Amber
Founder

Amber

Founder

Amber grew up in Southeast Arizona where she developed a lifelong love for the outdoors, wildlife, and travel.  She spent nine years serving in the United States Navy before starting BrushBuck Wildlife Tours with her brother, Adam, and her husband, Ezra.  She guided the 2006 and 2007 seasons and now manages the BrushBuck sales team.  Amber tries to spend every spare second with her two boys Jacob and Luke, and her husband, Ezra. She is an avid artisan who enjoys painting, inventing, and crafting.

Adam Lacker, BrushBuck Tours Founder
Adam
Founder

Adam

Founder

After serving 4 years in the Marines Adam headed off to guide in the backcountry of Alaska, Montana, Idaho, and Arizona. As the company developed he has now guided wildlife tours in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania. Adam enjoys floating the rivers and camping with his family, teaching upcoming guides for BrushBuck along with hunting, fishing, and working on the family cattle ranch. Building BrushBuck Wildlife Tours up with his partners and staff has been one of the most rewarding things on this journey we call “life”!

Ezra
Founder

Ezra

Founder

Ezra grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and joined the U.S. Navy shortly after completion of high school. After a five year enlistment in which he served aboard USS Tarawa (LHA-1), he found his way to Jackson Hole with his wife and two children in 2006. He has guided for elk and mule deer in the East Fork Bitteroot Range of Montana, The Sangre De Cristo’s in central Colorado, and can often be found at the nearest fishing hole in the summer and the skiing the backcountry or playing pickup hockey in the winter!

Sue
Operations Manager

Sue

Operations Manager

Sue is “retired” and busier than she ever was during her career! When not running operations at BrushBuck Wildlife Tours, she is either out photographing wildlife or volunteering at Teton Raptor Center. Originally from the Chicago area, Sue imprinted on the Tetons as a 3 year old and finally moved to Jackson in 2013 after spending 21 years in Alaska. Sue loves working for BrushBuck!! “Through our great work ethic, the team at BrushBuck gives 150% to ensure our guests have the tour of a lifetime and I’m just a small part of that. We consider ourselves family and I’m very proud of our guides for their interpretive skills and the entertaining stories they provide. There are no bad days at BrushBuck”!

Andrew McRae
Andrew
Naturalist Guide

Andrew

Naturalist Guide

Andrew grew up in western Pennsylvania on a Christmas tree farm an hour and a half north of Pittsburgh. While pursuing an environmental studies degree from the University of Pittsburgh, he fell in love with Yellowstone National Park while taking a course there. After college Andrew worked as a tour guide throughout the south west during the summer, while spending winters in Colorado snowboarding. The past two summers he has been living in a rainforest in Alaska, but has decided to head back south this year.

Brush Buck provides Andrew with a chance to spend the summer working with wildlife. While getting a chance to explore and live in an area he’s only been able to visit numerous times.

Cade Castle
Cade
Naturalist Guide

Cade

Naturalist Guide

Cade’s passion for wildlife and wild places began as a kid on a family vacation to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. He grew up in the Central Valley of California exploring, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He worked for five summers as a photographer for the Sequoia Parks Conservancy in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and volunteered with the park bear technicians monitoring black bear populations and educating the public on bear safety.

Upon graduating college from Fresno State University, Cade moved to the Greater Yellowstone area to guide for Brushbuck and share his passion for wildlife and the outdoors with others in the very place that inspired him 15 years ago.

Daniel Bradford
Daniel
Naturalist Guide

Daniel

Naturalist Guide

Daniel is originally from Colorado Springs and that is where he became hooked on the Mountains. He has always loved the outdoors and it drove him to pursue a degree in Wildlife Biology and Management from the University of Wyoming. After visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton with his family, he knew that this is where he wanted to be. Getting the opportunity to hike and explore Jackson Hole is a dream come true. Daniel is grateful for the opportunity to help people see wildlife while also being a member of the Idaho National Guard!

