Writing
Journey Of A Thousand Choices
October 2023 | SITKA Gear
I was never supposed to be a hunter. I didn’t grow up exposed to it, nor did anyone in my family. But after years of getting my hands dirty peeling back the layers of nutrition, food systems, and ecosystem health, I arrived at its doorstep. Hunting had merged with my land ethic, and I now needed to figure out how to do it.
Invasive Stewardship: A Culinary Journey to Hawaii’s Big Island
August 2023 | Mystery Ranch
The Hawaiian Islands provide year-round opportunities to hunt game like axis deer, wild pigs, goats, and sheep, alongside unique wildlife management circumstances in that all of these species are invasive, overpopulated and most don’t require tags.
How to Prepare for a Hunting Season
October 2022 | Mystery Ranch
Throughout the seasons, I’ve learned how important it is to dial in my kit and prepare in the offseason to give myself the best chance possible of accomplishing my goals in the field. Here are my top five areas of focus ranked by importance to get you ready for your upcoming season.
Seeing Is Believing
October 2022 | SITKA Gear
These mapped wildlife routes show how these animals are not choosing where they want to go but navigating where they have to go. Vast areas of habitat are proven complicated by a litany of land use cases. Roads, highways, towns, cities, reservoirs, and fences turn habitual migration corridors into fragmented islands. We’ve created our infrastructure with no attention to their needs. We are, however, entering a new era. The visualization of migration routes and loss of species along roads has made man-made barriers and pinch points undeniable.
Antler Tips
May 2022 | Ranchlands x Swarovski Optik
We rounded the wooden path, our noses bent towards our toes, as the naturalist we followed introduced us to the plants that are the foundation of Zapata’s rangelands. Rushes, grasses, sedges – hearty species who had seen every storm, frost, hard rain and sunny day on that gentle trail for ages.
Zapata’s Orchestra
November 2021 | Ranchlands x Swarovski Optik
In southern Colorado, there are two canyons in the Sangre De Cristo mountains where the wind pushes sand beneath them in such an intense and persistent manner that great dunes are formed. All year long, they’re eroded and maintained in an endless cycle of air and mineral, forming a stunning and unique ecotone. It’s part alpine, part desert, part grassland, and its name is Zapata Ranch.
There is no Off Season
September 2021 | SITKA
My stewardship relationship to the wild game that I hunt is a creative mosaic. I seek out opportunities like hunting invasive species because it connects me to a greater sense of belonging and membership to the ecosystem. Throughout the year, I work on public lands and wildlife policy, volunteer, monitor game cameras, contribute to research, scout, and take stock of the important habitat for deer, elk and other species in my region. I tend my garden, nurture pollinators, and plan meals around the success we’ve had. I pair choice cuts with special occasions to share with my community, so the food and the environment it came from can tell its own story. Finding creative ways to live connected to these ideals, tend the land, and share that journey with others is my stewardship, and it's more than just a season.
Fisheries and Fire Restoration: What we can Learn from Indigenous Land Management
September 2021 | Modern Huntsman x Mystery Ranch
For thousands of years, native peoples in Northern California lived in a direct relationship with fire. Prescribed fire was used to create high-quality forage for deer and elk, and as a direct hunting tactic to drive game into specific areas to assess and manage the health of the herd. Through the lens of three key experts in fisheries biology, traditional ecological knowledge and fire ecology, we can reshape our understanding to learn how fire plays an integral role in the flow of resources and nutrients in the landscape, and how you can’t restore salmon until you restore fire.
Resources for New Hunters
January 2021 | Mystery Ranch
During the winter, most hunting opportunities are coming to a close with just a few upland and small game seasons remaining. While it may seem like you have ample time before next fall to learn to hunt, there are some essential tasks to take care of to set yourself up for success early in the year. Here are the top 7 tips and resources that helped me learn and develop the most as a hunter in my first few years.
A Hunter’s First Elk Season
November 2020 | Mystery Ranch
This fall, I got my first over the counter bull elk tag here in Utah. After five years of mule deer hunting and one season of cow elk under my belt, I finally felt ready to join the tribe of folks who live for Septembers, and sonorous, rutting bulls.
