William Louis Vieth

William Louis Vieth, a fiercely independent outdoorsman, ecologist and philosopher who was determined from day one to live life on his own terms, left this world on June 11, 2025. He was 43.

Will died from natural causes at his home outside Laporte, Colorado. He had been struggling in recent years with adult-onset epilepsy and other health issues.

Will packed a lot into his foreshortened life. He was a world traveler, a dedicated conservationist, a wilderness rescue volunteer, a devoted dog guardian, and a critical thinker who relied on his own logical analysis rather than conventional wisdom.

"So long as I find myself part of this strange thing called life, I plan to squeeze every last drop of living from it," he once wrote in a personal journal.

Will earned dual diplomas from Colorado State University: a Bachelor of Science in Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. He was working toward a master's degree in ecology and economics at the time of his death.

He was Rivers and Forest Program Manager for Wildlands Restoration Volunteers until his seizure disorder made it impossible for him to keep working in the wild. One of his goals was to launch his own ecology nonprofit.

Will was a reserved man who eschewed sentimentality. Yet he was generous and loyal to his small circle of close family members and friends. Even as his own cash reserves dwindled, he took in his niece and her growing family when they moved to Colorado earlier this year.

He was born New Year's Eve 1981 in Oklahoma City. By the time Will graduated from high school, the family had moved from Oklahoma to Texas, California and Virginia. Perhaps that set the tone for his nomadic lifestyle, one that took him to multiple domestic and foreign destinations.

While completing his degrees, Will finagled a semester abroad in Tasmania. He then spent many months trekking through Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Nepal, and India. He stayed for 12 days in a Buddhist monastery, where he practiced silent meditation and slept on a concrete floor with a wood block for a pillow.

Will's studies gave him a deep reverence for the interconnectedness of all living things. One close friend recalled that on nature walks, Will would pluck leaves from plants and chew them. He said he wanted to use all his senses to get to know the species he was studying.

While traveling abroad, Will earned five scuba diving certifications, including the professional-level Divemaster. After his return to Colorado, he received multiple certifications in advanced wilderness search and rescue skills. He was a member of the Larimer County Dive Rescue Team.

His specialty at Wildlands Restoration Volunteers was wildfire and flood mitigation. After the Cameron Peak Fire swept through Northern Colorado in 2020, Will organized teams of volunteers who reseeded burned hillsides and controlled erosion on scoured riverbanks. He organized groups of sawyers who thinned unburned forests so future fires would not be as severe. The New York Times sent an environmental reporter to Northern Colorado to chronicle WRV's mitigation work.

His constant companion in recent years was Cobber, an exuberant retriever-terrier mix he rescued as a puppy. (Cobber is an Australian nickname meaning good buddy.) Will spent countless hours training Cobber to behave himself impeccably at home and accompany Will safely in the wilderness. "Dogs are people too," he often remarked.

Will is survived by his parents, Warren and Kathy Vieth; his sister, Sarah Nelson, and her husband, Brandon Nelson; his niece, Kylah Rojas, and her husband, Fernando Rojas; his great-nephews, Kassian and Lucas Rojas; and his ex-wife, Mollie Baker.

The family is determined to keep Will's legacy alive by supporting organizations that do the kind of work he loved. We request that any memorial donations be made to Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. https://www.wrv.org/