Lesli Allison & Tuda Libby Crews – Durable Conservation in the West… and Beyond
Lesli Allison and Tuda Libby Crews join me to discuss the critical role of private and working lands in achieving durable conservation outcomes in the United States. Lesli is a founding member and the Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advances policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes, …
Luke Smithwick – A Life in High Places
Luke Smithwick is a professional alpinist, ski mountaineer, and mountain guide best known for his cutting-edge climbs and descents in the world’s wildest mountain ranges. Luke is based in Victor, Idaho, in the shadow of the legendary Teton Range, but he spends large portions of each year deep in the Himalayas, guiding clients on remote …
Shane Doyle – Reverence for the Past, Hope for the Future
Shane Doyle is a Montana-based scholar, teacher, and community advocate whose work focuses on the history and heritage of Native American tribes of the Northern Great Plains. Shane is an enrolled member of the Apsáalooke Nation (also known as the Crow Tribe), and he holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Montana State University. …
Nicole Morgenthau – Curiosity & Creativity
Nicole Morgenthau – Curiosity & Creativity Nicole Morgenthau is a Utah-based professional photographer whose work depicts the people and places of the American West in a completely unique, one-of-a-kind style. While she has been involved in many aspects of the photography business throughout her career, Nicole may be best known for her portraits of a …
Adam Gall – A Reverence for Wildlife & Wild Places
Adam Gall is a hunting guide and owner of Timber to Table Guide Service, a guiding company focused on helping hunters of all skill levels put wild, healthy, and delicious meat on their tables. Based out of the small town of Hotchkiss on Colorado’s Western Slope, Timber to Table offers multi-day hunts on both public …
Matt Barber & Joel Doub, Part 2 – Tales from an Entrepreneurial Adventure
Matt Barber and Joel Doub are the owners of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, one of the West’s most renowned custom fly rod companies. I was introduced to Matt and Joel nearly three and half years ago and was quickly fascinated by their entrepreneurial journey and Tom Morgan Rodsmiths’ storied history in the fly fishing world. As …
Max Wenerstrom – Timeless Craftsmanship
Max Wenerstrom is a blacksmith and craftsman best known for creating hand-forged knives that balance a beautiful aesthetic with practical durability. Max started blacksmithing at the age of 15, became obsessed with the craft, and quickly demonstrated an elite talent for creating one-of-a-kind knives. His passion led him to study under a 17th-generation Japanese bladesmith, …
Brendan Leonard, Part 2 – On Running, Creating, and Other Irrational Passions
Brendan Leonard is a prolific writer and artist who is best known as the creator of Semi-Rad.com. He’s also the author of a brand new book titled I Hate Running and You Can Too: How to Get Started, Keep Going, and Make Sense of an Irrational Passion. The book offers motivation and witty insights into …
Kelsey Johnson – Chasing Her Artistic Ambitions
Kelsey Johnson is a Bozeman-based artist whose work highlights the epic wildlife, people, and landscapes of the American West. Using graphite pencils and oil paints, Kelsey creates stunning, life-like artwork– works that you would assume were created by a full-time artist with decades of experience. But in reality, Kelsey is new to professional art– she …
Chris Douglas – An Unexpected Artistic Journey
Chris Douglas is a Montana-based photographer and creative director who is one of the most sought-after visual storytellers in the American West. Chris is a go-to photographer for iconic brands such as Filson, Stetson, and Mossy Oak, and his editorial work appears regularly in publications including Modern Huntsman and Men’s Journal. In a world flooded …
NEW WEST DISPATCH: Matt Skoglund – Ranching in the Age of COVID
If you’ve listened to the podcast for a while, then you’re probably familiar with each episode’s general format: I have a long-form conversation with an interesting person who is doing important work in the American West. We usually spend about half of the time discussing their work and the other half discussing their personal backstory—a …
Juanita Vero, Part 2 – A Deep Desire to Serve
If you’re a long-time listener, then surely you remember Juanita Vero. Juanita is a fourth-generation Montana rancher, conservationist, community leader, and all-around inspiring woman. She’s also a devoted public servant, serving as a Missoula County Commissioner, where she gets her hands dirty with the critical and often not-so-glamorous work of county government. Juanita’s name will …
Jessica Wahl Turner – Outdoor Recreation & Rural Economies
Jessica Wahl Turner is the Executive Director of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), America’s leading coalition of outdoor recreation trade associations and organizations. Currently, ORR is comprised of 31 national association members that serve more than 100,000 outdoor-related businesses, which is an amazing feat considering that the organization is less than three years old. Jessica …
Steve Casimiro – Voice of Adventure
Steve Casimiro is the founder and editor of Adventure Journal, an online and quarterly print magazine devoted to outdoor adventure in all its forms. AJ began as Steve’s personal blog back in 2008—a project he created on the side while writing for National Geographic Adventure. Steve’s unique perspective and devotion to adventure writing struck a …
Anna Brones – Committed to Creativity
Anna Brones is a freelance journalist, author, artist, and producer who is prolific in all of her creative endeavors– she’s published four books, produced documentary films, is currently publishing a quarterly print journal about food, and much more. One of her most recent projects was the Women’s Wisdom Project, in which she showcased the wisdom …
