Stephen Lyn Bales is an East Tennessee natural historian. A native of Gatlinburg and the Smokies, he learned from an early age the beauty in the natural world and the importance of protecting it. Bales served as senior naturalist at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville for twenty years. He is a regular guest speaker for WBU, UT Arboretum and other local groups. In the past 30 years, Stephen Lyn has written over 600 nature related newspaper and magazine articles. Additionally, he has written three nature books published by the University of Tennessee Press: Natural Histories, Ghost Birds, and Ephemeral by Nature. His books often explore the links in natural history with our own human history.