What do the following have in common? Ghost beads, biotic communities, gin, tree masticators, Puebloan diapers, charcoal, folklore, historic explorers, spiral grain, tree life cycles, spirituality, packrat middens, climate changes, wildfire, ranching, wilderness, and land management policies. The answer is the juniper tree.
In her new book, “Interwoven: Junipers and the Web of Being,” Kristen Rogers-Iversen says that throughout prehistory and history, junipers have influenced ecosystems, cultures, mythologies, economics, politics, and environmental controversies. She argues that in terms of their effects on human lives the juniper may be the most significant tree in the interior West.
Kristen Rogers-Iversen is an award-winning author who has worked as an independent editor and writer; as a therapeutic musician for hospice patients; and as an editor, writer, and administrator at the Utah Division of State History. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Utah and is a Certified Music Practitioner.