BRYCE SPARE (HE/THEY) AND TUCK (GOOD DOG)
Lead backcountry ranger in Payette National Forest (recently fired and reinstated), ultra runner and backcountry skiier
McCall, Idaho
There’s this idea that queer, trans, nonbinary and two-spirit people live in urban areas. But they have lived and continue to live all over, and living rurally is where I feel best and most comfortable. As somebody who’s transmasculine and white, I have a lot of privilege, so it’s important for me to use my voice right now. This administration is literally trying to write us out of existence. It’s hard for it to be such a negative focus point. But it’s important to continue to find joy and live your life, and that’s what I intend to do. The reasons I want to live here are pretty universal: I want to have amazing access to beautiful places, open spaces. I hope that is something across the political spectrum that people can relate to — maybe some kind of bridge to understanding.
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This article appeared in the May 2025 print edition of the magazine with the headline “#IAMTHEWEST.”
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