Jeff and “Ranger Paula,” his wife, enjoying an autumn prairie. Noblesville, Indiana. October 2023. Photo: Jeff Darren Muse

Publications

  • Dear Park Ranger: Essays on Manhood, Restlessness, and the Geography of Hope, Wayfarer Books, an imprint of Homebound Publications, 2023.

  • “What Do You Want from Nature Writing?,” River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, March 17, 2023.

  • “A Rucksack Rumination,” The Wayfarer 10th Anniversary Issue, Homebound Publications, November 15, 2022. Nominated for a 2023 Pushcart Prize.

  • “The Moon, the River, a Best Friend,” The Good Men Project, June 6, 2021.

  • “Making my peace with the desert—and a mule,” Christian Science Monitor, February 5, 2020.

  • “Climbing the High Ridges and Stumbling,” River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, July 1, 2015.

  • “Frontier Science School: Pioneering New Partnerships,” The Bureau of Land Management Daily, May 26, 2015.

  • “Goodbye, Coho,” Drive: The Magazine from Subaru, Spring 2015.

  • “Pitman Creek,” The Good Men Project, March 31, 2014. Originally published in Ascent.

  • “Stand Your Ground, Peyton Manning,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, February 18, 2014

  • “Pete Seeger, My Onetime Boss, Dies,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, January 28, 2014.

  • “Pitman Creek,” Ascent, January 9, 2014. Nominated for the 2014 Best of the Net Anthology as well as a Pushcart Prize.

  • “Santa’s a Stud, Agreed?,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, December 17, 2013.

  • “Survey Says: You Talk Funny,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, November 5, 2013.

  • “Plan B: Got One?,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, October 6, 2013.

  • “Human Nature 101: Expect Questions Without Easy Answers,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, September 1, 2013.

  • “Anima,” Poecology, Fall 2013.

  • “We Can Rebuild Him, Maybe,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, August 4, 2013.

  • “Writer Bullshits Himself, Needs Saving,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, July 7, 2013.

  • “SAR Talk,” The Common, July 3, 2013.

  • “Mapping Your People, Your Place,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, June 19, 2013.

  • “Boy Meets Book, Falls in Love,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, June 2, 2013.

  • “Capitol-izing: Is Your Town Famous?,” Hothouse: A Place of Inquiry, May 4, 2013.

  • “Ground Truthing,” Flycatcher, January 2013.

  • “Manly Labor,” Soundings Review, Fall/Winter 2012.

  • “The Big Bang,” Poydras Review, Winter 2012.

  • “Tough Love,” Stymie: A Journal of Sport, Games, and Literature, November 2012.

  • “Sauk Mountain, North Cascades, Washington,” EarthLines, November 2012.

  • “Skagit River, Washington,” Orion’s The Place Where You Live, May 21, 2012.

  • “A Cure for Cabin Fever,” La Crosse Magazine, March 2011.

  • “Soaring with Eagles,” La Crosse Magazine, March 2011.

  • “Patience and Pluck,” La Crosse Magazine, January 2011.

  • “Walking on White,” La Crosse Magazine, November 2010.

  • “Busted Beer Cans and Baby Culture,” High Country News, August 30, 2010. Winner of the “Stories of the Working West” 40th Anniversary Contest.

  • “An Encouraging Sky,” La Crosse Magazine, July 2010.

  • “Hope,” Skagit Watershed Council 2001 Annual Report, June 2002.

  • “Fish Out of Water,” Whatcom Watch, January 1999.

  • Volunteer Stream Monitoring Training Manual: Hoosier Riverwatch, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, July 1998.

  • “The Geometry of Nature,” Berkshires Week, February 1997.

  • “A Place in Time,” Berkshires Week, January 1997.

  • “Hunters on the Hunt,” Berkshires Week, November 1996.

  • “Buy Back the Dacks Fund,” Wild Earth, Summer 1995.

  • Organizing a Cleanup: A River Stewardship Manual, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, January 1995.

  • “The Gila: Think Like a River,” Paddler, December 1994.

  • “150 Years on the Columbia River,” The Fishwrapper, February 1994.