Author and photographer Mari Hill Harpur, great-granddaughter of James J. Hill, grew up in an agricultural culture in the American Midwest, driving a tractor before she drove a car. She studied at Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, graduating with a BA in 1971, and her professional life has been divided between business and photography, with a special interest in land management and iconic landscapes. She has had over thirty photographic exhibits internationally, and her recent work portrays large landscapes and deer in their habitats in Minnesota, Canada, and New Zealand. A Director of the World Forestry Center from 19971, serving as Chair 2003-2006, she and her husband have managed the family fishing camp on the St. John River in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence for the past twenty-five years.