Bruce Masterman has been a writer and journalist for more than 40 years, and a passionate outdoors enthusiast for even longer. After a 26-year career reporting and writing for daily newspapers in Western Canada, including 21 years at the Calgary Herald, Bruce started freelancing full time in 2000 for magazines including Reader's Digest, explore and Outdoor Canada. He specializes in writing about conservation and the outdoors and is the author of two books – Heading Out: A Celebration of the Great Outdoors in Calgary and Southern Alberta, and Paradise Preserved: The Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area. Bruce has earned many conservation and writing awards, including 10 National Magazine Awards and the Andy Russell Nature Writing Award. In 1998 he became the first print journalist to receive an Alberta Order of the Bighorn Award for “outstanding contributions to the conservation of Alberta's fish and wildlife heritage.” Bruce has taught journalism part time at SAIT in Calgary since 2006 and serves as a town councillor for High River in southern Alberta. He and his wife, Karen, live in High River, Alberta.