Episodi

  • Dan Flores – A Deep Dive into the History of the Natural West

    Dan Flores – A Deep Dive into the History of the Natural West
    Sep 22 2026
    Dan Flores is back for another visit on the podcast. If you're a fan of the history of the American West, then Dan is no stranger—he's the author of many of my favorite books, including American Serengeti, Coyote America, and Wild New World. Most recently, he wrapped up a 42-episode series with the MeatEater network called The American West with Dan Flores, covering everything from bison and wolves to the origins of our public lands and what it means to belong to a place. It's the closest most of us will get to sitting in one of Dan's university classes, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Dan is Professor spent much of his academic career at the University of Montana, but he's always been less interested in the Old West of cattle drives and gunfights than in what he calls the natural West—the landscapes, animals, Native people, and ideas that make this region unlike anywhere else. He grew up in Louisiana, a place with almost no public land, and spent the 1970s looking for a foothold in the real West. He found three: the canyon country outside Lubbock, Montana's Bitterroot Valley, and the Galisteo Valley south of Santa Fe, where he and his wife, Dr. Sara Dant, live today. In each place, he dug in, learned the country, and went to work restoring it. As expected, we covered a ton in this episode: We started with the story behind The American West series and how a decades-long friendship with Steven Rinella finally turned into 42 episodes. We discussed the biggest epiphany Dan had while making it—that for those of us living here now, the public lands matter far more than the frontier ever did. Dan traces the origins of public lands back to George Perkins Marsh, a wildly influential public intellectual most of us have never heard of, and forward through John Wesley Powell, the first forest reserves, and the end of homesteading in the 1930s. We dug into Theodore Roosevelt's transformation from a young man who rushed to Dakota Territory to kill a buffalo before they were all gone into a president willing to break with his own Gilded Age class to protect the landscapes and wildlife he loved. We also talked about repeat photography and the staggering disappearance of the glaciers in Glacier National Park, the willful destruction of Western wildlife, bioregionalism and rewilding on a scale that any of us can manage, and a few book recommendations to round it out. Be sure to check the episode notes for links to everything we discussed, including the full American West series and the new 2026 edition of Coyote America. Dan is as generous with his time and wisdom as anyone I know, and I always come away from these conversations with a longer reading list and a better understanding of this place. --- The American West with Dan Flores podcastDan's BooksFull episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/dan-flores-2 --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Dan Flores and highlighting the Rye Resurgence Project7:24 - From writing to audio13:10 - The natural West20:01 - Aha! moments28:41 - George Perkins Marsh44:43 - Animal eradication52:31 - Teddy Roosevelt deep-dive1:05:18 - Place1:13:56 - Rewilding the Bitterroot1:20:12 - Rewilding on your own scale1:23:06 - Book recs and wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 ora e 31 min
  • Fitz Cahall - Going on the Offense for Public Lands

