About
Katie Hill is a contributor for Outdoor Life where she covers outdoor news, hunting, and conservation in the West. She was born and raised on the East Coast but relocated to Montana in 2019 to earn her master’s degree in environmental journalism.
Experience
Hill studied journalism in Boston, where her dream to become a beat writer for the Red Sox evolved into a passion for covering the environment and outdoor recreation after interning with the Appalachian Mountain Club’s magazine, AMC Outdoors. She also spent three summers working on a dude ranch in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains where she first realized she belonged in the West. After graduating, she relocated to Montana to pursue her master’s degree in environmental journalism. During her studies, she spent five weeks living out of her truck and driving from North Dakota to the Texas Gulf Coast to follow and write about the endangered whooping crane migration for her master’s project. Katie joined Outdoor Life in August 2022 after a 14-month stint as assistant editor at MeatEater. While she was there, she reported stories that explored everything from the illegal sale of endangered saiga antelope horns on Amazon to the complicated public access issues in Montana’s Crazy Mountains.
Education
Katie graduated from Emerson College with a B.S. in journalism and from the University of Montana with an M.A. in Environmental Science and Natural Resources Journalism.
Highlights
- Interests include local, state, and federal conservation policy and wildlife management, public lands, and becoming the best beginner Western big game hunter she can be.
- Enjoys running on any paved, worn, or wooded trail she can find, learning how to snowboard and paddleboard, and misidentifying wildflowers.
- Previous work experience: MeatEater, freelance journalist.
Words of Wisdom
When Ernest Hemingway was writing for a living and chartering a marlin boat off the coast of Cuba, he was worried he wouldn’t catch enough fish to cover the next month’s $9 charter fee. His boat captain Mr. Josie told him, “If we get bad weather, you can write something.” This phrase teaches two lessons. First, even though nature doesn’t owe you anything, something valuable comes from every experience. Second, writing about your passions is a great way to just barely cover the cost of pursuing them.