6 Tips for Starting Your Urban Garden
May 2020 | Gerber Gear
I’ve farmed in rural parts of the west, at high altitudes, in coastal climates, and now in my backyard in Salt Lake City. No matter how much space you have, there’s room to grow something whether it’s herbs, flowers or your favorite veggies. You can use raised beds, containers, patios, or even convert your entire lawn.
A Walk on the Prairie: Traditional Bowhunting on America’s Great Plains
November 2019 | Modern Huntsman
In Volume 4 of Modern Huntsman, Lindsey contributes not only as a writer but a guest editor of the all-women’s issue. In her story, she explores 20th century conservation models for America’s Great Plains through the lens of a traditional bow hunter.
Reimagining Stewardship: Wild Pigs, Hunting & Ecology in Northern California
June 2019 | Modern Huntsman
In Volume 3 of Modern Huntsman, Lindsey explores the possible ecosystem services of wild pigs while exploring the oak savannah. She finds evidence in the landscape and from local experts that suggests wild pigs may be filling important voids in the ecosystems left by a decrease in large mammal populations like elk and grizzly bear. Her article discusses how we might re-frame our narrative around this non-native species in order to harness their ecosystem services and preserve the legacy of hunting in a new generation.
Traditional Archery: How Its All Getting Started
August 2019 | Mystery Ranch
“There’s something about archery that I’ve always been drawn to. In hunting I notice my thoughts drifting back in time, curious about the traditional ways of surviving and harvesting our food — how those ways have changed, yet still remain the same.”
Utah’s Economy: A River Runs Through It
October 2018 | Salt Lake Tribune
“As we celebrate 50 years of protecting America’s rivers, our rivers and waters continue to tell the story of the West. Rivers sustain us; from the water we drink, to the food we eat. They also provide recreation and renewal; from the story of John Wesley Powell’s epic descents down the Green and Colorado rivers to biking Ogden’s new River Parkway. Today, water in the West is challenged, and that challenge requires that we all renew our connection to and support for our water and river resources….”
Pursuing the Unpredictable: Fishing, Hunting & Entrepreneurship
May 2017 | Filson Life
“I’m finding my pursuits as an outdoorswoman and as a businesswoman on parallel path, defined now by my willingness to struggle, to endure repeated failures, and work tirelessly towards something where there is no guarantee of success…”
Redefining Success in Hunting
February 2019 | Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
“People often think that taking the leap is the hardest part. But it’s once you get past that point that you learn what you’re really up against. The goals I have for myself—as a hunter and an entrepreneur—have required boldness, but also digging in during moments of sheer exhaustion and self-doubt. I’ve learned that beginning is actually pretty easy, but what comes next takes endurance, maintenance, and constant recommitment.”
Citizen Science
November 2018 | Modern Huntsman
In 2018, the the most successful citizen science campaign on record took place along the Wasatch front in Utah. Find out what hunters and hikers have in common when it comes to wildlife behavior, and how we can use data from motion censored cameras to enact sound policy in our nation’s most prominent wildlife-urban interface.
Off the Grid: How Wylder Grew Out of an Apple Orchard
October 2016 | RANGE
“West County became the inspiration and incubator for WYLDER’s purpose and values. From this abundant ecosystem grew our desire to be a mission-driven company, a benefit corporation that partners with both existing nonprofits and “everyday stewards” because this is what our community is filled with: people taking action for what they believe in and living their priorities.”
Common Ground
February 2018 | Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
“This is a critical time for public lands and from my unique vantage point, I see more shared interest in historically isolated user groups than ever before. Our reason for uniting is a shared passion. We have common ground–public lands–that support our livelihoods, offer sustenance both physically and spiritually, and keep us connected to some of the most archaic and human values on earth.”
The Soul of a Hunt
May 2017 | Mystery Ranch
“This entire experience has been a touchstone; a process so proving of the soul’s patient tenacity, and the rich and unrelenting possibilities of exploring my primal relationship to the wild. The mysteries, the tendrils of passion, the seemingly disconnected experiences; they’re becoming a woven fabric and are the cairn’s on the trail to more fully understanding how I’m meant to be human….”