Ethan S
Writer #2123
Joined 4/4/2011
6 Star Rating
100% Success
7,459 Projects
53 Endorsements
3 Elite Skills
Ethan has been a full-time freelance writer (as well as an independent naturalist) for more than a decade. Writing has been a passion of his childhood, and as a profession has run alongside—and often dovetailed with—his other enduring lifelong interest in the natural world. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Ecology/Natural Resources as well as a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ethan’s writing covers a lot of territory. His own projects, which include an in-progress field guide and an ongoing landscape-monitoring study, involve technical and interpretive writing related to earth science, landscape ecology, and wildlife. His byline has appeared in newspapers (as a young reporter with beats ranging from county government to wildfire and agriculture, and more recently as an outdoor columnist) as well as such magazines as Backpacker and Statehood Media’s Oregon and Washington travel/culture magazines (1859 and 1889, respectively). He’s also written extensively on the outdoors and general travel for such outlets as RootsRated and Matcha (including, through them, various outdoor recreation companies and local tourism offices).

He wrote hundreds of articles on wildlife and conservation for Earth Touch News, and has researched and written up material for Wilderness Connect, the official information clearinghouse on federal wilderness areas, as well as for the Bureau of Land Management.

Ethan’s also written extensively in a wide variety of subjects, formats, and voices for scores of clients, including via WriterAccess. These thousands of pieces on all manner of topics have taken the form of web pages, blogposts, social-media posts, ebooks, technical reports, white papers, press releases, and more. Fully capable of high-volume and fast-turnover work, he nonetheless always devotes careful attention to research and clear, thorough client communications to ensure—even on tight turnarounds—accurate, compelling, and engaging copy.
Article
Science
Travel
Green Living
Outdoor/Recreation

Specialties

While Ethan writes on many subjects, his primary specialties—informed by his academic background and his ongoing work as an independent naturalist—are outdoor recreation, science (mainly earth science, natural resources, biology, and ecology), and travel, including adventure travel and ecotourism.

Interests

Ethan is deeply interested in natural systems and landscapes: everything from geomorphology and meteorology to plant communities and wildlife movement. He spends much of his time out in the backcountry as an avid hiker, backpacker, mountaineer, and paddler. He’s also a great music fan (though only a passable drummer and guitarist).

Education

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ethan was proud to earn a degree in Wildlife Ecology/Natural Resources through the UW-Madison department established by visionary ecologist and conservationist Aldo Leopold. As part of this degree program, he got as much experience in writing up scientific reports as he did in fieldwork techniques such as wildlife and habitat surveys.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

In this one-year program, Ethan learned the basics of the powerful technology called Geographic Information Systems. This allowed him to indulge a burgeoning interest in landscape ecology and physical geography, as well as explore the science and art of cartography and the robust software used to generate overlay maps and conduct spatial analysis.

Travel

3,974 Projects Completed

Much of Ethan's writing focus covers travel--specifically adventure and nature-oriented travel/ecotourism. He's provided work in this regard for a variety of private clients as well as to USA Today's "Travel Tips", NationalGeographic.com's "Green Living," and a number of other Demand Media-associated outlets. He's also in the process of writing a field guide aimed at landscape interpretation for the outdoor (and armchair) traveler.

Outdoor/Recreation

778 Projects Completed

One of Ethan's major writing focuses, along with natural history/ecology, is outdoor recreation. He's written on the subject for a number of outlets, including Backpacker Magazine, RootsRated, the Bureau of Land Management, the "Observer" newspaper (La Grande, Ore.), Examiner (as the Portland Outdoor Adventure Examiner), Trails, LIVESTRONG, and USA Today's "Travel Tips." He's also written on recreation topics for a number of private clients.

Science

353 Projects Completed

Ethan specializes in interpretive writing on natural history, ecology, physical geography, geology, wildlife, and botany, informed by his academic background in ecology and geography and his lifelong passion for the natural world. He's written hundreds of pieces on these subjects for numerous online outlets (Demand Media) as well as for private clients and newspapers. His own writing projects, including the development of a field guide, center on landscape interpretation and ecology. He wrote portions for several academic papers based on professional wildlife and biology research work he was a part of.

Green Living

73 Projects Completed

Ethan has written on green-living topics on a number of projects. He wrote several pieces on eco-friendly travel and lifestyle for the National Geographic/Demand Media partnership "Green Living," published on NationalGeographic.com. He's also completed green-living titles for private clients, focusing mainly on ecologically sustainable travel.

Article

2,281 Projects Completed

From newspaper features to online ecology primers, much of Ethan's work has taken article form. He's skilled at translating complicated concepts into an engaging form accessible to the general reader.

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