    Fitz Cahall - Going on the Offense for Public Lands
    Sep 14 2026
    Fitz Cahall is the creator of the legendary outdoor podcast The Dirtbag Diaries, co-founder of the creative agency Duct Tape Then Beer, and author of the excellent book States of Adventure. But most recently, he's gone from prolific creative mind to public lands advocate with the launch of Save Public Lands, a campaign that gives public land lovers of all stripes, from climbers to hunters, a way to go on the offense against the ongoing attacks on our public lands. The goal is a million signatures on a short letter with three clear demands: no more sell-offs, no more giveaways to foreign companies and billionaires, and no more backroom deals. Those signatures get delivered to DC and statehouses around Public Lands Day on September 26th. Partners include Outdoor Alliance, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, MeatEater, The Conservation Alliance, and The Wilderness Society. Fitz got his start in the mid-2000s scraping by as a freelance journalist, a job he refers to as "naked subsistence hunting." In 2007, he took a few stories that hadn't sold and turned them into a podcast. He emailed it to 30 friends. The next day 30 people had listened, then 300, then 3,000. Nearly 20 years later, he and his wife and creative partner Becca have built Duct Tape Then Beer into a story studio behind award-winning films and podcasts, all guided by one rule: the work has to strengthen people's connections to the natural world and to each other. We talked about how Save Public Lands came together, why Fitz chose offense over defense, and how a coalition this politically diverse—hunters, climbers, skiers, veterans, and legacy conservation groups—managed to find common ground and rally around a shared goal. Then we lightened it up and got into his creative life, including why he treats creative work like a band rather than a solo act, how he and Becca avoided chasing money for its own sake, what he does when his enthusiasm dips, and why he believes doubt and optimism are far more powerful together than either one alone. It's worth noting I consider Fitz a role model in a lot of ways, and I don't think Mountain & Prairie would exist without his example. I've been listening to The Dirtbag Diaries since the days when you had to download podcasts onto your computer, load them onto your iPod, then plug the iPod into the tape deck in your truck to listen. That's exactly what I was doing back then, driving around trying to sell real estate, and those stories cracked open a whole way of living and working that I didn't know was available to me. So thank you, Fitz, for all of it. There's a link below to sign the letter. It takes about 20 seconds, so there's no excuse not to do it. I loved this conversation, and I hope you enjoy. --- SAVE PUBLIC LANDS – Sign the Letter!The Dirtbag DiariesDuct Tape Then BeerFull episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/fitz-cahall --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Fitz Cahall and highlighting Patagonia books7:45 - Jumping right into Save Public Lands13:22 - Going on the offense18:05 - Partnerships for public lands22:30 - The money29:32 - How people can help32:40 - And how orgs can help33:56 - Fitz's creative life39:42 - Evolving as a collaborator43:12 - States of Adventure46:26 - Keeping values intact50:22 - Dealing with the dips54:32 - Book recs59:48 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 ora e 3 min
  • T.A. Barron - Naming Nature, Choosing Optimism, and Using Our Time Well

    T.A. Barron - Naming Nature, Choosing Optimism, and Using Our Time Well
    Sep 3 2026
    T.A. Barron—known as Tom to his friends—is a renowned author, a lifelong conservationist, and someone whose work sits at the intersection of two subjects that are near and dear to my heart: books and the natural world. Tom has written more than 30 books, including the internationally bestselling Merlin Saga, and his newest book, "Naming Nature: A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities for Word Lovers," gave us the perfect excuse to finally sit down together. It's a beautiful, fascinating exploration of the stories behind the names we give to plants, animals, and other parts of the natural world, and I think it's a must-read for anyone who loves nature and loves words—which probably describes most people listening to this podcast. Tom is also a deeply committed conservationist who has spent decades supporting and leading conservation efforts, so as you can imagine, we had plenty to talk about. Tom grew up first in New England and then on a ranch north of Colorado Springs, where watching the surrounding landscape disappear to development helped shape his conservation ethic at an early age. After Princeton and a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford, he initially pursued a career in business in New York City, while waking up at four or four-thirty every morning to write before work. Eventually he realized that those early-morning hours were the happiest part of his day, so despite having already endured plenty of rejection as a young writer, he left a successful business career, moved back to Colorado, and gave writing another shot. More than 30 books later, I think it's safe to say that gamble worked out. Along the way, conservation has remained a central part of his life, including his longtime involvement with The Wilderness Society and many other conservation organizations and initiatives. Tom and I talked about his adventurous parents, his childhood in Colorado, his spectacular early failures as a writer, and the decision to walk away from a successful career to pursue the work that made him feel most alive. We talked about mortality and the importance of using our limited time well; managing the constant barrage of news and social media; optimism, wonder, and our shared love of the natural world; and how Tom became so deeply involved in conservation. And, of course, we dug into "Naming Nature" and some of the wonderfully strange stories behind names like hellbender, sarcastic fringehead, narwhal, praying mantis, elephant, and even the Yeti. We also talked about why names matter, how paying closer attention can lead to caring, and how caring can ultimately lead to conservation. This was a fun, wide-ranging conversation with a thoughtful and endlessly curious guy, and I think you'll really enjoy it. --- T.A. BarronNaming Nature: A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities for Word LoversFull episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/ta-barron --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing T.A. Barron and highlighting the Rye Resurgence Project6:49 - Growing up12:47 - Tom's early writing career16:46 - Oxford days to first novel21:53 - The work that goes into rejection24:56 - Plan B, 10 years later29:18 - Keeping mortality in mind35:10 - Good and bad tools37:51 - His first book on the shelf41:21 - Getting into conservation48:02 - The new book53:52 - Where the word "sarcastic" came from56:31 - And a few more fun word examples1:02:52 - The capacity to name1:04:19 - The Yeti1:07:38 - Cultivating stewardship1:11:11 - Book recs1:15:33 - Wrapping up (and a reading of Elephant) --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 ora e 21 min
  • Kim Wiggins – The Courage to Be Original