Gannon Castle
Gannon
Naturalist Guide

Gannon

Naturalist Guide

Growing up in Central California, Gannon spent his summers exploring the Sierra Nevada. At a young age he visited Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons with his family and fell in love with the vast landscape and its wild creatures. His passion for stories of the wild and conservation inspired him to study history at the University of California, Berkeley. Gannon spends his free time photographing, fly fishing, hiking, hanging out with friends and family, and his favorite thing of all—simply being outdoors watching wildlife. Some of his past work experience includes coaching sports and teaching ESL, as well as naturalist work in Sequoia National Park and the National Elk Refuge. Gannon’s feels incredibly fortunate to work for Brushbuck because it allows him to share the wonders of the Greater Yellowstone region and its wildlife with others.

Haeli Templeton
Haeli
Naturalist Guide

Haeli

Naturalist Guide

Haeli originally hails from Georgia. She worked for several years as a librarian but feels that education, especially in the spectacular setting of Yellowstone, is a far better way to spend her days. She now works as a wildlife guide in the summer and spends her winters showing guests the splendor of Yellowstone from the back of a snowmobile. Summer or winter, there is no place on earth more inspiring and she loves proving that to the guests on her tours.

Kaya Miller
Kaya
Naturalist Guide

Kaya

Naturalist Guide

Kaya’s love for the outdoors started at age 8 when her family took a summer to travel through several national parks in their ‘69 Volkswagen bus, only getting stuck a couple of times along the way. She’s lived in Nebraska for most of her life, where she graduated with her BS in Biology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Kaya is excited to call Jackson her home this season and can’t wait to use her background to educate others on the diverse ecosystem the area has to offer. In her free time Kaya enjoys finding new music, practicing yoga, and cooking up some wholesome vegetarian meals.

Kenny Barr
Kenny
Naturalist Guide

Kenny

Naturalist Guide

Kenny is an outdoor enthusiast originally from Ohio. Working as a seasonal guide, Kenny has had a chance to work all over the country from Vermont to Alaska working as a climbing guide, ski instructor, glacier dog sled guide and more! He enjoys the chance to educate people and hopes to show people life changing experiences!

He’s made Jackson his home for the past few years and loves every minute!

Kevin Millard
Kevin
Naturalist Guide

Kevin

Naturalist Guide

Kevin’s roots go deep here.  His mother was an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, a group which has lived in these mountains for thousands of years.   His father’s family was among the first settlers in central Wyoming.  Kevin was able to spend his early years ranching, hiking, camping and exploring the Wind River Reservation, developing a life-long appreciation and respect for the land, its history, and its people.   Kevin completed his degree at the University of Wyoming and spent many years ranching in the Wind River valley.  Later,  he was an owner of the Elephant Head Lodge near Yellowstone’s east entrance.  He is a skilled craft artist, concentrating his work in authentic reproductions of beadwork and ancient tools.

He enjoys sharing his lifetime of knowledge and experience in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem with Brushbuck’s guests.

Kyle Boese
Kyle
Naturalist Guide

Kyle

Naturalist Guide
Mark Binstadt
Mark
Naturalist Guide

Mark

Naturalist Guide

Mark first visited Jackson Hole when he was 3 years old and returned several times with his family over the years. After finishing college in Ohio he moved to Wyoming in 1994 to pursue his love of the rivers, mountains, open spaces, and wilderness that he fell in love with as a child. He has worked as a river guide, nordic ski coach, fisheries technician, adaptive ski instructor, science teacher, and as a wilderness guide and counselor at a treatment center for troubled youth.

Most recently and for the last 10 seasons Mark directed a children’s camp teaching place based education and introducing children to the incredible history, geology, ecology, and biology of the Jackson Hole Valley. He wishes to pass his knowledge of this amazing ecosystem on to others so they may appreciate Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks for the awe these parks have instilled upon him.

When not guiding trips Mark most enjoys adventure, exploring, traveling, and spending time with his two daughters.

Mike Crocker
Mike
Naturalist Guide

Mike

Naturalist Guide

For 30 years Mike has lived, worked, played, and raised a family in the Northwest corner of Wyoming. His passion for the outdoors has taken him to many of it’s wild and remote regions. As a guide, Mike takes his job seriously and appreciates the opportunity to share his knowledge of this area and its history with travelers to this region. In his own words: “Having the chance to share and experience this area with visitors who don’t have the privilege to call it home, is what I love most about my work here at Brushbuck  Wildlife Tours.”

