Glenn Nelson
Based in Seattle, Wash., Glenn Nelson is the founder of The Trail Posse, which explores the intersection of race and the outdoors. He recently served as Community Director, leading antiracism activities for Birds Connect Seattle, where he also led the name change from Seattle "Audubon." He was included in the inaugural People of Color Environmental Professionals: Profiles of Courage and Leadership by the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Initiative at Yale School of the Environment (JEDSI).
Nelson has won numerous national and international awards for his writing, photography and Web publishing, including second place in 2020 from Best of the West for his columns on race for Crosscut and South Seattle Emerald, first-place honors from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 for his columns on race for Crosscut and South Seattle Emerald, and Outstanding Beat Reporting (Race, Inclusion and Environmental Justice) from the Society of Environmental Journalists. His photography is published in Bird Photographer of the Year and has been honored by Nature's Best Photography International Awards, National Wildlife Federation, North American Nature Photography Association, the Audubon Photography Awards, Best of Nikonians, and Share the View.
Nelson also is a founding member of the Next 100 Coalition, a national alliance of civil rights, environmental and community groups advocating for more inclusive management of public lands, and a founding steering committee member of the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge, which advises outdoor brands on DEI work. A graduate of Seattle University and Columbia University, he was born in Japan and started his career at The Seattle Times. He later founded HoopGurlz (now at ESPN), which covered girlβs basketball and college prospects nationally, and helped found Scout.com, a network of sports websites. Nelson is the primary author of a teen book about the NBA, has been published in numerous magazines and book collections, had his photographic work appear at the Smithsonian, and has been profiled by NPR. He has served on the board of directors for several nonprofits, as well as the Washington Governor's advisory committee on outdoor recreation, the advisory committee for the Japanese American Remembrance Trail, and the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Task Force.
This Land is ‘Your’ Land
by Glenn Nelson It must be nice being a white columnist for The New York Times, able to outfit yourself and your daughter with the equipment and food necessary to hike 210 miles, freely travel to the Pacific Crest Trail, and not have to fret...
Fee-Free Tuesday at National Parks
Above: Headlamps from climbers are visible on the side of Mount Rainier (Glenn Nelson photo). Entrance fees are waived on Tuesday, Aug. 25, for all 408 National Park Service units, for Founderβs Day, celebrating the park serviceβs 99th birthday. Fees also will waived on two...
Jimmy Chin’s Gripping Documentary, ‘Meru’
‘Meru,’ with Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. Directed by Jimmy Chin and E. Chai Vasarhelyi. Three renowned climbers navigate natureβs harshest elements and their own complicated inner demons to ascend Mount Meru, the most technically complicated and dangerous peak in the Himalayas. 1...
Lost in the Fires
I am haunted by a scene from about a week ago of young U.S. Forest Service firefighters taking a break at The Mazama Store, which I consider the best βhangβ in the Methow Valley, just across the Cascades in central Washington state. They were such...
More Wildfires?
(NOTE: This story, originally published on June 25, was updated on Aug. 12). by Glenn Nelson Many national parks in the West opened access and facilities much earlier than usual this year because of record-low snowpack, widely attributed to climate change. (NOTE: Clicking on an...