Living in the Appalachian Forest: True Tales of Sustainable Forestry

Living in the Appalachian Forest: True Tales of Sustainable Forestry, Stackpole Books, 2002. 

From a tattooed ex-con logger to the Republican president of the Sierra Club, from industrial strength timbering to the delicate art of virtually wild forest herb gardening, this book examines the people and the practices that

03/01/2003
On the Road to Ruin: Why did the Bear try to Cross the Road?
Bear Tracks - Little Dry Run, WA
Bear Tracks – Little Dry Run, WA

“On the Road to Ruin:  Why did the Bear try to Cross the Road?” was distributed by Bay Journal News Service, March 2003.

“Hundreds of people recently gathered at an Annapolis rally to promote offshore wind power, energized for change. A wind …

07/27/2005
The Eastern Cougar: Historic Accounts, Scientific Investigations, and New Evidence

The Eastern Cougar: Historic Accounts, Scientific Investigations, and New Evidence was published by Stackpole Books, 2005 on behalf of the nonprofit Cougar Rewilding Foundation, formerly the Eastern Cougar Foundation.

Co-edited by Chris Bolgiano and Jerry Roberts, this anthology brings together, for the first time ever, information on the confused

06/01/2007
A Bend in the River
JMU professors and students on the first annual Shenandoah Sojourn - 2003 - Photo by Mindi Westhoff
JMU professors and students on the first annual Shenandoah Sojourn – 2003 – Photo by Mindi Westhoff

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“A Bend in the River” was published in Madison, The Magazine of James Madison University, summer 2007.

“In May 2003, several JMU professors and students formed …

12/01/2007
Mighty Giants: An American Chestnut Anthology

Published by Images from the Past and sponsored by The American Chestnut Foundation, Asheville, NC, 2007.

Mighty Giants: An American Chestnut Anthology tells in images and words the story of the once mightiest tree in the eastern forest.  Ghost writing an essay for President Jimmy Carter in this book was a highlight

03/01/2011
Clean may not always be green where Wind Power is concerned

“Clean may not always be green where Wind Power is concerned” was distributed by Bay Journal News Service, March 2011.

Car on a dirty snowy road with giant wind turbines in the distance
Conservation organizations and private citizens are concerned about the impacts the wind turbines may have on rural views and wildlife habitat. Here, a driver passes in close proximity to
07/01/2011
Becoming Appalachian

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An identity crisis at my age?  “Becoming Appalachian” was first published in the Winter/Spring, 2011, issue of Appalachian Journal, then reprinted with photos in poet and naturalist Dave Bonta’s Blog, via negativa, July 2011.

Rusty hay mower recalls a long ago farm.
Rusty mower recalls a long ago farm.

The Fall, 2010 issue of Appalachian

09/26/2011
Southern Appalachian Celebration: In Praise of Ancient Mountains: Old-Growth Forests, and Wilderness

Published by University of North Carolina Press, 2011.

Southern Appalachian Celebration was created in collaboration with photographer James Valentine.  The world’s most famous biologist, Dr. E.O. Wilson of Harvard University, says:  “No book of my experience has ever caught the natural beauty and richness of southern Appalachia with greater