Behind the Pages

Associate Editor Meghan McCarthy McPhaul was thrilled to tag along with biologists from New Hampshire Fish and Game and staff from the Kilham Bear Center when they visited the den of a radio-collared sow bear this past spring. While the experts checked on the anesthetized mother, Meghan acted as a “cub warmer” for the 2-month-old cubs, one male (seen here) and one female. She considers this among the top 5 days of her writing and editing career. Her story, “Bear Necessities: A Second Chance for Orphaned Cubs,” appears on page 50. Photo courtesy of Meghan McCarthy McPhaul.

Approximately 50 people contribute to the words and images in each issue of the magazine. Here are some of our Spring 2024 contributors.

From left: Lisa Cadieux, Michael Freeman, Mark Hayward, and Jill Osgood.

Lisa Cadieux, who designs the magazine, spent her childhood in the woods of northern Vermont creating imaginary wildlife habitats. As an adult, her creative work spans 30+ years, three cities (Boston, San Diego, and Burlington), and myriad mediums. Her primary focus is print design, but she has also completed several large-scale interior design projects. She now lives on the lake in North Hero, Vermont, spending as much time as possible paddling and pedaling through the Lake Champlain islands and beyond. Photo by Marc Meredyth.

Michael Freeman (Knots & Bolts: “Managing Vernal Pools,” page 24) lives in Rhode Island and works mostly as a parent. He has frequently contributed articles to Northern Woodlands and said that interviewing foresters and biologists is among his favorite activities. “You ask about subject x and learn the whole alphabet,” he said. He’s written the books Neither Mountain Nor River and Drifting: Two Weeks on the Hudson. Photo by Dan Magill

Mark Hayward (“Transit to Trails,” page 10) retired in 2023 from the New Hampshire Union Leader, where he researched and wrote about a variety of subjects, most recently urban-related issues. Throughout his career, he also worked for newspapers in Maine, southwestern New Hampshire, and North Carolina. He is a committed outdoorsman who can often be found in all four seasons playing in the forests of northern New England. Photo courtesy of Mark Hayward.

Jill Osgood (illustration for A Place in Mind, page 80) is an artist, naturalist, and educator living and working in Maine. Growing up in the woods of New Hampshire helped to foster her sense of wonderment and respect for the natural world that has guided her perspective as a human being and defined her work as an artist. She is a certified Maine Master Naturalist, and shares her love for art and Maine’s rich ecology through teaching both children and adults. Photo by Carri Nix Kavela.