Raised in central Montana, Eric remembers being about nine years old for his first overnight backpacking trip in the Scapegoat Wilderness. A sleeping pad, tent, and backpacking stove that his father purchased in the early 1980s are among the treasures in his attic. The stove is still in service. Although he considers himself functionally domesticated, wild settings are where Eric feels most at home. He agrees with Ed Abbey on the point that, “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.”

University studies were in biology/ecology and subsequently science education. Eric worked full time as a naturalist in Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front for eight years. Although he hasn’t kept track, Eric has walked many thousands of miles in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and traveled many other uncounted days on rivers and landscapes elsewhere.

Currently Eric enjoys the challenges of navigating the interface of nature and civilization in the operation of a small, diversified farm focused on biological, regenerative practices.  A beautiful and brilliant son holds force for life’s compass.  The opportunity to spend time outside teaching and learning with familiar faces and with the newly-met is something Eric is always grateful for.