    Kim Wiggins – The Courage to Be Original
    Aug 28 2026
    Kim Wiggins is a world-renowned painter from New Mexico, and one of the most recognizable artists working in the American West today. His bold, swirling canvases have made him one of the leading artistic voices of what's come to be called the New West. His work hangs in the Autry, the Booth, and the American Museum of Western Art in Denver, and this past year he won Best in Show at the Prix de West, the most prestigious award in Western art, becoming the first modernist ever to take it home. Kim comes by all of this honestly. Both sides of his family came west in covered wagons in the late 1800s and settled into ranching along the Pecos River. His mother was running two ranches and a nightclub in Arizona by her mid-twenties; his father was a photojournalist for Life and Sports Illustrated, and a bush pilot who once had to sprint back to his plane in the Amazon and count the arrows in the side of the fuselage. Kim grew up surrounded by creativity– Thomas Hart Benton paged through his sketchbook and he ate lunch with Georgia O'Keeffe at Ghost Ranch. He began focusing seriously on painting while stationed in Europe with the military and soon became the youngest member of the Society of American Impressionists — a career most artists would give an arm for, and one he walked away from completely. We talk about why he walked away, which starts with a moment at a show in St. Louis when he spotted one of his paintings across the room, hurried over, and discovered it wasn't his. We cover the lean years that followed, including knocking on doors in Lubbock in the summer heat with a car full of paintings. And we get into the ideas behind the work: why a loss of innovation is the death knell of a civilization, why he watches children in galleries instead of collectors, the paintings he made for the NAACP after his son asked him a question he couldn't answer, and his conviction that a gift, by definition, belongs to someone else. I first met Kim back in 2022 at Maxwell Alexander Gallery's ten-year show, where he was on a panel I moderated, and I've wanted a longer conversation ever since. Hope you enjoy. --- Kim WigginsPrix de WestMaxwell Alexander panel discussion (2022)Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/kim-wiggins --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Kim Wiggins3:44 - Wiggins' family history9:49 - Kim's dad's photojournalism travels12:44 - Parental pressure?17:07 - Military education20:36 - Money v. creativity28:36 - Making the decision to change course34:52 - When things started to work 38:42 - It's never about Kim43:47 - Continuous evolution49:44 - How Kim's paintings come together53:10 - Inspiration from his son58:45 - Collaborative projects1:04:26 - Blood and Thunder1:06:21 - All the circles aligning1:11:03 - How art has changed in the West1:14:00 - Book recs1:17:47 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 ora e 20 min
  • Announcing MOUNTAIN & PRAIRE READS! Featuring "Water Lines" by Riverhorse Nakadate

    Announcing MOUNTAIN & PRAIRE READS! Featuring "Water Lines" by Riverhorse Nakadate
    Aug 21 2026

    Introducing Mountain & Prairie Reads—a book club for people who don't want to sit through another Zoom call.

    Every other month or so, I'll recommend a book I think is worth your time. Read it, send me your questions, and then I'll sit down with the author and ask as many of your best questions as I can.

    Our first selection is Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain by Riverhorse Nakadate. I'll be interviewing Riverhorse on September 30, so grab a copy, start reading, and submit your questions by September 29.

