Pete Pederson

Pete Pederson has always been attracted to the out-of-doors and is fascinated by the diversity of life and how natural systems function. He studied zoology and completed his Master of Science degree in wildlife management at Humboldt State University in northern California. As a graduate student, through a U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant, he researched the feeding ecology of northern pintails and mallards, a project that combined his interests in ornithology and invertebrate zoology. Although drawn to many aspects of nature, Pete especially enjoys helping others understand more about marine mammals, birds, and geology. He is guided by a passion for these subjects and by the joy he gets from sharing them with people.

Earlier in his life, after earning a bachelor’s degree, he became a ranger in Yosemite National Park, and his life turned towards a pursuit of learning more about the natural world. He worked in the park during summers and as a professional ski patrolman for two winters. He met his wife, Gretchen, in Yosemite. They spent 11 seasons in Rocky Mountain, Everglades, and Denali National Parks. Pete then worked for eight summers as a naturalist guide for Camp Denali, a wilderness resort surrounded by Alaskan backcountry.

Almost 30 years ago Pete and Gretchen were lucky enough to find and make Bend, Oregon, their home. It lies on the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains where they spend much of the year skiing, hiking, canoeing, and pursuing birding, entomology, and wildlife photography. They live in a house they designed and built themselves on 10 acres that they continue to enhance as wildlife habitat.

Pete has traveled extensively with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic since 1990 to destinations in the Arctic, Antarctic, Southeast Alaska, Panama, Costa Rica, Baja California, and other regions of the world.