The Trail Less Traveled

Hal Herring is an award-winning journalist and writer renowned for his work in conservation and investigative journalism. His writing has appeared in notable publications such as The Atlantic, The Economist, and Orion. He is also a contributing editor at Field & Stream and a regular contributor to High Country News. Beyond his writing, Herring has made significant...

Lisa Barill, a wildlife biologist and science writer, shares the fascinating story of ice patch archaeology and how melting glaciers are revealing a trove of ancient artifacts around the world.  She earned a B.S. in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2000 and a master's degree from Montana State University in 2009. Baril has extensive experience writing about natural resourc...

Discover the remarkable story of how a Greek immigrant's fruit stand in early 1900s Missoula blossomed into Caras Nursery, a thriving family business spanning over 100 years. Bill Caras shares heartwarming tales of growing up in a close-knit community during the 1950s and 60s, where childhood adventures and family values shaped his future. Beyond the nursery, Bill reveals his passion for historica...

Ramona Holt grew up in Montana’s ranching and rodeo scene, participating in youth, intercollegiate and professional rodeo. As an adult, she dedicated her life to promoting the western way of living, and for 30 years Ramona and her husband, Bill, traveled throughout the western United States, Canada and Australia promoting professional rodeo and the West. They started their own herd of Texas Longho...

Dr. Diane Boyd is a wildlife biologist who has 45+ years of applied expertise on behavior, conservation and management of wild wolf populations. She is the author of "A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery."  She began her career in 1977 with Dr. L. David Mech’s wolf research project in Minnesota. She moved to Montana in 1979 to study gray wo...

Marilyn Marler holds a Bachelor's degree from University of California, Davis and a Master's degree from the University of Montana, both in Biology. She has been a Natural Areas Specialist at the University of Montana since 1998. Marilyn brings 25 years’ experience in land stewardship, science education, and public service to her role at MNHC. She grew up in the Sierra Nevada f...

Bart Henderson, a retired international river guide, shares his experiences growing up in Utah and being part of the early river rafting industry. He describes how the town of Vernal and the Green River were central to the development of companies like Hatch River Expeditions, which pioneered commercial rafting. Bart's early exposure to the river guiding business sparked his lifelong passion for a...

Step into the fascinating world of mountain lions with Jim Williams, a veteran wildlife biologist with over 30 years of experience in large carnivore conservation. Often referred to as the "ghosts of the forest", in this episode Jim shares captivating insights about these magnificent predators that roam the Americas. Through his remarkable career journey, Jim has championed wildlife conservation e...

Discover how a small Montana city became a thriving hub of culture, entrepreneurship, and community connection. From the iconic Big Dipper Ice Cream celebrating its 30th anniversary to the bustling Caras Park hosting over 100 community events annually, downtown Missoula exemplifies the perfect blend of historical preservation and modern vibrancy. Linda McCarthy,  Executive Director of the Downtow...

Tom Puchlerz is married with two children, two grandchildren, and three English setters. Retired after 38 years with the U.S. Forest Service as a biologist and administrator with assignments in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, Tom is a member of numerous local and national wildlife and fisheries conservation organizations. He is an avid hunter, angler, and advocate for wild places...

Patrick Farneman is the executive director of Bridges to the Past, the non-profit parent organization that hosts the annual "Between the Rivers" skills gathering near Valley, Washington. Patrick has been published in Survival Quarterly Magazine, and in The Bulletin of Primitive Technology. He has been an instructor at Rabbitstick, Wintercount, Echoes in Time, and Saskatoon Circle Gatheri...

Moses Chiguta has been guiding professionally for the past 25 years. He currently works as a guide for Chiawa Camp, located on the banks of the Zambezi River, under a grove of evergreen Mahogany trees. Chiawa Camp holds the prime position in the heart of Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park. Moses comes from Kabwadu village in Chiawa chiefdom and he started his guiding career i...

