I have a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies/biology from Northland College. I love camping, canoeing, history and fishing and am an avid naturalist. I studied this region in depth while writing this story and have included a bibliography and sources page. Presently I work as a sales manager for an environmental services company and have authored a number of technical articles for professional journals and conferences. I must also give credit to two people who inspired me: 1) Gary Paulsen author of "Hatchet" 2) Sugurd Olson author and activist environmentalist who saved the Boundary Waters Canoe Area along eith being the man the Environmental Institute at my alma mater, Northland College, is named for