The Trail Less Traveled

By Mandela Leola van EedenSociety & Culture

The Trail Less Traveled episodes

June 22, 2021 Wildlife Conservation in Montana with Alec Underwood of the MT Wildlife Federation
Recorded in the forested mountains just outside Missoula featuring Alec Underwood, the federal conservation campaigns manager for the Montana Wildlife Federation. In this episode we learn about cold water fish species of concern here in Montana as well as climate change and good ole' fashioned elk hunting stories as well as a deep dive into the world and history of wildlife conservation here in Montana.

Alec brings his passion for conservation and admiration of public lands to the job. He has spent several years in the field of fisheries and holds a degree in aquatic wildlife biology from the University of Montana. He has worked in collaboration with federal agencies, private landowners, and conservation organizations on a variety of different issues. While not working or volunteering his time for conservation, Alec can be found on a trout stream or in the mountains of southwest Montana pursuing elk in September.
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38 min
March 28, 2021 The Art of Ancient Symbolism & Primitive Tupperware.
Arturo Ramirez is a Southwestern Artist who found his niche painting on Gourds. Growing up on the banks of the Cimmaron River in Northern New Mexico, Arturo is the epitome of the South West. Arturo is inspired by ancient symbolism, especially Mesoamerican symbols. He now focuses his energy on making rattles which incorporate animal, mineral and plant. The rocks inside his rattles come from ant hills near sacred sites in the southwest where he makes an offering for the gifts from inside the earth that the ants bring to the surface.
Arturo paints and carves gourds that are one of a kind. There are no two alike.
With the help of his family, Arturo actually starts each creation with the planting of the gourd seeds in his backyard.
www.gourdsbyarturo.com

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44 min
March 21, 2021 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks looks into wildlife management & Chronic Wasting Disease with Mike Thompson
Mike Thompson is the region two wildlife manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Mike has had a 40-year commitment to managing and conserving the wildlife resources of Montana. Mike’s incredible work ethic, communication skills and unfailing ability to guide discussions and decisions concerning controversial wildlife issues and land acquisitions, is a true gift. Mike continues to bridge the gap among the biological, social and political sciences to represent the agency in a way that earns public trust and support. Mike’s career with FWP began in 1980. His early work included fencing on the Mt. Haggin Wildlife Management Area and working the paddlefish run at Intake along the Yellowstone River. In 1981, Mike completed his Master’s Degree at Montana State University by studying mountain goats along the Rocky Mountain Front. FWP hired Mike as a field assistant on the Elkhorn Mountains Elk Ecology project, to help develop an elk management plan for the area. Mike became a full-time FWP wildlife biologist in 1987, working in the Blackfoot watershed. Mike has been a principal force behind the conservation of more than 220,000+ acres of wildlife habitat in Western Montana. Mike has an uncanny ability of representing biological data and information in a way that anyone can relate to and understand. He does this through casual conversation, presentations, interviews, and now social media. Mr. Thompson, alias Mike Twain, authored more than 662 “Game Range Ramblings,” a column published weekly in the Seeley-Swan Pathfinder newspaper. The column had a 15-year run, became a readers’ favorite, and built and maintained a constituency for FWP in the Blackfoot and Swan Valleys. Mike’s list of co-authored publications and research papers is as long as his daily trip from his office to the front office candy box Mike Thompson has provided Montana’s residents and its natural resources with highly creditable service.
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52 min
March 14, 2021 Exploring the Universe & Dark Skies National Parks
Dr. Tyler Eugene Nordgren is an artist, author, astronomer, dark skies ambassador and professor of physics at the University of Redlands.
Nordgren earned a B.A. in physics from Reed College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in astronomy from Cornell University.
Before joining the University of Redlands in 2001, Nordgren was an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station and Lowell Observatory.
In 2004, with six other astronomers and artists, Nordgren helped develop MarsDials, functioning sundials that NASA's Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers carried with them to Mars
Nordgren also designed the giant sundial that resides on the wall of Appleton Hall at the University of Redlands and is accurate within 10 minutes.
For the past five years, Nordgren has been traveling around the U.S. to educate the public about what eclipses are and how the opportunity to see the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 should not be missed. More of Nordgren's research on eclipses can be found in his most recent book Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets.
Nordgren has been a member of the National Park Service Night Sky Team since 2007, working with the U.S. National Park Service to protect the night skies and promote astronomy education in U.S. national parks.
Nordgren has helped document the parks' night skies with photography that has been on display in galleries from New York City to Flagstaff, Arizona, and is on display in a number of national parks. The Acadia Night Sky Festival has featured many of his photographs. Nordgren has also developed a poster campaign in conjunction with the National Park Service to “See the Milky Way” in America’s parks where “Half the Park is After Dark.”
His 2010 book Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks was published as a way to spread the message of the importance of protecting the night sky. Nordgren was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Dark-Sky Association in 2011. He is also a member of the American Astronomical Society.
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52 min
March 07, 2021River Conservation & Cleanup featuring the Clark Fork River.
Since 1985, the Clark Fork Coalition has worked to restore and protect the Clark Fork River basin, a 22,000 square mile area draining western Montana and northern Idaho. The Coalition's work is science-based and results oriented, and the organization strives to connect communities to the recovery of the Clark Fork River and its tributaries. Get involved as a volunteer with the Coalition at clarkfork.org.

