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  • Jason Gardner Returns – Fire, Leadership, and What Really Matters

    Jason Gardner Returns – Fire, Leadership, and What Really Matters
    2026/01/22
    Jason Gardner is a retired Navy SEAL who now works as a top-level leadership instructor with Echelon Front. Over his thirty-year career in the SEAL teams, he served in combat operations in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, later becoming Command Master Chief of SEAL Team Five and Training Detachment. Since retiring from the Navy, Jason has worked with hundreds of organizations as a leadership instructor and strategic advisor, helping teams apply high-stakes leadership principles to business and life. He now lives in a remote corner of northeastern Washington with his wife, Iris, and their two children, where he spends his time working on their homestead and staying closely connected to the land. This is Jason's second time on the podcast, and I'd strongly recommend going back and listening to our first conversation from 2021, along with the episode I recorded with Iris. Those earlier interviews dig deeper into Jason's career, his transition out of the military, and the longer arc of their family's journey—context that adds real depth to what we talk about here. This conversation unfolds in two parts. The first half hour or so is a firsthand account of the Hope Fire, a fast-moving wildfire that came dangerously close to destroying Jason and Iris's property and home last summer. Jason walks through the experience in detail—what it's like to prepare for evacuation, to work through exhaustion and uncertainty, and to rely on firefighters, neighbors, and community when the stakes are painfully real. In the second part, we widen the lens. Jason reflects on the lessons that emerged from the fire—about leadership, humility, and responsibility—and connects them to his own personal evolution over the last several years. We talk about PTSD, quitting drinking, the role psychedelic-assisted therapy played in his healing, and how practices like mindfulness, curiosity, kindness, and gratitude have reshaped how he approaches both life and leadership. It's an honest, grounded conversation about resilience, growth, and what it actually means to lead… starting with yourself. As always, be sure to check out the episode notes for a full list of everything we discussed, with timestamps for everything. There are also links to all of the books and resources that Jason mentions. --- Jason GardnerJason on InstagramEchelon FrontFull episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/jason-gardner-2/ --- THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! Mountain & Prairie is listener-supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Central Grasslands Roadmap, The Nature Conservancy, North Bridger Bison, and the Old Salt Co-op for their generous sponsorship. --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: WILDFIRE 7:01 – Intro, Jason's brush with a wildfire11:45 – Fire jumping ridgelines14:05 – Enter USAA16:36 – Community power20:34 – Enter the brush hog25:26 – Day three mental state31:53 – A big damn deal35:09 – A sense of deep pride LESSONS 40:59 – Applying on-the-line lessons to the business world45:20 – The most important leadership trait50:47 – Challenge coins55:05 – A changed perspective1:01:24 – Dealing with cockiness1:05:30 – Jason's mental health journey1:11:43 – Quitting drinking1:19:52 – Self-reflection1:21:34 – Echelon Front Muster1:27:06 – Book recs and wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed Roberson Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 時間 33 分
  • Todd Ulizio – Farming, Attention, and a Life Well Rooted

    Todd Ulizio – Farming, Attention, and a Life Well Rooted
    2026/01/12

    Todd Ulizio is the co-owner of Two Bear Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Whitefish, Montana, that's quietly become a cornerstone of the Flathead Valley's local food community. Alongside his wife Rebecca, Todd has spent nearly two decades growing food, building soil, and figuring out how to make a small, values-driven farm work in a world that doesn't always make it easy.

    Todd's path to farming was anything but direct. He grew up in Connecticut and followed a traditional educational and career path, eventually becoming an accountant at a prestigious Big 6 Firm. Experiencing success but not fulfillment, he walked away from the business world to study wildlife biology and worked on projects ranging from brown bears in Alaska to wolverines in Montana. Over time, he began to see a common thread: most of the problems facing wildlife are really problems about how humans use land—and food, he realized, is where people interact with land every single day.

