Wuerthner, George 1952-

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WUERTHNER, George 1952-

PERSONAL: Born June 11, 1952, in PA; son of George and Mildred Wuerthner; married Mollie Matteson (a wildlife biologist), 1987; children: Summer, Stratton. Ethnicity: "Mixture." Education: University of Montana, A.A., B.A.; attended Montana State University and University of Oregon, 1994-97; University of California—Santa Cruz, M.S.

ADDRESSES: Home—Richmond, VT. Office—P.O. Box 839, Richmond, VT 05477. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Freelance writer and photographer. Consulting ecologist and landscape photographer; natural history and wilderness guide; leader of photography workshops; partner in George Wuerthner Photography and Raventrails Tours. Instructor for Wildlands Studies Program, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA; staff ecologist for Predator Defense; researcher for Institute for Ecological Integrity; policy analyst for Wildlife Protection Institute; consultant to National Geographic books; associate and biological consultant with Conservation Science, Inc. Member of the board of directors of RESTORE, Forest Guardians, Oregon Natural Desert Association, Southern Plains Restoration Council, and Alliance for Wild Rockies.

WRITINGS:

Idaho Mountain Ranges, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1986.

Oregon Mountain Ranges, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1987.

(With Mollie Yoneko Matteson) Vermont, Portrait of the Land and Its People, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1987.

Yellowstone and the Fires of Change, Haggis House Publications (Salt Lake City, UT), 1988.

The Adirondacks: Forever Wild, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1988.

Alaska's Mountain Ranges, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1988.

(And photographer) The Maine Coast, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1989.

(And photographer) Texas' Big Bend Country, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1989.

Southern Appalachian Country, American Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1990.

Yellowstone: A Visitor's Companion, Stackpole Books (Harrisburg, PA), 1992.

(And photographer) Nevada Mountain Ranges, American & World Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1992.

(And photographer) California's Sierra Nevada, American & World Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1993.

Yosemite: A Visitor's Companion, Stackpole Books (Mechanicsburg, PA), 1994.

(And photographer) North Idaho's Lake Country, American & World Geographic Publishing (Helena, MT), 1995.

(And photographer) Beautiful America's Alaska, Beautiful America Publishing (Wilsonville, OR), 1995.

(And photographer) California's Wilderness Areas: The Complete Guide, Westcliffe Publishers (Englewood, CO), 1997.

Grand Canyon, Stackpole (Mechanicsburg, PA), 1998.

California Wilderness Areas, two volumes, Westcliffe Publishers (Englewood, CO), 1998.

(And photographer) Olympic: A Visitor's Companion, illustrations by Douglas W. Moore, Stackpole Books (Mechanicsburg, PA), 1999.

(And photographer) Mount Rainier: A Visitor's Companion, illustrations by Douglas W. Moore, Stackpole Books (Mechanicsburg, PA), 2000.

(And photographer) Beautiful America's Washington, Beautiful America (Woodburn, OR), 2000.

(And photographer) Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region, Westcliffe Publishers (Englewood, CO), 2001.

(And photographer) Rocky Mountain: A Visitor's Companion, illustrations by Douglas W. Moore, Stackpole Books (Mechanicsburg, PA), 2001.

Yosemite: The Grace and Grandeur, Voyageur (Stillwater, MN), 2002.

(Editor, with Mollie Yoneko Matteson) Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West, Island Press (Washington, DC), 2002.

(And photographer) Oregon's Wilderness Areas: The Complete Guide, Westcliffe Publishers (Englewood, CO), 2003.

(And photographer) Great Smoky Mountains: A Visitor's Companion, illustrations by Douglas W. Moore, Stackpole Books (Mechanicsburg, PA), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Photographer and ecologist George Wuerthner is the author and photographer of almost thirty books on American landscapes and wilderness areas. Wuerthner grew up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and became interested in the outdoors at an early age. In high school he began fly fishing and decided to become a fishery biologist. In pursuit of this goal, he attended the University of Montana, known for its proximity to some of the best fly fishing waters in the world, and earned degrees in liberal arts, botany, and wildlife biology. He also began practicing photography and increasing his photographic skills.

As an undergraduate, Wuerthner worked as a wilderness guide and instructor for the University of Montana Outdoor Program; a river ranger on the Fortymile River in Alaska; a backcountry ranger in the Gates of the Arctic National Park; a surveyor for the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska; a botanist and biologist for the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho; and a junior high school teacher in California. In addition, he worked as a wilderness guide in the Rocky Mountains and in Alaska. After earning a graduate degree at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Wuerthner began working full-time as a freelance photographer and writer.

Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region not only presents forty-nine day hikes chosen for their abundance of wildflowers, but allows readers to identify the flowers they see. In addition, all of the hikes are within three hours' driving time of Portland, Oregon, or the Willamette Valley.

Mount Rainier: A Visitor's Companion provides a thorough discussion of the mountain's history, geology, flora, fauna, and climate, illustrated with Wuerthner's photographs. In Library Journal, Joseph L. Carlson noted that the book goes beyond other tourist guides by giving readers a deeper understanding of the mountain, its ecosystem, and the various forces that created and still maintain it.

In Yosemite: The Grace and Grandeur, Wuerthner presents a photographic panorama of Yosemite National Park. The book earned high praise from Joseph L. Carlson in Library Journal, who compared Wuerthner's work to that of famed photographer Ansel Adams, and called Wuerthner a "gifted artist."

In addition to presenting photographs of Yosemite, the book also includes Wuerthner's passionate advocacy for preservation of the park, as well as the prevention of further development in or near it. As Carlson noted, Wuerthner backs up his arguments with his broad knowledge of natural history and ecological science.

In Welfare Ranching, Wuerthner and coeditor Mollie Yoneko Matteson present articles and photographs examining the practice of ranching in the American West and its effect on the environment. According to the book's publisher, ranching "has done more damage than the chainsaw and bulldozer combined."

Wuerthner maintains a library of over 220,000 images in a computer database, arranged by geographic region and topic. In addition to images of various North American locations, the library also includes photographs from Europe, South America, and Central America. He has also begun to document the activities of people, including children, in the wilderness.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, March 15, 2000, Joseph L. Carlson, review of Mount Rainier: A Visitor's Companion, p. 117; June 1, 2002, Joseph L. Carlson, review of Yosemite: The Grace and Grandeur, p. 182.