Jim Vashro serves on the board of directors for the Montana Wildlife Federation and worked for 39 years with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks before retiring as the regional fisheries manager in Kalispell where he lives with his wife Sandi. In the last 20 years, he focused on aquatic education and access, still active with Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW), Hooked on Fishing, Casting For Recovery a...

Russ Lyman grew up in northwest Washington State. He received a B.S. degree in Visual Communications from Western Washington University and then spent a couple of years in Ketchum, Idaho. In 1989 he began his river guiding career in Haines, Alaska, and started guiding on the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers in 1990. He has also worked as a river rafting guide in the Arctic, Chile, Indonesia, Nep...

The Northern Rockies region is home to the largest collection of pristine free-flowing rivers and native trout fisheries left in the lower 48 states. The headwaters of these pristine rivers originate in three sprawling wilderness complexes – the Crown of the Continent along the US-Canadian border; the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem where the  Missouri ,  Snake , and Green rivers are...

As the Northwest Regional Director, Sarah Dyrdahl leads the regional team working to protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water for people and nature in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. This is part one of our two part series featuring the work of American Rivers. Sarah has been working with communities on river conservation and restoration in Alaska and Oregon since 2004...

Missoula Housing Authority (“MHA”) is an independent nonprofit public organization with a portfolio of 1,178 rent-restricted apartments and housing choice vouchers, providing affordable housing to more than 4,500 very low-, low and middle-income veterans, families with children, elderly and disabled, foster youth and homeless, as well as working Missoulians. MHA is the second largest public housin...

Tama Raihania has been drawing and studying Maori artwork and Moko patterns since his early childhood. This interview tells the story of the evolution of tattooing. Tama is a "Tohunga Tā Moko" (Ta Moko tattoo artist). The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian "tatu" which means "to mark something." It is arguably claimed that tattooing&nbsp...

For this episode, we sit down in the village of Klukwan, known to be the capital of the Tlingit national - located near Haines, Alaska. This interview features an indigenous elder named Lani Hotch, the culture bearer for the Tlingit Nation. Lani Hotch is a leader and activist. Lani is the culture bearer for the Klukwan community. She is a traditional and contemporary weaver who lives a t...

This episode was recorded on the Colorado River within the walls of the Grand Canyon. Clayborn Nodman is a traditional singer, story teller, dancer and member of the Hualapai or Walapai. The Hualapai are a tribe of Native Americans who live in the mountains of northwestern Arizona, United States. Today they are enrolled in the Hualapai Indian Tribe...

Join us on the edge of the Clark Fork River for an interview with Jess McGlothlin, an international fly fishing guide, journalist and photographer. Jess was born in Colombia Falls, Montana. She grew up fly fishing, riding horses and doing rodeo events. Jess has documented fisheries in five continents but continues to return to Missoula inbetween international assignments. Jess speaks about the inf...

This episode was recorded on a drift boat while floating down the Clark Fork River near Missoula, Montana. Matt Devlin was born and raised on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, but has lived “Out West” so long now, that autocorrect had to step in for the assist in the spelling of the aforementioned estuary.   He has made his living off of the water for over half his life and for...

Recorded in the thatch hut at the most southern tip of Africa, Mandela sits down with her grandmother's best friend to discuss how they saved the landscape and permanently protected the ecosystem and wildlife in the area. Adriaan Mocke build a school and opened it to all races during the years of apartheid in South Africa. He is now 93 years old and he continues to give back to this...

Jodee Dixon is a multitalented and incredibly humble woman who has traveled the world as a professionally sponsored and world renowned whitewater kayaker. Jodee is the founder of "The Yoga Path" and teaches many forms of Yoga. She is an Artemis Sportswomen ambassador and avid hunter/angler. She lives in Juneau, Alaska and enjoys hunting black bear, Sitka blacktail deer, elk, Da...

Our adventures behind Big Sky Bikes continue with Josh Tack and Sarah Raz. This time we will cycle with them from Alaska to Mexico on a test run before getting married and then cycling around Spain for the Honeymoon. They share some excellent advice on multi day cycling trips and life in general. This is part two of our two part interview with Josh and Sarah. This epi...