“My plants have grown without me knowing My hair is longer now without me seeing The days are long and go by quickly Years pass and I don’t feel older I still see through the eyes of a child I blink and things are different I sleep and awaken to a place unrecognizable When did

Beneath the cold, clear waters of the Bighorn River, a smooth brown trout flicks their tail, leaning headfirst into the current, hiding within the flowing green water grasses. Tiny flying insects are plentiful; they flutter above the surface, newborns freshly hatched and tasting the dry air for their first and last time in just one

After reading about historical river geomorphology, floating the Bighorn River, and generally paying attention to how our society functions, I have realized that we like our rivers like we like our people: straight. We construct enormous dams and place levees so that rivers like the Bighorn will no longer meander, increasing linear channelization and ignoring

Looking out on top of the highest peak in the Big Snowy Mountains in Montana, I cannot help but think about how I got here and the privilege that led me on this path. I was raised in an upper-middle class family in Portland, Oregon. Growing up in a big city in a wealthy neighborhood

The past year and a half has not been easy for any of us. In managing the shocks and surprises brought upon us by COVID-19, we have all had to take on various lifestyle changes. For us as students, one of the main changes we had to adjust to was the mode in which we

Submerged in the teal kelpy coolness, I revel in the presence of my dear friend once more. This summer, the Pacific Ocean has not only been a friend, but a sage teacher, soulful healer, and sublime inspiration. Days spent surfing the small summer swells have taught me patience and awareness, filled me with peace and

As eleven of my classmates and I descended into a slot canyon in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, a nearby hiker stopped and asked, “How come you aren’t in school?”  It’s mid-September and we are about as far from traditional classrooms as we could be. The wild, remote landscapes of Montana have become

The Missouri River Breaks is a landscape dominated by striking sedimentary landforms, endless sagebrush flats, placid green water, acres of cattle, and men. While the latter two elements may seem minor in the geological timescale that has shaped the landscape, their influence in the last two centuries has been marked and undeniable. Cow pies score

Sitting in the Great Falls doctor’s office with a sling on my right arm, I sighed, replaying the moment I dislocated my shoulder in the Bob Marshall Wilderness over and over in my head like a broken record. I almost couldn’t comprehend that days before we had been blissfully trekking along and now I was

Our human civilization often seems far and disconnected from the natural world. Many of us now live in cities and get our food from the grocery store, not the land itself. Our water comes from the faucet, not the creek. We have come a long way in creating our new “human” ecosystem, and often forget