Neil Moore
Neil
Naturalist Guide

Neil

Naturalist Guide

Neil grew up in San Francisco, CA. His interest in the outdoors grew from surfing, rock climbing, and working on a search and rescue team. He found his home in the Rockies when he moved to Montana to obtain his wildlife biology degree. From polar bears and mountain lions to moose and mule deer, Neil worked on a variety of wildlife research projects before moving to Jackson. On the side he guided backpacking and rock climbing trips around the west and that’s where his passion for guiding began.

BrushBuck offered the perfect combination for his passions of guiding and wildlife. He started working for BrushBuck in 2016 and has been with us for four years.

Sarah Fisher
Sarah
Naturalist Guide

Sarah

Naturalist Guide

Sarah is a retired teacher from Michigan who swears she is living the dream as Jackson is now called home. With a love for teaching, wildlife, nature, hiking,  and the history of the west she claims this is the perfect job.  Sarah especially enjoys guiding for BrushBuck when she sees the look of awe on the  face of a visitor as they experience Yellowstone, The Tetons or view a wild Grizzly for the first time.

Steve
Naturalist Guide

Steve

Naturalist Guide

Steve joined Brushbuck in the winter of 2o17/2018, coming over from Kona, Hawaii. Previously, he has worked upon the oceans of the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Bering Sea for 40 years, and has been a boat captain for 36 of those. He has called the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra range his home since 14 years of age. His hobbies are skiing, deep-sea diving, fishing, and hiking in the mountains.

The absolute favorite part of his job here at Brushbuck is seeing the faces of our guests, as they experience the wildlife and our beautiful area for the first time. “It’s as if every day is a brand new IMAX of life! Every tour is it’s own new and unique adventure!”

Fredrick
Office Staff

Fredrick

Office Staff

Fredrick the dog began his life in the wilds of urban Eastern Idaho.  Although he has short legs, he has been able to accomplish tall feats.  He successfully navigated the Teton River and has explored the wilderness of the Tetons and Big Hole Mountain Range countless times.  He has adventured to the rugged coastline of the western United States, and narrowly escaped the rip-tides of the Pacific Ocean shallows (due largely to his short stature).  Fredrick is the consummate outdoor “dog”.  He enjoys long walks and back-country hikes with his family, chasing cats, and protecting his flock of chickens.  He considers himself a “foodie”, preferring Mexican cuisine above all others.

Fredrick enjoys working for BrushBuck because he can offer his insight into the animal kingdom.

“Franks”
Office Staff

“Franks”

Office Staff

Frankie began her life in the desert landscape of Arizona.  She has traveled to many American regions.  One of the more interesting travel stories you may hear from Frankie is how she lost her eye whilst defending her honor and her country in a sword battle with a mongoose in Spain.  She was winning the battle until a swallow flew overhead and dropped a coconut on her eyeball.  She bravely declared, “It is merely a flesh wound!”  She cornered her weaselly foe and won the battle and lives to tell the story today.  She is not sure if it was an African swallow or a European swallow.

Known by her friends as “Franks,” she enjoys winter sledding and fiercely protecting her human family from dangers such as moose and bears.

Frankie loves working at BrushBuck because it helps her remember her glory days of exploring the world and keeping others safe in nature.

Tucker
Office Staff

Tucker

Office Staff

Tucker is the quintessential “outdoor dog”.  Hailing from Idaho, Tucker enjoys the pursuit of both waterfowl and upland game birds, or any round spherical object.  He has never met a body of water he doesn’t enjoy.  His favorite cuisine is Barbie doll heads and horse manure, but he has been known to dine on the occasional steak (stolen off a nearby grill).  He considers himself a connoisseur of outdoor activities available in the Jackson Hole area, including snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, recreational swimming, river rafting, and fishing.

Tucker is thankful for the opportunity to represent BrushBuck due to the attunement he feels when connecting humans to nature.

Kuro
Office Staff

Kuro

Office Staff

Kuro, the office feline, is a local girl.  She enjoys resident bird life, resting for long periods of time between naps, and passing silent judgement upon her co-workers.

Presently, Kuro is living out the first of her nine lives.  She plans to spend at least one of those future lives attempting a climb to the heights of Mt. Everest, starting from Kathmandu, but is still working hard at BrushBuck to save up enough money to make the trip to Nepal.  She manages to sleep through her entire workday, and still has not been fired.

When asked what she loves most about working for BrushBuck Wildlife Tours, her answer was, “It’s easy to work here when you’re as beautiful as I am.”