    Read a great book. Ask the author a question. Listen to the answer.

    ---

    • MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE READS
    • Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain by Riverhorse Nakadate
    • Submit your questions!

    ---

    THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship.
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    13 min
  • Romey Swanson — The Work of Finding Common Ground

    Romey Swanson — The Work of Finding Common Ground
    Aug 7 2026
    Romey Swanson is the Executive Director of the Devils River Conservancy, and he wears a lot of other hats too—wildlife biologist, naturalist, writer, photographer, and a leader in just about every corner of the Texas conservation world. The Devils River is generally considered the most pristine stream in Texas, and maybe in the entire Southwest—remote, spring-fed, and held together entirely by private landowners. The county it runs through leads all 254 counties in Texas in privately conserved acres, and none of it was required by regulation. If you've ever wondered how conservation gets done in a place with almost no public land, Romey and his community have built a model worth paying attention to. Romey grew up in rural West Virginia as part of what he calls the last generation of feral children—turned loose outside with instructions to be home before dark, with the creek behind the house as his best friend. His family moved to Texas when he was in junior high, and like most teenagers, he traded all of that for sports and a social life. He was a first-generation college student headed toward sports medicine when he walked past a flyer at Texas State advertising a Wildlife Society meeting—free pizza and live animals. He went for the pizza, met a faculty advisor, and changed his major that week. I've known Romey for six or seven years, and we cover a lot of ground here—his early days filling deer feeders and checking bird nest boxes, why he says waiting tables taught him as much about this work as his degrees, and whether leadership can actually be taught. We get into the threats facing the Devils River—data centers, transmission lines, and energy projects that can undo decades of voluntary conservation—and his work with the mountain lion stakeholder group in Texas, which has some obvious parallels to the wolf situation here in Colorado. There's also a good stretch on his passion projects, including his owl research in the mountains of far West Texas, and why he decided to use social media to push out something positive instead of more conflict. We wrap up with a few book recommendations and his encouragement to all of us to just pay attention. I loved this conversation... Enjoy! --- Romey SwansonDevils River ConservancyFull episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/romey-swanson --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Romey Swanson and highlighting Cattlemen's6:30 - Romey describes his work10:16 - How he got into his work14:42 - Texas pride17:37 - Early Romey21:30 - First leadership opportunity29:34 - Devils River Conservancy35:07 - Keeping the land magical39:14 - Devils River moving forward42:25 - Mountain lions in Texas and wolves in CO56:26 - Ways to keep track1:01:15 - Sending folks to Romey's podcast1:08:40 - Romey's Instagram1:12:27 - Book recs1:17:23 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 ora e 21 min
  • Mike Bartolo — Soil, Science, and Selflessness