    In this conversation, Todd and I talk about that winding path—from accounting to wildlife biology to farming—and what it's taught him about work, burnout, stewardship, and attention. We get into the realities of small-scale farming, the pressures of building a business with your spouse, the health wake-up call that forced him to rethink everything, and the quieter, more grounded philosophy that now shapes his life and work. This is a thoughtful, honest conversation about choosing a meaningful path, learning to let go of what you can't control, and finding a way to stay rooted in a rapidly changing world. Enjoy!

    ---

    • Two Bear Farm
    • The Farmers' Stand
    • Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/todd-ulizio

    ---

    THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

    Mountain & Prairie is listener-supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Central Grasslands Roadmap, The Nature Conservancy, North Bridger Bison, and the Old Salt Co-op for their generous sponsorship.

    ---

    TOPICS DISCUSSED:

    • 0:00 - Exciting updates
    • 2:33 - Intro
    • 4:14 - Patreon + Sponsors + Old Salt
    • 7:24 – Where Todd grew up
    • 11:38 – Todd as a kid
    • 13:07 – Off to college
    • 17:34 – Ditching accounting
    • 21:57 – How change felt
    • 24:18 – Post University of Montana to Alaska
    • 27:49 – Alaska takeaways
    • 31:36 – Choosing farming
    • 37:05 – What helped Todd make an impact
    • 40:08 – A relationship forged in fire
    • 43:32 – Doubts in the moment?
    • 47:39 – Food system frustrations and burnout
    • 52:43 – How to lighten up
    • 1:01:07 – Dexter cows
    • 1:02:34 – Always going and stillness
    • 1:09:02 – The farm
    • 1:14:56 – What's next
    • 1:18:06 – Wrapping up

    ---

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    1 時間 22 分
  • Sammy Matsaw Jr. – Salmon, Sovereignty, and the Long Work of Healing

    Sammy Matsaw Jr. – Salmon, Sovereignty, and the Long Work of Healing
    2025/12/30
    Sammy Matsaw Jr. is the Director of the Columbia Basin Program at The Nature Conservancy, where he works at the intersection of salmon recovery, tribal sovereignty, and large-scale river restoration across one of the most complex watersheds in North America. In this role, Sammy helps guide conservation strategies that span state lines, political boundaries, and cultural histories—while keeping people, relationships, and responsibility at the center of the work. Sammy grew up on the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation, surrounded by salmon stories, land-based learning, and a deep sense of responsibility to place. He served in the U.S. military, including combat deployments overseas, before returning home to heal, reconnect, and rebuild—eventually earning advanced degrees in ecology, policy, and conservation science. Along the way, he's navigated life as a soldier, scientist, ceremonial practitioner, husband, father, and now grandfather, carrying Indigenous knowledge forward while engaging directly with Western institutions and systems. In this conversation, we talk about salmon restoration as a healing journey—not just for rivers, but for communities and cultures shaped by loss, displacement, and change. We dig into Indigenous knowledge alongside Western science, the role of humility and trust in conservation, and why Sammy believes real progress only happens through relationships and long-term commitment. We also explore his vision for the Columbia Basin, his leadership inside TNC, and what it means to show up—day after day—with curiosity, care, and what he calls "barefoot trust-building." This is a thoughtful, hopeful, and vulnerable conversation, and I greatly appreciate Sammy taking the time to chat with me. I hope you enjoy. --- Sammy Matsaw Jr., Director of TNC's Columbia Basin Program TNC's Columbia Basin ProgramFull episode notes: https://mountainandprairie.com/sammy-matsaw --- This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy and TNC chapters throughout the Western United States. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive. During the last week of every month throughout 2025, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy's leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West and beyond. To learn more about The Nature Conservancy's impactful work in the West and around the world, visit www.nature.org --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 3:00 - Intro, where and how Sammy grew up10:03 - Sammy's decision to join the military 15:34 - Readjusting to home20:48 - What helps heal24:58 - Sammy's academic journey32:12 - Salmon work39:09 - Entry into TNC43:55 - Salmon restoration as a healing journey50:09 - Layers of the job57:31 - Book recs1:01:18 - Wrapping up --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed RobersonSupport Mountain & Prairie Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 時間 6 分
  • Ed's Appearance on "My Favorite Things"

    Ed's Appearance on "My Favorite Things"
    2025/12/12

    Today's episode is a bit of a departure from the usual format.

