Author Doug Alderson, a regular contributor to Sea Kayaker magazine, author of two other books on sea kayaking is a nationally certified kayak instructor-trainer and year-round kayaker. Doug is the former associate editor of Florida Wildlife magazine, and he edited A Florida Wildlife Anthology: 1947-2003. His chapter on the St. Marks River is part of the Between Two Rivers anthology, published by the Red Hills Writers Project in 2004. Doug has also worked as a lobbyist for several environmental groups and as a naturalist for the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science. In between jobs, he has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, coordinated a walk across the United States from coast to coast, and he has backpacked across Europe. Doug is currently the Florida Paddling Trails Coordinator for Florida's Office of Greenways and Trails. He recently finished a three-year project scouting the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, a 1,500-plus mile sea kayaking trail around the entire state. He is a member of the Heart of the Earth environmental council and he serves as a ceremonial leader at the White Earth Muskogee Creek Ceremonial Grounds. He lives south of Tallahassee with his wife, Cyndi, and daughter, Cheyenne.