Wanderings And Ponderings

We often say we are managing our natural resources sustainably, but what if, in doing so, we are slowly losing the very things we claim to protect? In The Trees Are Speaking, Lynda Mapes describes forests that have been clear cut and carefully replanted, landscapes that, on paper, are restored. Trees return. The forest grows back. But what existed before is not truly recovered. Even with careful replanting, what was taken cannot be fully replaced. Old growth, shaped over centuries, is gone. The depth of nutrients built into the soil, the complexity of habitats, the relationships between species, these are not things that can simply be recreated. What comes back may function, but it is not the same. And in many cases, what was lost will not be seen again within our lifetimes. What looks like recovery is, in reality, replacement. A new forest stands where another once existed, but it carries a different structure, a different rhythm, a different capacity to support life. Time itself ...

Walking the Shoreline of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota Last week, I had the opportunity to travel to Duluth, Minnesota to present at the 2026 National Outdoor Recreation Conference hosted by the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP). The conference brought together outdoor recreation professionals, researchers, educators, planners, and public land managers from across North America to discuss the future of parks, recreation, tourism, conservation, and public lands. I was honored to lead a panel discussion focused on the future of higher education and workforce preparation in outdoor recreation alongside Dr. Melissa Schnuck Weddell, Dr. Will Rice, and Kathryn Wrigley. I was also invited to participate in a second panel discussion examining the future of state parks systems across North America with Seth Taft (Wisconsin State Parks), Laura Preus (Minnesota State Parks), and Dan Roddy (Arizona State Parks). It was an incredible opportunity to represent Arkansas Tech Univ...

  What We’re Building When We Build Trails I recently read, a study of the Trans Canada Trail that lays out, in clear terms, one of the largest outdoor recreation efforts ever undertaken. The trail now stretches more than 27,000 kilometers, connecting nearly 1,000 municipalities and over 15,000 communities across Canada. What makes it notable is not just the distance, but the intent behind it. From the beginning, it was framed as a way to bring people into closer contact with the land and with each other, to create something that could be used every day but also carry a larger meaning. The project began in 1992 as a national legacy effort, with a goal of linking existing trails into a single system that would span the country. Over time, that vision took shape through a mix of local initiative and broader coordination. What exists now is not a single trail in the traditional sense, but a network made up of hundreds of segments. Some pass-through cities on paved paths. Others mo...