    I'm re-sharing a recent conversation I had on my friend Brendan Leonard's new podcast, My Favorite Things. I'm sure most of y'all are already familiar with Brendan's work, but for those of you who aren't, he's an author, illustrator, filmmaker, and creator of Semi-Rad.

    Brendan's new podcast is built around a simple but fascinating premise: conversations about the books, films, art, and creative works that have helped shape a person's life and career.

    In this conversation, we spend less time on what I do, and more time on what's influenced how I think and live — from Theodore Roosevelt and Sebastian Junger to a Winslow Homer painting and a movie that's been oddly entertaining and instructive over the years. (I bet y'all can guess the movie.)

    There are already several excellent episodes live featuring thoughtful, interesting people, and Brendan has created something both entertaining and instructive with this podcast. If you enjoy this conversation, I'd encourage you to subscribe, explore the rest of the episodes, and share the show with any of your friends who might enjoy it.

    Thanks so much for listening and here's my appearance on My Favorite Things.

    ---

    • My Favorite Things: Apple, Spotify, YouTube
    • Episode Website
    • Semi-Rad.com

    ---

    TOPICS DISCUSSED:

    • 2:10: Background — Mountain & Prairie, family, and the "strenuous life"
    • 5:00: Favorite Thing #1 — Jimmy Buffett liner notes
    • 11:30: Favorite Thing #2 — The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
    • 20:00: Favorite Thing #3 — Winslow Homer's The Gulf Stream
    • 28:15: Favorite Thing #4 — Tribe by Sebastian Junger
    • 39:30: Favorite Thing #5 — Road House
    • 52:15: Closing reflections

    ---

    ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE:

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    1 時間
  • Mike Schaedel - Restoring Balance to Fire-Adapted Landscapes

    Mike Schaedel - Restoring Balance to Fire-Adapted Landscapes
    2025/11/28
    Mike Schaedel is the Western Montana Forest Restoration Director for The Nature Conservancy, where he leads some of the most ambitious and collaborative forest restoration work happening anywhere in the West. Based in Missoula, Mike works at the intersection of science, community partnerships, and land stewardship—helping restore fire-adapted forests, reduce wildfire risk, and improve the health and resilience of landscapes across the region. Mike's career path is super interesting and anything but traditional. He grew up in Portland, fell in love with the mountains through rock climbing, and eventually landed in Missoula, where the combination of wild landscapes and a rich literary community drew him in. After earning an undergraduate degree in creative writing, he found his way into forestry and fire ecology through conservation corps work, hands-on restoration experience, and a graduate program focused on forest dynamics and fire. In this conversation, Mike offers a clear overview of how Western Montana's forests came to look the way they do today—shaped by millennia of tribal burning, transformed by railroad-era land grants and industrial logging, and altered further by a century of fire suppression. He explains why effective restoration now depends on combining mechanical thinning with prescribed fire and on working across ownership boundaries with partners ranging from local communities to tribes and federal agencies. We also discuss some of the innovative collaborative efforts underway in the region, as well as a memorable story of a prescribed burn that came together through quick problem-solving and deep trust. This is a rich, informative, and hopeful conversation about what it takes to restore forests at scale—and why the future of these landscapes depends on both ecological understanding and strong community partnerships. Enjoy! --- Michael Schaedel, Western Montana Forest Restoration DirectorReserved Treaty Rights Lands Program: The Power of PartnershipComplete episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/mike-schaedel --- This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy and TNC chapters throughout the Western United States. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive. During the last week of every month throughout 2025, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy's leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West and beyond. To learn more about The Nature Conservancy's impactful work in the West and around the world, visit www.nature.org --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 3:02 – Intro, Mike's love for Missoula6:04 – Getting a creative writing degree8:21 – And fighting back into forestry12:26 – Early writing influences13:39 – Switching sides of the brain15:32 – First job out of grad school20:08 – And that work now23:38 – Checkerboard landownership33:04 – Conservation accomplishment34:56 – Fitting in forest health39:33 – Fire scars45:52 – The Big Burn52:59 – Fire playing a beneficial role58:51 – And the role mill workers play1:02:03 – Projects down the pipeline1:12:00 – Book recs1:13:49 – Parting words --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed RobersonSupport Mountain & Prairie Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 時間 22 分
  • SHED SESH: September & October 2025 Book Recommendations

