Feathered Forest

Praised a “luminous” by Bill McKibben, Feathered Forest interweaves memoir with clear-eyed notes on ecology to create an engaging blend of scientific and soulful observations.

Tickets are not required but RSVPs are always appreciated! Please RSVP by reserving a free general admission ticket at Eventbrite.

The event at a glance:

• On November 22, please arrive early to secure your seat. Seating is general admission, first come, first served.
• At 4pm, the event will begin. The author will take audience questions following the program.
• After the talk, the author will sign books.
• Can’t attend in person? Order signed copies on our website or by calling (406) 587-0166. Signing requests must be placed 24 hours before the event and can only be taken for books we currently have on our shelves. 

ABOUT FEATHERED FOREST

Acclaimed nature writer Marina Richie guides us into a vertical world of old-growth forests through the eyes of the birds that inhabit them—exploring her journey as an environmentalist in her signature verdant prose.

With exquisite prose and meticulous research, Marina Richie interweaves memoir with clear-eyed notes on ecology to create an engaging blend of scientific and soulful observations.

In Feathered Forest, birds are our guides to a vertical world of ancient trees that spans both sides of the Cascade Mountains. Within centuries-old groves that are critical refugia in a time of climate crisis, these winged messengers show us a better way to steward our threatened landscapes. Just as a forest transitions upward from understory to midstory to overstory, so too does the trajectory of Richie’s life—from the protective cover of adolescence to the precarious yet light-filled canopy of adulthood.

Richie’s love for the wilds unfurls in poetic phrasing, and her call to protect our last old-growth trees is resounding and clear.

ABOUT MARINA RICHIE

Marina Richie is an award-winning nature writer with a passion for birds and wild places. Her book Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher received the 2024 John Burroughs Medal for distinguished natural history writing, a 2022 National Outdoor Book Award (gold), and a Foreword Indies Award (silver). Through prose and poetry, Marina seeks to bridge the divide separating people from nature. Her essays, blogs, and poems appear in popular and literary magazines. Marina has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Montana and an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Oregon. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, Wes, and tends a bird-friendly yard.

ABOUT ASHLEY MARTENS

Ashley is the Intermountain West Regional Manager of the Old-Growth Forest Network. She grew up under the canopy of trees in the western US.  She gazed up at shimmering aspen leaves as a babe in Utah, sought shade under ancient junipers when hunting arrowheads as a kid in Wyoming, foraged wild mushrooms under old-growth cedars and hemlocks as a young adult in Idaho, watched bald eagles raise their young under a giant Douglas Fir in Washington, and currently gathers her community together under cottonwoods along creeks in Montana. Her educational and experiential background in ecology, wildlife biology, education, restoration, and mindfulness primed her perfectly for work with the Old-Growth Forest Network. Whenever she feels stressed or can’t sleep, she imagines herself sitting on the mossy ground with her back resting against the soft trunk of a giant Grandmother Cedar Tree. In addition to her work with the Old-Growth Forest Network, Ashley teaches are variety of nature-based classes through her business True Nature Education and the local Sacajawea Audubon Society. She loves all things wild, and most especially birds. 

https://countrybookshelf.com/event/2026-11-22/marina-richie-conversation-ashley-martens