Author Profile

Heather Hansen

Heather Hansen

Heather Hansen is an independent reporter based in Boulder, Colorado. She has staffed US and international newspapers and magazines, and her work has appeared in many national publications. Hansen is the co-author of Disappearing Destinations (Vintage, 2008) a critically-acclaimed guide to the world’s endangered places which received the American Society of Journalists and Authors’ general non-fiction prize; the Colorado Authors’ League’s creative non-fiction prize; and Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Award.

 

For Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: 100 Years of the National Park Service, Hansen logged roughly 20,000 miles in her trusty (and reliably filthy) hybrid Honda visiting many of America’s best places. She ate pounds of campfire mac and cheese while reliving her early days as a junior ranger on Cape Cod National Seashore thirty years ago. Hansen communed with spirits on the Natchez Trace; listened to wolves bay in Yellowstone; relearned everything she’d forgotten about the Civil War; realized how much in common Steve Jobs had with Thomas Edison; and was touched by the fulfilling desolation of Sequoia’s wilderness. She’ll never tire of the question, “Which park is your favorite?”

 

Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: 100 Years of the National Park Service was published November 2015 and is available through the fabulous Mountaineers Books.

 

"Heather's visit to our college was fabulous! She presented both a large public lecture and a smaller workshop for our environmental studies students. Both events were outstanding. Heather's stories of the diverse narratives that comprise the history of the National Park Service are insightful, profound, and beautifully told. Her attentiveness to our students was impressive, and it felt as though everyone in the room was engaged in the conversation. It was a memorable visit that my students are still talking about! Thank you so much!!"
-- Timothy Farnham, Center for the Environment at Mount Holyoke College



For more about Heather and her works, go to http://traveltoparks.com/