About Us - The Owners
We met and fell in love under the magical spell of the Wyoming backcountry. Our common love of nature – and good, hard work in its surroundings – formed a special bond that would eventually bring us to this beautiful place.
Michael is a native of rural New Hampshire. He has always said he was put on this earth to be an outfitter. He fondly recalls some of his earliest memories selling hand-prepared squirrel hides to local fly tying shops and watching hunting and fishing shows – rather than cartoons – on the weekends. An avid fly fisherman since age five and bow and rifle hunter since age eight, Michael was fortunate to spend his childhood fishing beautiful New England lakes and streams and hunting whitetail deer, turkey, and then later elk and mule deer on his brother’s cattle ranch in southwest Montana, where he has worked off-and-on since age 14. In high school, he volunteered as a structural and wildland firefighter, helped with his family’s sugaring operation, and made the US Junior Olympic Team as a whitewater slalom kayaker. After high school and an intensive three-month National Outdoor Leadership School program in Alaska, he began his studies at Montana State University, where he graduated in 2008 with a BS in Secondary Education with a Science focus. Opting for a “seven-year program,” he concurrently pursued his EMT certification (which held for three years) and passion for guiding. He was head hunting and fishing guide for an outfit in Wyoming, guiding pack trips – specializing in fly fishing – and elk and mule deer hunts in the Wind River Range of the Bridger Wilderness. He was then a guide and manager for an outfit in the Bob for a season. He now guides and manages all field operations for WTR.
Megan was raised predominantly in Michigan. The military tradition runs deep in her family – both her parents and brother attended the Air Force Academy, her maternal grandfather served as a Marine during WWII, and her paternal grandfather was a navigator in the Air Force. From the age of 10 Megan knew she wanted to serve her country and attend the Air Force Academy; she graduated in the Class of 2004 with a BS in Foreign Area Studies and a minor in German. When she separated from the Air Force she felt the pull of her maternal bloodline (her grandfather’s family farmed for generations in the Azores and northern California, and he was a USGS surveyor and consummate outdoorsman, as are both her uncles) and opted to work for an outfitter where she hoped to absorb the spiritual and working knowledge that comes from living in greater partnership with nature. She has worked for two outfitters, one in Wyoming and one in Montana, as a manager and backcountry cook. After a stint in the defense contracting industry doing business development and proposal writing, she now manages all communications and finance functions for WTR.
After managing a Montana outfit together in 2007, we remained true to our gypsy roots to see and explore new places and moved to Sarasota, Florida, in 2008. In 2010 Michael was finally able to realize his dream of being an outfitter when we discovered WTR Outfitters. We are thrilled to live this lifestyle and bring the best of our country’s wild places to you all.
Follow Us