David B. Williams

I write about natural history, whether it is ecological recovery at Mount St. Helens, a journey to find salmon in Seattle, or an essay about seeing and holding first editions of On The Origin of Species. Some of my work can also be classified as science writing and/or environmental journalism. Over the past few years, one of my central projects has been a free weekly newsletter on Substack, titled Street Smart Naturalist.

A central goal in my writing is to encourage people to look more carefully at the natural world around them. I hope that my essays and articles will provoke the reader to ask more questions, to go outside and investigate, to delve deeper into the subject, to reevaluate what they may have taken for granted. I have written for publications as diverse as Smithsonian, Earth, Northwest Palate, and American History.

I grew up in Seattle, went to college in Colorado, worked as park ranger at Arches National Park and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Park, and moved back to Seattle in 1998. I write full time, like to hike and bike, and explore urban nature.