Laura Yale is a freelance writer and film producer based in Montana. She focuses on stories about landscapes and how they shape us. She has written for publications including Alpinist, ϳԹ, and Kootenay Mountain Culture and has produced films for Patagonia Films, Arc’teryx, and National Geographic. With a background in grassroots political organizing and public lands policy, she is most inspired to share stories about boots-on-the-ground conservation and community-led efforts. She is invested in collaborative storytelling and moving beyond extractive approaches. This has led her to paddling a dugout canoe to Standing Rock in the middle of winter, nuzzling her face into the forehead of a grizzly bear, and backcountry skiing through a high mountain storm in a red-sequined dress. She spends as much time as possible in the mountains, preferably on skis or frolicking amidst wildflowers.
Published
In the remote, heavily logged Yaak Valley, an unlikely stand of old growth sits at the center of a debate about what a forest is for—and how best to protect it
Across the West, resort towns are facing a livability crisis. Luckily, advocates say, this problem can be fixed.
A quarantine against the world worked once for the Gunnison Valley. Can it again?