Dave Dempsey has not only worked to preserve and protect the wild, he has loved it, felt it, and lived it. He shares in this book a deep sense of knowing that reaches well beyond mere understanding, relating experiences and insights gathered from forty years in conservation advocacy and environmental policy—and more than forty years of walks through forests and along lakes, rivers, and streams, often with his beloved dogs as companions. Beautifully articulated, with knowledge, feeling and history: a must-read for newcomers and veterans alike in environmental policy and conservation.—Thomas C. Bailey, retired executive director of the Little Traverse Conservancy, and author of A North Country Almanac: Reflections of an Old-School Conservationist in a Modern World