OWAA OUTDOOR VOICES

Use Your Outdoor Voices


  • Welcome to OWAA

    Welcome to OWAA

    Will Cooper was born and raised near the sandy beaches of Southern California. At a young age he developed a passion for exploration — from hiking into storm tunnels as a child to running 100-mile mountain races around the world. Cooper earned his bachelor’s degree from American University’s School of International Service. He is the…


  • Return of rice on the St. Louis River

    Return of rice on the St. Louis River

    Tom Howes explained in Anishinaabe, then in English, why restoring wild rice to the St. Louis River is so important to the Fond du Lac Indian people.


  • From steel to stoke

    From steel to stoke

    This isn’t the Duluth, Minnesota, you think of now. Visitors come to ride mountain bikes and explore the miles of city trails. It’s a regional recreation destination, with its national prominence growing steadily. People think of Duluth and they think biking, hiking and skiing. But that wasn’t always Duluth’s reputation. It once was a king…


  • Rinella named conference keynote

    Rinella named conference keynote

    Acclaimed outdoor writer and television personality Steven Rinella will open the 90th annual Outdoor Writers Association of America conference in Duluth, Minnesota.


  • Public lands in jeopardy

    Public lands in jeopardy

    I spent last Father’s Day visiting my son, David, who works as an interpretive ranger at a state park just outside Las Vegas. I was excited when he and his girlfriend, Jenn, suggested we hike at Gold Butte, a 350,000-acre cultural heritage site administered by the Bureau of Land Management.


  • Acidification threatens oceans

    Acidification threatens oceans

    Most of the news surrounding too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is aimed at our changing climate. But there’s another issue when it comes to carbon in the atmosphere that threatens to harm the oceans and disrupt the food chain. It’s ocean acidification.


  • Mountain bikes in wilderness?

    Mountain bikes in wilderness?

    A new Congress and a new presidential administration may be underway, but heated debates over natural resources management in America continue.


  • Making the most of media trips

    Making the most of media trips

    One of the great things about working in outdoor media is that from time to time, you are invited to go on some really great trips where the travel, food and lodging are all taken care of.


  • When, how to tag on social media

    When, how to tag on social media

    It used to be that all it took to maximize social media was knowing how and when to post something. Since then we have entered an era where mastering social media is a profession within itself.


  • As the trade winds blow

    As the trade winds blow

    Is attending industry shows worth the cost?


  • How to cover the outdoors like a  crime reporter and find better stories

    How to cover the outdoors like a crime reporter and find better stories

    An Oregon police chief in my newspaper’s circulation area was arrested for illegally guiding would-be cougar and bobcat poachers, who happened to be undercover police officers.


  • Edit yourself to success

    Edit yourself to success

    I’ve sweated out late nights in front of the screen, laboring for the perfect words as a deadline approached.


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