Wilderness Expert
Our resident onscreen wilderness and wildlife habitat expert, wildlands preservation consultant and terrestrial wilderness explorer is Dr. Natalie Dawson!
Director of the Wilderness Institute at the University of Montana, Natalie teaches wilderness field studies, research methods, and wildlife biology while simultaneously running the country’s only higher education institute devoted to wilderness research, education, and outreach.
Her continual inspiration gleans from years of teaching, expedition planning, and adventures in remote locations around the world. Natalie also coordinates and teaches the Wilderness and Civilization program.
She has a Ph.D. in biology from the University of New Mexico, where she studied biogeography and evolutionary history of small carnivores on the islands of coastal British Columbia and southeast Alaska.
Natalie continues her ongoing research in southeast Alaska and teaches field courses in ecology and environmental policy in the region. She also teaches field courses for the Wild Rockies Field Institute.
She is always looking for the perfect vista and can be found searching for them along wild rocky coastlines, in the wild mountains of the west, across the red rock deserts, or along a river in a quiet hardwood forest.
An extreme skier, hiker and professional wilderness enthusiast, Natalie provides this expedition her exciting and energetic on-screen narrative detailing the diverse wildlife habitats and ecosystems in the wilderness areas we explore.
Dr. Dawson provides invaluable understanding of the issues facing ongoing conservation efforts and is deeply involved in the continuous campaign to protect America’s wilderness.
