JONATHAN P. THOMPSON’s parents first took him camping in Comb Wash, which slices through the center of San Juan County, Utah, when he was just a toddler. That launched a lifelong fondness for the canyons, mesas, and cultures of the region and a deep interest in the politics, particularly those around public lands, which he began covering as a journalist two decades ago. He worked at and then owned The Silverton Standard & The Miner newspaper, then was hired at High Country News, an independent magazine covering the issues of the American West, where he has served as associate editor, editor-in-chief, senior editor, and is now a contributing editor and writer. Thompson holds a BA in philosophy and mathematics from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, was a Ted Scripps Fellow at the Center for Environmental Journalism at University of Colorado, Boulder, and has worked as an artisan baker, bike mechanic, janitor, and seed-germination technician. Along with his wife, Wendy, and daughters Lydia and Elena, he splits his time between Colorado and Bulgaria.