10 Books Every Aspiring Conservationist Should Read, with Mark Kenyon

If someone asked me to name my favorite thing about producing the Mountain & Prairie podcast, my answer would be simple: The network of curious, hard-working, accomplished, and humble friends that I’ve made as a result of our shared interests and substantive conversations.

Mark Kenyon is a perfect example.

He and I initially connected thanks to our shared love of reading. A few years later, he joined me on the podcast for a wonderful conversation about his amazing book That Wild Country: An Epic Journey through the Past, Present, and Future of America’s Public Lands. Even though we’re both busy with young families and demanding (yet fun) careers, we’ve managed to stay in touch via the occasional text about book recommendations and interesting ideas.

So, last week, when Mark floated the idea of a discussion about books and conservation on his wildly popular and thoughtful podcast Wired to Hunt, I jumped at the opportunity. We decided to each pick five books about conservation and bring them to the podcast recording for a sort of two-man book club.

The result is the podcast episode and books embedded below: 10 Books Every Aspiring Conservationist Should Read

Mark is one of the most voracious readers I know– his taste in books is similar enough to mine that I trust his opinions but different enough that I always learn something new from his recommendations and insights. While Mark is best known for his extensive knowledge of whitetail deer hunting, he has read, studied, and written extensively on a wide range of topics, including public lands, history, natural resources, wildlife managment, and much more. And most importantly, he’s just a damn interesting and nice dude that I enjoy chatting with.

Mark and I chatted for more than two hours and probably could’ve gone for even longer had our bladders not forced us to wrap up the conversation. As you’d imagine, it was difficult to pick just ten books about such a wide-ranging topic, so consider our list to be just a starting point.

I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion, and I greatly appreciate Mark’s invitation. I hope that you enjoy the conversation and perhaps find a few new titles that will give you a greater appreciation for the important and endlessly fascinating topic of conservation in the West and beyond.