    SHED SESH: September & October 2025 Book Recommendations
    2025/11/18

    This month marks ten full years of my bimonthly book-recommendations project—a decade of weird little paragraphs about the books that grab my scattered attention. Whether you've been here since the beginning or signed up five minutes ago, thank you. I'm still baffled anyone reads these things, but I'm grateful all the same.

    To mark the occasion, I recorded a late-night solo episode from The Shed, diving deeper into each of my September & October picks: why I chose them, what stayed with me, and the sometimes-unexpected lessons I gleaned from each of them. Or you could just describe it as a guy sitting in his garden shed talking to himself. Your choice.

    You can read all of the recommendations here, or, if you're clamoring to receive more emails, you can sign up for the list here.

    Thanks for listening, thanks for reading, and here's to 10 more great years of great books.

    –

    • September & October 2025 Book Recommendations
    • Ed's Bimonthly Book Recommendations
    • Sign up for the list

    –

    BOOKS DISCUSSED:

    • 00:00 — Intro + 10 years of book-rec emails
    • 05:45 — Burn by Peter Heller
    • 11:00 — Jaber Crow by Wendell Berry (related rec)
    • 11:45 — The Way Out by Devon O'Neil
    • 17:10 — Simple Fly Fishing by Yvon Chouinard
    • 21:50 — Pheasant Tail Simplicity by Yvon Chouinard
    • 25:40 — Little Woodchucks by Nick Offerman
    • 29:20 — Dirtbag Billionaire by David Gelles
    • 35:00 — Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (related rec)
    • 35:55 — Apple in China by Patrick McGee
    • 40:45 — When McKinsey Comes to Town (related rec)
    • 42:10 — The Devil's Hand by Jack Carr
    • 46:15 — Closing thoughts

    ---

    ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE:

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    48 分
  • Devon O'Neil — On Nature's Power and the Price of Adventure

    Devon O'Neil — On Nature's Power and the Price of Adventure
    2025/11/11

    Devon O'Neil is a journalist, author, and longtime friend of mine whose new book "The Way Out: A True Story of Survival in the Heart of the Rockies" is one of the best pieces of outdoor nonfiction I've read in years. The book tells the harrowing true story of a backcountry ski trip near Leadville, Colorado, that turned tragic—and the years-long process of understanding what really happened, and how a mountain town wrestled with loss, resilience, and the complicated relationship we all have with risk and wild places. It's gripping, deeply reported, and beautifully written—equal parts survival epic, community portrait, and meditation on how we find meaning in the aftermath of tragedy.

    Devon has spent more than two decades as a writer and reporter based in Summit County, Colorado, covering everything from adventure sports and avalanches to the cultural and emotional undercurrents of life in mountain towns. Before turning his attention to this book project, he worked in newspapers, wrote for Outside, Men's Journal, and ESPN.com, and somehow managed to balance all of that with being a hardcore athlete and a dedicated dad and husband. He's one of those rare writers whose empathy and endurance match the people that he writes about.

