Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Live in Big Sky! This episode is a live panel I moderated this past September at The Rut Mountain Runs in Big Sky, Montana, presented by Trust for Public Land and The North Face. If you're not familiar with The Rut, it's one of the premier trail running festivals in the country. It's three full days of racing, from an 11K all the way up to a super-challenging 50K with about 10,500 feet of climbing and descending. There's even a 1K "Runt Run" for the kiddos. But what makes it all so special is the people. Pros, weekend warriors and families are all out there together, and the vibe is fun, welcoming and humble. I've been to a lot of trail races over the years, and I can honestly say this was the most welcoming one I've experienced anywhere. That's no surprise, because The Rut was co-founded and is directed by Mike Foote. Mike was a guest on the show years ago and has since become a good friend. He's one of the most thoughtful, kind and inclusive people I know, and he brings a conservation ethic to everything he does. This year he and his team even launched The Rut Grants, a program that funds the people and places that give life to the sport of trail running. That made The Rut the perfect setting for a conversation with some of the West's most effective conservation practitioners and thinkers about the threats our public lands are facing and what we can do about them. It was an all-star panel: Olivia Amber, ultrarunner for The North Face; Dillon Osleger, author of the excellent book Trail Work,; Hilary Eisen, Federal Policy Director at Wild Montana; and David Weinstein, Northern Rockies Director at Trust for Public Land. We dug into everything from the Roadless Rule rollback to Forest Service staffing cuts to last year's attempt to sell off public lands, and what actually moves the needle with elected officials. I'm releasing this one around the 2026 midterms, and hopefully this election cycle will be a positive one for public lands. The threats to public lands rise and fall with different administrations, but they never fully stop. f you've listened to my conversations with historians of the West, you know these fights go back to the days of Theodore Roosevelt, and they've continued right up to today. They take different forms from decade to decade, but the threats are always looming. So as people who love these places, we need to stay vigilant, stay engaged and be willing to speak up. That can mean submitting public comments, calling your elected officials, donating to nonprofits doing the work or volunteering your time. But the harsh reality is that whatever you do, you need be prepared to do it for the rest of your life, because these threats are not going to stop. On a lighter note, I'd really encourage you to pick a race at The Rut and go. It's a great celebration of the mountains, endurance sports and good people. Registration for 2027 opens on January 12th, 2027, at 8 a.m. Mountain Time, and it sells out fast, so mark your calendar. You can find everything at runtherut.com. A big thanks to Mike and the whole Rut team for inviting me up to moderate. And thanks to our panelists for sharing their wisdom and for the work they do every day to protect the West's wide-open spaces. --- The Rut Mountain Runs Trust for Public Land The North Face Wild Montana Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/the-rut --- 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, Patagonia Books, the Mighty Arrow Family Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing The Rut Mountain Runs 4:27 - Mike Foote introducing Ed and the panel 6:18 - Ed on M&P's mission and panelist introductions 9:39 - The threats 16:52 - What's keeping David up at night 21:01 - Things the outdoor industry could do better 24:39 - What a trail means for a community 29:04 - If everyone agrees, why do we keep talking about this? 33:35 - Moving the needle 37:27 - Audience question, how do we use our money? 42:23 - Audience question, how do we be proactive? 49:20 - Audience question, hope out of the restructuring chaos? --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser is President and CEO of the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that does everything from massive landscape protection projects to pocket parks in big cities, all built around a simple idea: land for people. I've wanted to have Carrie on the podcast for a long time, and we finally made it happen in person at El Pomar's Penrose House here in Colorado Springs. She's one of the most accomplished, grounded, and genuinely fun people I've talked to in a while, and her résumé is so packed I honestly don't know how she's fit it all into one career. Carrie grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona, hiking into the Grand Canyon with her dad, which eventually led to summers working for one of the canyon's most storied river companies. She