Ivan McClellan – A New Look at the Old West
Ivan McClellan is a professional photographer and the creator of the Eight Seconds Project, a storytelling project with the goal of extending the cowboy icon to include people of color. Ivan started the project back in 2015, after a series of chance encounters led him to an all-black rodeo in Oklahoma. Over the course of …
Chris Burkard – The Art of Suffering
Chris Burkard is a world-renowned photographer, filmmaker, and storyteller whose work captures the beauty and rawness of some of the earth’s wildest places. Whether documenting iconic climbs in Yosemite or frigid surf trips deep in the Arctic Circle, Chris has established himself as a committed artist who is willing to suffer extensively to get the …
George Hodgin – Mission-Driven Entrepreneur
George Hodgin is the founder and CEO of Biopharmaceutical Research Company (BRC), a California-based business with the mission of providing federally legal cannabis for approved researchers in the United States. Prior to starting BRC, George served as a US Navy SEAL officer, leading counterterrorism operations in combat zones such as Afghanistan. And to top it …
Andrew Ramiro Tirado – Stoking His Artistic Fire
Andrew Ramiro Tirado is a Colorado-based artist who is best known for his award-winning large-scale sculptures and paintings of human hands. Using wood, metal, or traditional paint and canvas, Andrew combines his unique artistic eye with decades of experience as a craftsman to create remarkable pieces that are stunning in both their size and presentation. …
Jessica Ilalaole – Creating Home in the High Desert
Jessica Ilalaole is a New Mexico-based artist who specializes in handcrafted jewelry inspired by the natural world and the landscapes of the American West. Through her online store CobraCult Jewelry, Jessica has built a loyal following of customers and admirers who are drawn to her uniquely stunning designs, as well as her authentic and unconventional …
Kate Kavanaugh – Regeneration & Restoration
Kate Kavanaugh is an entrepreneur and regenerative agriculture advocate who co-owns and operates Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe in Denver, Colorado. Along with her partner Josh Curtiss, Kate sells fresh, local, grass-fed and pasture-raised meats that are all raised and harvested within 150 miles of Denver. Although she has been featured in such notable publications as …
Mark Kenyon – A Passion for Public Lands
Mark Kenyon is a conservationist, outdoorsman, and author of the fantastic new book That Wild Country: An Epic Journey through the Past, Present, and Future of America’s Public Lands. For years, Mark has been well-known and respected in the hunting world, thanks in part to his website, blog, and podcast called Wired to Hunt, which …
Matt Skoglund – Adventures in Bison Ranching
Matt Skoglund and his wife Sarah are bison ranchers and the owners of the North Bridger Bison Ranch, which is located in Montana’s iconic Shields Valley. The Skoglund’s bison operation is deeply rooted in Holistic Management and Regenerative Agriculture principles, and their goal is to produce healthy and delicious meat, while simultaneously improving the land, helping the …
Duke Phillips III – A Vision for the New West
Duke Phillips III is the founder and CEO of Ranchlands, a Colorado-based, family-owned ranch management company. If Ranchlands sounds familiar, that’s because last week’s episode was with Duke’s son, Duke Phillips IV. You may remember that the younger Duke referenced his father’s philosophies around business and leadership several times, so I thought it would be …
Duke Phillips IV – Living with the Land
Duke Phillips IV is the Chief Operating Officer of Ranchlands, a Colorado-based ranching and ranch management company that is widely celebrated for its deep conservation ethic. Duke oversees all operations across Ranchlands’ properties, which include the renowned 87,000-acre Chico Basin Ranch and the 103,000-acre Medano Zapata Ranch. Working closely with his father Duke III and …
Live in Bozeman!
Live in Bozeman! This episode is a special recording from a Mountain & Prairie live podcast in Bozeman, Montana. On August 30th more than 300 folks gathered at the historic Ellen Theatre in downtown Bozeman to watch, listen, and participate in a wide-ranging conversation with four amazing women of the West—hat-maker and farmer Cate Havstad; …
Mary Rondepierre – Melding Work, Play, and Purpose
Mary Rondepierre is a fourth-generation Montanan, avid sportswoman, and a public lands advocate who has explored our nation’s wild places from coast to coast. She is also the Marketing and Experiences Manager at Filson, one of the most renowned and respected outdoor apparel brands anywhere. Currently based in Seattle, Mary has managed to combine her …
Jessica Lewis – Doing More With Less
Jessica Lewis is a Montana-based metalsmith who is best known for the beautifully unique jewelry she creates for her online shop, Ruby and Revolver. She is also the mother of a two-year-old daughter, who she is raising with her husband in the home they constructed with their own hands in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. Thanks to …
Len Necefer – Indigenous Advocate
Len Necefer is a scholar, entrepreneur, and outdoor adventurer who is also a proud member of the Navajo Nation. Academically, Len holds a Ph.D. in engineering and public policy, and he is currently a professor of both Indian Studies and public policy at the University of Arizona. In business, he’s the CEO of NativesOutdoors, a …
Auden Schendler – The Optimistic Pragmatist
Auden Schendler is Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company, where he focuses on finding large-scale solutions to climate change, specifically through clean energy and activism. Aspen Skiing Company has long been at the forefront of sustainable business practices, and Auden is one of the main forces behind the scenes driving those efforts—efforts …
