Curtis Smalling
Curtis Smalling has a BSc in biology and an MA in Appalachian studies. He is a lifelong birder who works as mountain area biologist for Audubon North Carolina. Curtis is the founder of the Mountain Avian Research Initiative and Ecos of the Blue Ridge, an eco-tourism company leading walks and school field trips. He resides in Boone, North Carolina, with his wife of 23 years, Mary, and their three children.

Gregory Kennedy
Gregory Kennedy has been an active naturalist and adventurer since he was a young boy. He is the author of many books on natural history and has produced film and television work on environmental issues and indigenous concerns in southeast Asia, New Guinea, South and Central America and the high Arctic. His involvement in numerous research projects around the world range from studies in the upper canopy of tropical and temperate rainforests to deepwater marine investigations.