    In this conversation, Devon and I dig into the story behind "The Way Out"—how he first heard about the tragedy, earned the trust of a close-knit community, and spent years piecing together a complete and compassionate account. We talk about the ethical tightrope of telling other people's hardest stories, how his own brushes with danger shaped his perspective on risk, and what this project taught him about the fine line between adventure and recklessness. We also get into his childhood growing up on a sailboat in the Virgin Islands, his evolution as a journalist and athlete, and the hard-earned wisdom that comes from spending a lifetime chasing stories in the mountains.

    "The Way Out" is available now wherever you get your books, so follow the links in the episode notes to grab your copy. Big thanks to Devon for the chat, and thank you for listening. Enjoy!

    ---

    • Devon O'Neil
    • "The Way Out" by Devon O'Neil

    ---

    TOPICS DISCUSSED:

    • 2:23 – Intro and finding The Way Out story
    • 6:59 – Making people comfortable
    • 11:10 – The story in Devon's words
    • 16:29 – Mountain town people
    • 20:48 – Lifestyle overlaps
    • 24:20 – Devon's own accidents
    • 30:10 – It's all great until someone gets hurt
    • 33:03 – The bonds of risk
    • 35:18 – Adjustments
    • 39:22 – Growing up on islands
    • 43:43 – How Devon got to Colorado
    • 47:34 – Pros and cons of different types of writing
    • 51:22 – Book writing advice
    • 55:42 – Not just about getting it right
    • 1:00:09 – Book and writer recs

    ---

    ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE:

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    1 時間 5 分
  • Carli Kierstead – Wyoming Forests and the Work of Keeping Water Flowing

    Carli Kierstead – Wyoming Forests and the Work of Keeping Water Flowing
    2025/10/31
    Carli Kierstead is the Forest Program Director for The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, where she leads efforts to understand and restore some of the West's most critical—and often overlooked—ecosystems. From beetle kill and wildfire to drought, Wyoming's forests face a range of challenges that ripple far beyond the state's borders. These high-country forests are the headwaters of several major river basins, providing water to millions of people across the American West. In this conversation, Carli and I dig into the past, present, and future of Western forests—how management philosophies have evolved over the decades, what's threatening their health today, and what can be done to make them more resilient in a changing climate. We talk about her team's groundbreaking work using snowtography—a deceptively simple but powerful way to study how forest structure affects snowpack and water supply—and how those findings could help guide future restoration across the Colorado River Basin. Carli also shares her personal journey from growing up in San Diego to finding her calling in Wyoming's wide-open landscapes, her insights on collaboration and trust-building in conservation, and a few book recommendations that shaped her path. It's a hopeful, science-grounded conversation about water, forests, and how collaboration can shape a more resilient future for the West. Thanks for listening, hope you enjoy! --- Carli Kierstead Wyoming forests + TNCSnowtography short filmFull episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/carli-kierstead/ --- This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy and TNC chapters throughout the Western United States. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive. During the last week of every month throughout 2025, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy's leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West and beyond. To learn more about The Nature Conservancy's impactful work in the West and around the world, visit www.nature.org --- TOPICS DISCUSSED: 2:34 – Intro and Wyoming forest health7:16 – Beetle issues8:30 – Why forest health?12:35 – Economic benefit of forests16:28 – Wyoming's claim to water17:10 – Snowtography23:18 – Lessons from the snow27:33 – On the ground impact33:53 – How it scales40:42 – Relationship building46:08 – The tendrils of the Colorado River Basin46:46 – Carli's environment obsession52:01 – How to build a relationship55:10 – Book recs58:38 – Last thoughts --- ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE: Mountain & Prairie - All EpisodesMountain & Prairie ShopMountain & Prairie on InstagramUpcoming EventsAbout Ed RobersonSupport Mountain & Prairie Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts
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    1 時間 2 分