    Mike Bartolo — Soil, Science, and Selflessness
    Jul 23 2026
    Dr. Mike Bartolo is a third-generation farmer from Pueblo County, Colorado, and a retired research scientist and vegetable crops specialist at Colorado State University. Mike's grandparents immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s to work in the mines around Pueblo, and after years of backbreaking labor, they saved enough to buy a small farm on the St. Charles Mesa—the beginning of a family legacy on the land that continues to this day. Mike went on to spend more than three decades at CSU serving the farmers of the Arkansas Valley, and while he'd never claim the title himself, many consider him the developer of the legendary Pueblo Chile. I first met Mike back in 2018 through our mutual work with Palmer Land Conservancy, and ever since, I've seen him as a mentor when it comes to matters of water, farmland conservation, long-term thinking, and kindness. His combination of scientific expertise, tireless work ethic, deep humility, and fierce devotion to his family and community is something I've rarely encountered. Mike is also one of the main characters profiled in the poignant and powerful Ben Knight documentary MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, which chronicles Pueblo County's farming community and its fight to protect its land and water—so it was an honor to finally sit down with him for this long-overdue conversation. We started with the remarkable story of his grandparents—including his grandfather Rocco, who survived being a prisoner of war in World War I before returning to Colorado to break rocks for the steel industry—and how that generation's sacrifice continues to guide Mike today. We talked about his childhood on the family farm, where he and his five siblings turned every chore into an Olympic competition, and his path to becoming a plant scientist at CSU. We discussed what makes Pueblo County's farmland world-class, the cautionary tale of Crowley County's devastating water sales, and why Mike believes educating and mobilizing the public is the key to protecting the Arkansas Valley's water. We also dug into the history of the Pueblo Chile, as well as the making of "MIRASOL," his approach to passionate-but-respectful advocacy, the spiritual connection he feels to the soil, his advice for the next generation of farmers, and much more. This was such a meaningful conversation for me, and I know you'll enjoy getting to know Mike as much as I have. Enjoy! --- Dr. Michael Bartolo MIRASOL: Looking at the SunPalmer Land ConservancyMike's Innovation in Conservation Award filmFull episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/mike-bartolo --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Mike Bartolo and highlighting MIRASOL7:03 - Reconnecting with Mike 8:16 - Mike's grandparents12:14 - A particular kind of work ethic17:28 - Growing up competitive20:01 - Developing expertise23:30 - Farmland development28:33 - Pueblo County30:56 - Colorado water36:27 - Solutions?40:57 - MIRASOL45:20 - The Pueblo Chile51:06 - Being an advocate55:58 - Mike's advice to younger folks59:03 - Time spent now1:00:51 - Book (or video) recs and anthropology inspo1:06:07 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 ora e 8 min
  • Heather Hansman — The Untold Stories of Three Fierce Women

    Heather Hansman — The Untold Stories of Three Fierce Women
    Jul 14 2026
    This is Heather Hansman's third appearance on the podcast, and if you've been listening for a while, you know how much her work has shaped my own understanding of the West. Heather is an award-winning journalist and the author of "Downriver" and "Powder Days"—two books I reference constantly—and she's back today to talk about her brand-new book, Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America's Love for the Wild, which hits shelves the same day this episode is released. "Fierce Country" tells the stories of three women who were pivotal in shaping how we think about recreation and conservation today, yet whose stories have largely gone untold: Georgie White, one of the first Grand Canyon river guides; Anne LaBastille, an off-the-grid Adirondack guide and pioneering climate scientist; and Dolores LaChapelle, a legendary powder skier and environmental philosopher whose ideas helped launch the deep ecology movement. These are three complicated, larger-than-life characters, and Heather weaves their wild adventures together with her own personal story in a way that makes the book resonate no matter who you are. As always with Heather's work, it introduced me to ideas I didn't even know I needed to be thinking about. Heather and I talked about how she chose these three women and why their stories were left out of the history most of us learned, and we dug into some of the big ideas woven throughout the book—the heroine's journey versus the hero's journey, the superwoman myth, and the surprising research on men and women in outdoor sports. We discussed the double standards that outdoorswomen face, especially as parents, and the culture of harassment that unfortunately still exists in the outdoor world. We also chatted about Heather's recent investigative reporting on bots gaming the recreation.gov permit system, the importance of journalism and speaking truth to power, and how five years of living with these women's stories has changed the way Heather moves through the world. I loved this conversation, and I can't recommend "Fierce Country" highly enough—the book is out today, so be sure to click through to the episode notes and grab a copy. --- Heather HansmanFierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America's Love for the WildHeather's First and Second M&P episodesFull episode notes and links: mountainandprairie.com/heather-hansman-3 --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Heather Hansman (again) and highlighting Patagonia books7:00 - Book number three8:08 - Overview of Fierce Country12:05 - Why these women16:22 - Georgie and Anne on the wild19:31 - Anne vs. Thoreau23:08 - Constraint drives creativity26:12 - Driven by hardships28:58 - The heroine's journey30:45 - Female and male differences35:40- To scold or not to scold41:41 - Pitching the book44:08 - Outward Bound46:56 - Recreation.gov50:07 - Slowing down56:48 - Bad feminism1:04:50 - What's next for Heather --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 ora e 6 min