Aaron and Tanner sit down with renowned, award-winning journalist, writer, and communicator Hal Herring — one of the leading voices on the history and future of America’s public lands. From the hills of Alabama to the Montana mountains, Hal has explored nearly every facet of conservation, restoration, and land management. He’s thought about it, written about it, and lived it. In this episode, he shares his deep understanding and fiery passion for wild places and public lands.
Join this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation as we trace the origins of America’s public lands—how we got them, the defining (and sometimes disastrous) decisions along the way, and what’s at stake today. Hal helps us imagine a hopeful path forward, one where healthy, thriving landscapes remain a shared inheritance for future generations.
Hal is a one-of-a-kind storyteller and advocate for wild spaces. Tune in for an insightful, funny, and thought-provoking discussion that will leave you inspired to reconnect with—and reinvest in—our public lands.
Explore Hal’s work:https://www.halherring.com/
The Narrow Corridor – Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson
From the Nobel Prize–winning authors of Why Nations Fail, this book explores how liberty survives only when governments and citizens maintain a delicate balance of power.
Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of America’s Public Lands – John Clayton
A dual biography of two giants—Muir the preservationist and Pinchot the conservationist—whose collaboration helped establish the concept of publicly owned lands.
Our Common Ground: A History of America’s Public Lands – John D. Leshy
A sweeping account of how the U.S. came to hold nearly one-third of its land for the public good. Leshy reveals how bipartisan decisions built the foundation for recreation, conservation, and education on 600 million acres of shared land.
Mining Law: A Study in Perpetual Motion – John D. Leshy
A deep dive into the 1872 Mining Law—its history, flaws, and modern-day implications for land use, environmental protection, and mineral policy.
DeVoto’s West: History, Conservation, and the Public Good – Bernard DeVoto
A collection of essays from one of America’s most eloquent defenders of public lands. DeVoto fought to protect Western landscapes from privatization and exploitation, arguing for strong federal stewardship—a message still powerfully relevant today.
This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild – Nate Schweber
An award-winning chronicle of Bernard and Avis DeVoto’s crusade to save national parks from privatization during the McCarthy era. Their fight for conservation, free speech, and democracy remains a timeless call to action.
Lands Worth Saving: The Weeks Act of 1911, the National Forests, and the Enduring Value of Public Investment – James G. Lewis
A look at the transformative 1911 law that created national forests in the East and restored millions of acres. This book connects the historic Weeks Act to today’s efforts in climate resilience and forest protection.
The Nation’s Largest Landlord: The Bureau of Land Management in the American West – James R. Skillen
A comprehensive history of the BLM and its evolving mission to balance conservation, industry, and public access across 258 million acres of land. Skillen explores how this complex agency reflects America’s conflicted relationship with its own natural resources.
Hal’s Reading List
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