Photo © Clark James Mishler

ART DAVIDSON, who grew up with Heinz Coordes in Colorado, has lived his adult life in Alaska, where he helped create the state’s first state park and has been engaged in major conservation and indigenous-rights battles.
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From his climbing days, Davidson wrote “Minus 148: The First Winter Ascent of Mt. McKinley”, considered a classic of mountaineering literature. He also authored “Endangered Peoples” about the struggles of indigenous peoples around the world.  He met Anne Garrels during the Iraq war, and worked with both Shia and Sunnis to get relief to children orphaned in the conflict.  After his April trip to Ukraine, with his son Joe and daughter Cung, Davidson said “When a bomb goes off and someone’s arm is dangling or a child loses parents and has no place to go, we’ve got to do what we can to help.”