Rich Pagen

Rich first became enthralled by the wonders of the natural world around the tide pools and forests of his native New York. Since then, he has embarked on a career in conservation biology that has ranged from teaching science and environmental awareness to teenagers from Los Angeles, to traveling the coast and river deltas of Alaska’s North Slope via Zodiac to reach remote wetlands where he monitored loon nests. After such field biology projects as surveys for mammalian carnivores in the mountains of California, bird migration monitoring in Canada, and a study of army-ant-following birds in the Peruvian Amazon, Rich was drawn back to the sea, and for several years, he taught marine science and island ecology on Catalina Island in California. He has also conducted shipboard surveys for marine mammals and seabirds, as well as tagging studies of sea turtles and pelagic sharks.

In 2004, Rich began working as a guide and educator in nature tourism where, in addition to bringing to life the stories of wildlife and ecosystems, he is fascinated with how nature has shaped cultures, and how human culture celebrates and impacts nature. He resides in the city of Minneapolis, where he gets around (almost) everywhere on his bicycle.