Some thoughts about this place...
Yellowstone really is a (fairly large) hunk of land that “preserves” what North America was like 600 years ago. I use quotes because it is impossible to actually do that. But it’s the best that we’ve got. And it’s different enough from anywhere else that I’ve ever been.
I should also mention that Yellowstone is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Look at a map - to anyone who lives in the northeast, it's huge.
During my seasonal training, a veteran ranger was asking us to try to take our interactions with visitors beyond dry facts and to start thinking about what Yellowstone means from a historical, cultural, natural, etc. standpoint.
"You can describe a bison as a 2000 pound mammal with horns that can run 35 mph, or you can talk about what the bison means - talk about the fact that there were several million of these creatures that roamed North America before settlers moved west. Herds so large that it would take more than 24 hours for all of them to walk by. But through hunting (mostly for sport - passengers on the early railroads would just lean out the window and shoot bison to pass the time), the population was cut to only 24. Yes 24. And where do you think those 24 lived? Since that time, the population has rebounded and there are now more than 4,000 bison in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem."
She then told a story of the first rangers who captured an infamous poacher shooting bison in the park, crediting them with saving the bison from extinction.
All in all a really enthralling talk amidst powerpoint presentations with exciting topics such as radio protocol or "how to fill out your direct deposit forms!".
I should also mention that Yellowstone is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Look at a map - to anyone who lives in the northeast, it's huge.
During my seasonal training, a veteran ranger was asking us to try to take our interactions with visitors beyond dry facts and to start thinking about what Yellowstone means from a historical, cultural, natural, etc. standpoint.
"You can describe a bison as a 2000 pound mammal with horns that can run 35 mph, or you can talk about what the bison means - talk about the fact that there were several million of these creatures that roamed North America before settlers moved west. Herds so large that it would take more than 24 hours for all of them to walk by. But through hunting (mostly for sport - passengers on the early railroads would just lean out the window and shoot bison to pass the time), the population was cut to only 24. Yes 24. And where do you think those 24 lived? Since that time, the population has rebounded and there are now more than 4,000 bison in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem."
She then told a story of the first rangers who captured an infamous poacher shooting bison in the park, crediting them with saving the bison from extinction.
All in all a really enthralling talk amidst powerpoint presentations with exciting topics such as radio protocol or "how to fill out your direct deposit forms!".
posted by LankyPoobah at 9:18 PM
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