Richie Swanson came of age living outside in nature, taking bicycle and backpacking trips throughout North America. He lives simply on a boathouse on the upper Mississippi river, hauling water and heating with wood.

He won the Year 2000 National Peace Writing Award for an unpublished novel that contributes to peacemaking, granted by Peace Hope. His short stories have appeared in Raven Chronicles, Alligator Juniper, Ginosko: between literary vision and spiritual realities, Thirty First Bird Review, Gloria Mundi Press, www.Transnational-Perspectives.org, Mobius: the journal for social change, and other journals.

He conducted Breeding Bird Censuses approved by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and printed by the Association of Field Ornithologists.

He has monitored bird populations for wildlife agencies and written for Birder’s World, Bird Watcher’s Digest, Western Birder, High Country News, Oregon Coast Magazine and other outdoor publications. He produced www.RiverBirdBlog.com, Thayer Birding and National Geographic Online Store, associates.

He has worked as an environmental consultant and for Mississippi River Revival in Winona, conducting interpretive events and advocating for threatened species, habitat protection and a cleaner river.