The Roundup: We're Finally in Print
You've got mail, we've got announcements!
Howdy folks,
Public lands are currently front and center of the national conversation, as political upheaval places many dedicated federal employees of various natural resource management agencies in the spotlight. I know many of you came to us through our friend Wes Siler’s recent conversation with historian Heather Cox Richardson on the topic.
With that in mind, we’d like to introduce ourselves and what we do.
Like the hunting and fishing magazine once run by Richardson’s parents, The Westrn is a small, independent, outdoors publication that serves the intersection of hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation, and conservation.
We publish on Substack and — as of this week — in print. Our 32-page quarterly outdoor newspaper ships worldwide and is included in an annual subscription to our Substack for $50 per year. For those of you already receiving the paper, we can’t wait to hear your thoughts. And for those of you interested in buying a copy or two, purchase them here.
Most Substacks publish the work of one personality. Instead, The Westrn is a trio of accomplished and award-winning writers and journalists plus one badass designer/illustrator. Our bylines run the gamut from niche and legacy hunting publications to National Geographic, High Country News, USA Today, Outside, The Village Voice, and more.
Katie, Kestrel, L, and I (Nicole) are also well-rounded outdoorspeople. Katie is an avid runner, hiker, and burgeoning rifle hunter. Kestrel is a passionate backcountry skier, cyclist, and bowhunter. Our designer L is a well-traveled backpacker, new hunter, and adventure-seeking parent. I am a lifelong horsewoman who loves to fly fish Montana’s high alpine lakes and spend my falls in search of big game.
We partnered with the Wild Rockies Field Institute on this month’s Roundup because we believe in its mission to foster love for landscape through experiential education. From time to time, we’ll partner with like-minded organizations that commit to on-the-ground and dyed-in-ink efforts to make the world a better place.
At The Westrn, we have collective first-hand experience with how experiential education can add depth and dimension to life. Whether it’s volunteering for ecologists as a high-school dropout (Kestrel), working on creative writing craft while floating a desert river (Nicole), freezing in a meat locker full of deer carcasses at the San Antonio Food Bank (Katie), or teaching Scottish grade schoolers how to build robotic sculptures (L), we wouldn’t be who we are today without experiential education. The connections we made outside traditional classrooms as both students and teachers helped us shape the meaningful lives we wanted.
This year’s WRFI courses include outdoor forays into environmental ethics, sustainability, climate change, human-land relationships, Indigenous art and agriculture, and so much more. These adventures focus on experiential learning for better human outcomes. We support the heck out of that.
I know I’m getting a little long-winded, so I’ll just say this; The Westrn is dedicated to great stories, plain and simple. Our digital space is focused on long-form narratives, and our print space is focused on community building around important and unique stories. We hope at least one of those efforts sings to you in this moment.
More than anything, we’re grateful you’re here!
Cheers to big adventures —
Nicole Qualtieri, Editor-in-Chief
Trophies and Spikes
Our brief take on recent policy and conservation highs and lows
Trophy: A whopping 313 bipartisan elected officials and leaders from across the West signed an open letter to the Trump administration calling for a “more balanced approach” to public lands management on March 26. Even if it’s just a letter, it’s nice to know people still care. Alice Jones Webb covered this one for Outdoor Life.
Trophy: After years of judicial review, a three-judge panel in the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with four Missouri hunters sued by a Wyoming rancher for trespass after stepping from one corner of public land to another in 2022. This ruling has huge implications for public land access across the checkerboarding-heavy West. Angus M. Thuermer, Jr. covered this one for WyoFile.
Spike: We’re drinking from the firehose these days when it comes to tough news on conservation policy, public lands issues, and the like. Rather than trying to pick a few individual turds out of the sewer, sit down with Chad Love’s latest essay in Hatch, get eloquently pissed with him, and then get back to the firehose stream tomorrow.
The Wild Rockies Field Institute’s 2025 Adult Education Courses Are OPEN
WRFI brings over 30 years of experience to academic field courses for college students in the American West. Prior to 2025, WRFI focused on experiential learning for college students. Now, for the first time, the Institute is excited to announce the addition of week-long experiences for curious adult learners to deeply engage with landscapes.
Participants on course at WRFI travel through the Rocky Mountains while reading, writing, listening, and engaging with coursemates, instructors, the landscape, and community. Each course takes on complex environmental and social challenges we face in today’s world. Think of it as an educational adventure that expands your worldview.
The Inaugural Paper Is in the Mail; You Can Still Get a Copy
If you’re an annual subscriber who gave us your mailing address, your copy of The Westrn is funneling into the mail system as we speak. For those of you who don’t know what we’re talking about, yes — we’re a Substack that prints.
Annual subscribers receive four issues of our quarterly outdoor newspaper. Each paper features a diverse roster of storytellers, a challenging crossword, classifieds ads, and much more.
A single copy is currently $15 including shipping. We’re excited to say that the Summer Issue is already in the works and available for pre-order. If you buy an annual subscription by April 4, we’ll send a copy of the Spring Issue on the house.
ICYMI: Our Latest & Greatest
It’s hard to stay on top of emails, so we want to make sure you get what you signed up for.
The Interview: Rue Mapp Wants to Connect, in which our first print-to-digital interview puts the spotlight on the fabulous and ever-inspiring founder of Outdoor Afro, Rue Mapp. In the midst of the current chaos, Mapp’s countenance inspires calm, intentional connection. We’re into it.
The Spring Calf, in which Nicole seeks childlike wonder in the return of spring as the world shifts from winter’s bones to the sweet polka dots of calves at their mothers’ heels.
On Powder Prozac, Indie Ski Hills, and Dirtbagging, in which The Westrn writers band together to tell skiing stories of skipped school, backcountry egos, and indie hill glory.
The Incredible Edible Animal Hierarchy, in which Nicole delves into how hunting changed her internal and external landscape of foodways. Hint: it’s weirder than you think.
In Closing
Here’s a gentle reminder that ‘tis the season to buy your tags and enter draw lotteries for 2025 Western big game adventures. Various application windows are open in Utah, Idaho, and Colorado right now, and if you have dreams of hunting Montana, the deadline for elk and deer is tomorrow! Put in for your dream hunt through Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Finally, when you receive your copy of the paper, send us a photo with it and give us your thoughts! Email us directly at editor@thewestrn.com or tag the.westrn on social media. We hope you enjoy this issue and come back for more.