George Wuerthner is an ecologist and a former river ranger for the Alaska BLM and backcountry ranger in the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska. He has visited more than 400 designated Wilderness Areas and approximately 200 National Park units. A prolific author, he has published 38 books, including such titles as California Wilderness Areas, Alaska Mountain Ranges, Nevada Mountain Ranges, Montana’s Magnificent Wilderness, Forever Wild: The Adirondacks, Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West, Yellowstone: A Visitor's Companion, Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness — Foundation for Conservation, and Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy. He’s given hundreds of presentations around the country on Wilderness, wildfire, livestock grazing, wildlife protection, and other public lands issues.