Is superfund cleanup of mining wastes in the Clark Fork making a difference? Yes! At least it is in terms of total amounts of copper and arsenic. And that’s especially good news because both are toxic: copper is extremely bad for fish, and arsenic is poisonous for people.

It took decades of hard work by advocates for the river to make cleanup happen. Today we’re seeing tangible benefits from that unwavering commitment to a clean and healthy Clark Fork.

What is Superfund?

Thousands of contaminated sites exist nationally due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. These sites include manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining sites.

In the late 1970s, toxic waste dumps received national attention when the public learned about the risks to human health and the environment posed by contaminated sites.

In response, Congress established the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980.

CERCLA is informally called Superfund. It allows EPA to clean up contaminated sites. It also forces the parties responsible for the contamination to either perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-led cleanup work.

When there is no viable responsible party, Superfund gives EPA the funds and authority to clean up contaminated sites.

Superfund’s goals are to:

Protect human health and the environment by cleaning up contaminated sites;
Make responsible parties pay for cleanup work;
Involve communities in the Superfund process; and
Return Superfund sites to productive use.

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43 min
February 28, 2021 Nomadic Minimalism, Short Bus Life, Wilderness Therapy & Survival Skills.
Recorded inside a short bus home in the Sonoran Desert with Tamra, a nomadic minimalist. Tamra shares her heartfelt journey of recovery from a shopping addiction and her transformation into a nomadic minimalist who lives in a short bus and teaches survival skills and wilderness therapy. You will get an introduction into how to convert a bus into a home, how important it is to connect with the natural world, and some survival skill sets which could save your life.
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57 min
February 21, 2021 Global Conservation, Activism and Travels with Tea!
Recorded recently at Lake Missoula Tea Company in the heart of downtown Missoula, Montana. This episode features Jake Kreilick who reflects on talks about environmental activism and conservation in addition to the wonders of tea and the travels it has taken him on through China, Japan and Colombia. Jake moved to Missoula in 1985 to attend graduate school. He has a long history of involvement in forest protection and restoration with Earth First!, Native Forest Network, National Forest Protection Alliance and currently with the WildWest Institute where he works part-time as the Restoration Coordinator. Jake is a hard core frisbee golf (folf) addict, a long-time player and coach for the Missoula All-Maggots Rugby Club, and is also involved in administering and coaching Missoula Youth Rugby. Jake manages the Missoula wholesale accounts, is responsible for new wholesale accounts, and serves tea behind the bar. High Mountain Oolong from Taiwan is his favorite tea.
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50 min
February 14, 2021 Lake Missoula Tea Company... Kenya, India, Indonesia and back to Montana through the story of sustainable tea.
In this episode, we travel around the world with Lake Missoula Tea Company owner, Heather Kreilick. Heather is a native Montanan who grew up in the Bitterroot Valley before leaving to attend college in Arizona. She was a hotshot forest firefighter before teaching on the Navajo Reservation. She returned to Montana in 1999, completed a Geography masters in 2006, and has worked in the GIS field ever since. Heather is an avid hiker, occasional climber, and full time adventurer and likes to spend time with family and close friends. Heather manages the Lake Missoula Tea Company website, selects and blends tea, and makes the hard decisions. Her favorite teas include Sangamon Sunset Red (black tea) and Gu Hua Puerh, both from the ancient tea trees.
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47 min
February 07, 2021 PRCA Pro Rodeo Bareback Champion: Blade Elliot
Blade Elliot was born and raised in rural Alabama and knew from a young age that he wanted to be a pro rodeo cowboy. He almost stopped when his father threatened to burn his gear but in his heart he knew he was meant to ride. Blade trained in his uncle's backyard on (stolen) mules and eventually went on to be awarded a full ride scholarship for his rodeo skills. Blade has competed in bare back pro rodeo since the age of 18 and has had no major injuries to date (knock on wood). Blade rides in 70-100 rodeos per year and has won countless awards as a top rider. Blade now lives with his wife in Montana and enjoys fly fishing in his spare time.
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50 min
January 31, 2021 Geology + Climbing around the world with Legendary Alpinist, Gray Thompson.
“Within a day's drive of Missoula you will find some of the best ice climbing... in the world,” says Missoula's legendary alpinist Gray Thompson. Gray Thompson is a legendary climber and Geology Professor Emeritus at the University of Montana. Gray has been climbing since the mid 1960s and it's easier for him to think of the places he hasn't been rather then the places he has climbed. Gray has done more than a handful of first ascents on North Faces in the Canadian Rockies and worldwide including the Himalayas, Alps and Andes.
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38 min

About The Trail Less Traveled

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Dedicated to documenting humanity by gathering stories & sounds from the most remote locations around the world. The goal for the show is to take you, the listener, back to mankind's earliest form…