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OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2022 • MONTANA SENIOR NEWS ALL ABOUT MONTANA 9

which she then tans and sells through her For more than 40 years, Doreen and her
business, Montannery. She tracks mountain husband, Butch Gillespie, have been cattle
lions every winter for a conservation project ranching on Revolution Ranch in northern
and shares her skills with youth at sev- Montana. They own Gillespie Show Cattle,
eral nature connection schools, including raising both beef cattle and club calves,
Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center. She which are calves bred for sale to youth
also teaches nature-based workshops for livestock show exhibitors. Doreen is also a
adults and leads backcountry trips. brand inspector and serves as the chair of
DOREEN GILLESPIE the Montana Livestock Loss Board.
Doreen Gillespie’s passion for agricul- The couple raised two children on the
ture led her to advocacy and public speaking ranch, where they also hosted many work-
through numerous agricultural organiza- study students from around the world.
tions. She’s currently an active member Doreen says of ranching, “You learn what
of Montana Agri-Women, a nonprofit, life is all about when you’re dealing with a
nonpartisan organization that promotes ranch because you see birth, death, (and)
education and communication for Montana what happens in life generally.” MSN
women in agriculture.

Callie Russell of Flathead, Montana, has a deep
love of wilderness coupled with in-depth, practical
knowledge of how to survive in the wild. Photo
courtesy Callie Russell.

Russell became the runner-up for the
longest number of days spent alone in the
Canadian wilderness—89 out of 100 possi-
ble days. She was such a fan-favorite that
she was invited to return for season eight.
In her younger years, Russell served with
the Oregon Conservation Corps then worked
as a wilderness therapy guide in her home
state of Arizona. Wanting more experience
in the wild, she headed to the Flathead area
to live off-grid in the mountains. Since
2010, Russell has been living outside, often
nomadically, under trees, tarps, canvas, in
a yurt and in caves.
Russell forages, scavenges, hunts,
fishes, and tends her goats, which serve as
pack animals and provide her with milk.
She’s also involved in backcountry animal
processing, hide tanning, felting, basket
weaving, and gathering plants for medicine,
food, and art.
In the fall, Russell skins deer and elk at
a wild game processor to harvest the hides,

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