Michael Kauffmann

Grew up in the eastern deciduous forests of Virginia and would stare out the window in the winter, hooting for barred owls and wonder…why are some of those trees still green? He nurtured his evergreen conifer fascination in the Appalachian Mountains during college and, upon graduation, found a job teaching outdoor education in California.

Sans family, alone in the West, he began to hang out with giant sequoias and foxtail pines on weekends. The high country conifers of southern California entertained him for many years until the temperate rainforest eventually called him north to Humboldt County. He now live in Kneeland, California, with his wife, Allison, his sons, Sylas & Asa.

Besides writing, he works as a devoted teacher both at the elementary and college level, is the founder and president of the Bigfoot Trail Alliance, and a research plant ecologist.