Larry Stone has never outgrown his boyhood fascination with playing in creeks and exploring woodlots on the Warren County farm where he grew up.  Those passions continue in his photography, canoeing, bird watching, hunting, fishing and nature hikes.

    After majoring in biology at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Larry earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of Michigan.

    During 25 years as outdoor writer and photographer for the Des Moines Register, from 1972-1997, Larry traveled throughout Iowa, developing a deep appreciation for the state's rich natural resources and dedicated people.  His 1999 book, Listen to the Land, collects some his favorite stories and photos from that quarter-century of prowling Iowa’s outdoors.

     Since leaving the Register, Larry has continued freelance writing and photography, with an emphasis on environmental education and protecting our natural heritage.  He has been a member of the Clayton County Conservation Board since 1998.  In April 2003, Larry and coauthor Jon Stravers published Sylvan T. Runkel: Citizen of the Natural World, a biography of well-known Iowa naturalist Sylvan T. Runkel. Larry also has written two books for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. They are: Iowa: Portrait of the Land, and Whitetail: Treasure, Trophy or Trouble.

    Larry’s work has received awards from the Iowa Wildlife Federation, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Iowa Sportsmen’s Federation, the Iowa Division of the Izaak Walton League of America, the Association of Earth Science Editors, the International Regional Magazine Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

    Larry’s wife, Margaret, who grew up on a farm near Traer, also is a Coe College graduate.  She shares his outdoor and conservation interests, and works as a medical technologist.

    The Stones now manage woodlands, native prairie and reconstructed prairie on a farm along the Turkey River, near Elkader, in the hills of northeast Iowa.  Their son, Andy, 26, is a civil engineer in Troy, Mo., where he lives with his wife, Suzanne, and two-year-old son, Isaac. Their daughter, Emily, 22, will graduate from Northland College, in Ashland, Wis., this spring. She is studying to be a naturalist.