Christopher J. Preston

I’m an award-winning author, environmental philosopher, public speaker, and clean energy enthusiast based in Missoula, Montana.

I grew up on the white cliffs of England’s south coast. My summers were spent enjoying chilly green waters, catching prawns at Birling Gap, and getting scratched by thickets of blackberries. As a teen, I bounced back and forth between northern and southern England. I hiked on the North York moors, and played cricket and rugby against people much better at it than me. Before long, I was stumbling around the cathedral city of Durham trying to figure out a suitable degree.

I moved to the United States aged twenty-two for graduate school in philosophy. I found my feet in Colorado but soon became addicted to Alaska. Its giant landscapes showed me wildlife and wildlands I had never experienced before. Prince William Sound, Bristol Bay, and the Tongass National Forest all tipped me on my heels. To pay my way, I caught fish, packed fish, looked everywhere for fish, and nearly became sick of fish. I also befriended some wonderful people. Back in the lower forty-eight, Oregon, Washington DC, and South Carolina all became home for a stretch.

My work on the cutting edge of ethics, conservation, and technology means I’m a frequent guest on TV, podcast, and radio. I’ve been featured on the PBS Newshour, CNN, and The Human Footprint on topics including AI, woolly mammoths, and dire wolves. I’m also interviewed in the 2026 documentary Leviathan: Whale and Man. I have appeared in news stories by The Washington Post, The LA Times, CNN, The Canadian Broadcasting Company, The Associated Press, The Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, Outside Magazine, and numerous others. I have given invited lectures for The Linnean Society of London, the American Museum of Natural History, The Oxford Literary Festival, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and dozens of others.

My magazine articles have been published by The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Noema, Discover, Orion, Slate, the Wall Street Journal, The Conversation, Salon, The BBC, Yale E360 and other outlets. My most recent book, Tenacious Beasts, won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for non-fiction and was included in The New Yorker’s ‘Best Books of 2023.’ It probes the mystery of wildlife back from the brink and asks what returning animals can teach us. Learn more about it on the Tenacious Beasts page.

Rooted in Montana, I enjoy a satisfying rhythm that includes writing, teaching, cross-country skiing, and biking. I also grow vegetables and fruits to fill my belly and freezer when the sun lights the soil with warmth.

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