planned on law school but instead earned a PhD in higher education public policy at UCLA. From there, she was one of the first employees to help build the Daniels Fund from scratch, served in leadership at Metropolitan State University of Denver, and spent nearly 11 years as President and CEO of Colorado Mountain College. Along the way, she chaired the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission during wolf reintroduction planning and somehow found time to climb all of Colorado's 14ers. Carrie and I talked about growing up in Flagstaff, the lessons she learned helping build one of the largest foundations in the Rockies, and how she stays grounded in roles that come with real influence. We dug into what makes Colorado Mountain College so unique, what she learned about the urban/rural divide while chairing CPW, TPL's goal of putting every American within a 10-minute walk of a park, its incredible schoolyard transformation work, and Colorado's Proposition 137, which voters will decide on in just a few days. We wrapped up with some great book recommendations, including a couple from Ken Salazar and Kevin Fedarko. I really enjoyed this one, and I think you will too. Enjoy! --- Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser Trust for Public Land Prop 137 Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/carrie-hauser --- 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, Patagonia Books, the Mighty Arrow Family Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser 3:27 - Growing up in Flagstaff 9:33 - College plan 18:53 - What Carrie learned 25:57 - Staying grounded 30:21 - Colorado Mountain College 36:01 - Making mountain communities run 42:49 - Being there for the community 46:15 - Leaving the college 51:11 - The value of a park 59:01 - The benefits of a schoolyard 1:02:37 - Prop 137 1:08:05 - It just makes sense 1:10:06 - Book recs 1:17:03 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

Riverhorse Nakadate is a writer, Patagonia ambassador, conservationist, and canoe-paddling, fly-fishing, bird-loving, self-described tree hugger. He's also the author of the book "Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain." Riverhorse and I have been trading emails for years, so it was a real treat to finally meet in person when he came through Boulder on his book tour. He's one of the warmest people I've met in a long time; and I felt like I was chatting with an old friend. This conversation also marks the launch of something new: M&P Reads, the Mountain & Prairie book club. The idea is simple: I sit down with the author of a book I love, we have our normal podcast conversation, and then I ask them a few questions sent in by readers like you. I couldn't think of a better guest to kick things off. Riverhorse was born in Texas to a teenage mom who went on to practice medicine, become a mountain climber, and live as an off-the-grid wild woman. At age five he was adopted by his father, a Stanford literature PhD who took classes from Wallace Stegner. Summers at the family's fishing cabin on the Oregon coast turned him into a surfer, and his writing eventually took him to the University of Iowa, then to a decade as a staff writer for Surfing magazine, and later to the pages of The Flyfish Journal. His films Love and Water and Northern Light, which documents his 200-mile paddle to fight a proposed copper mine in Minnesota's Boundary Waters and later aired on PBS, brought his voice to a much wider audience. Water Lines gathers stories from a lifetime spent on Texas salt marshes, rivers, oceans, and wilderness lakes, illustrated with 24 beautiful paintings based on Riverhorse's own photos. Fly fishing runs through the book, but as Riverhorse says, it's just the vehicle. "Water Lines" is really about love, community, family, and standing up for the wild places and people you care about. Riverhorse and I talked about how the book came together, from his stacks of journals to the art to the long and winding editing process with Patagonia. We talked about his time at the University of Iowa playing water polo, how he stays calm when a flood is barreling down the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and how being a lifelong pacifist fits together with being willing to fight for what you love. We discussed his mom, his take on news and social media, his work to protect the Boundary Waters, the dangerous shark-finning story he reported along the Rio Grande, and his friendships with Andrew Luck, JT Van Zandt, and Alvin Dedeaux. We also talked a lot about books, including John Muir's lesser-known "A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf." Then we turned to your questions, covering which river Riverhorse would paddle to recreate Goodbye to a River, whether he wrote the book with the fly fishing crowd in mind, and how everyday people can treat wilderness as a necessity rather than a luxury. This was such