T.H. Watkins was a nationally-known conservationist and a prolific author. He wrote a book in 1990 on Harold L. Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Watkins was a protege of conservationist and novelist Wallace Stegner. Watkins, who was the Wallace Stegner Distinguished Professor of Western American Studies at Montana State University in Bozeman, died in 2000 at the age of 63.

Thomas Henry Watkins, professionally known as T.H. Watkins, was an historian of the American West, a magazine editor and prolific writer on environmental issues. The conservationist graduated in 1956 from SBVC, where he was an all-conference selection in football. Watkins also graduated in 1958 from the University of Redlands with a major in English and a minor in history. While working at Wilderness magazine, he was a protege of novelist and conservationist Wallace Stegner. He taught at Montana State University in Bozeman, where he was the Wallace Stegner Distinguished Professor of Western American Studies. Watkins published 28 books including "Righteous Pilgrim: The Life and Times of Harold L. Ickes''. The 1990 book focused on Ickes, the crusading Secretary of the Interior for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. One of Ickes' accomplishments was doubling the acreage of America's national parks. The book was a National Book Award finalist. In 1999, Watkins wrote "The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression." He died in 2000 at the age of 63. Watkins was still teaching at Montana State University at the time of his death.