a fun one, and be sure to click through to the episode notes to grab a copy of "Water Lines." Enjoy! --- Riverhorse Nakadate Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/riverhorse-nakadate --- 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, Patagonia Books, the Mighty Arrow Family Foundation for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 0:00 - Introducing Riverhorse Nakadate and highlighting M&P's new book club 7:07 - A deep love for books (and for Ed!) 9:02 - The book's artwork 10:59 - Journaling and Iowa 12:51 - Surfing phase 16:07 - Chill in the flood 18:01 - A wild woman 20:31 - Pranks 22:29 - Mindfulness 26:53 - Locals only 28:45 - Holding your ground 29:53 - News sources 32:26 - Yvon admiration 35:40 - Boundary Waters 37:11 - Tony 40:56 - Not a fly fishing book 44:43 - No fear (or maybe a little) 48:10 - Andrew Locke 50:41 - Kind humans 55:56 - Book club questions 1:02:37 - Book talk 1:04:52 - Opening a gift on-air 1:09:14 - The (long) path to the book 1:14:57 - Book club Q's (from Italy!) 1:18:12 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

Olivia Amber is a professional ultrarunner, climber, and adventurer, and a North Face sponsored athlete based in Bishop, California. I met Olivia at The Rut Mountain Runs in Big Sky, where she was on a public lands panel I moderated. She was also there to talk about her biggest project to date: Norman's 13. Norman's 13 is a route, a link-up of all thirteen of the Sierra's 14,000-foot peaks. It's more than 100 miles with over 40,000 feet of climbing, much of it exposed, off-trail, fifth-class scrambling. Last September, Olivia did the whole thing in one non-stop push, finishing in about 89 hours and becoming the first woman to complete it. The North Face made a short film about that effort, also called "Norman's 13," and I'll link to it in the show notes. And earlier this summer, Olivia and her friend and fellow North Face athlete Erika Flowers set the fastest known time on Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana. Olivia grew up in a tiny village in the woods of northern Wisconsin, the daughter of two schoolteachers who spent their summers road-tripping around the country with Olivia and her older sister. She went on to become an All-American Nordic skier at Colby College, and after graduation she made the hard decision to not pursue pro skiing. Instead, she began working in the corporate world in San Francisco, where the Bay Area trail running community pulled her in and she began to make a name for herself in the world of ultrarunning. Along the way she has dealt with serious health challenges, including a diagnosis of stage four endometriosis, which she speaks about openly and honestly. In this conversation, we talk about her upbringing and her college years, and about her idea that choosing to suffer is a privilege, because she has become acquainted with the kind of suffering you don't choose. We get into how she thinks about risk and ego on technical terrain, what she looks for in a mountain adventure partner, her upcoming trip to Bhutan for the Snowman Race, and the Wallace Stegner book she has reread more than any other. As you can probably tell by now Olivia is a hardcore athlete, but she's also incredibly humble, down-to-earth and funny– the exact kind of person I love talking to on the podcast. There's a link to "Norman's 13" in the show notes, and you should absolutely watch it. --- Olivia Amber "Norman's 13" film Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/olivia-amber --- 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 Olivia Amber and highlighting MIRASOL 6:42 - Growing up in Wisconsin 8:40 - Congregating at the local school 11:20 - Endurance sports activated 13:39 - Finding passion in difficulty 15:30 - Olivia in high school and college 20:21 - D1 22:13 - All-American designation 25:13 - Moving away from professional skiing 27:34 - Athletics + corporate world 29:48 - San Francisco running community 32:58 - Going hard core 35:06 - Health scares 39:39 - The privilege of elective suffering 45:07 - The North Face and Norman's 13 51:26 - Not afraid 57:24 - Credit roll 59:50 - What to look for in an adventure partner 1:02:47 - Upcoming projects 1:03:56 - Book recs 1:05:37 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

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 podcast Dan's Books Full 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 Project 7:24 - From writing to audio 13:10 - The natural West 20:01 - Aha! moments 28:41 - George Perkins Marsh 44:43 - Animal eradication 52:31 - Teddy Roosevelt deep-dive 1:05:18 - Place 1:13:56 - Rewilding the Bitterroot 1:20:12 - Rewilding on your own scale 1:23:06 - Book recs and wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All Episodes Mountain & Prairie Shop Mountain & Prairie on Instagram Upcoming Events About Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts