Jack Turner, author of Teewinot: A year in the Teton Range and Abstract Wild, spoke with the graduate students and faculty for an evening. Jack’s ideas were presented in the context of a book of his that is to be released this summer called Travels in the Greater Yellowstone. Jack’s new book highlights ecological issues in the greater yellowstone ecosystem by documenting various locations throughout the area that illustrate specific problems. For example, the Bear Tooth Plateau is an high alpine area that exists at 10,000 ft and is home to the American Pipit, Black Rosy-Finch, and pikas. The increases in temperature associated with human induced climate change may “push” these species out of this habitat. Jack contends it may be the new silent spring for the Bear Tooths.
Jack also spent a portion of the evening discussing what “wild” means to our society. Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park are often thought of as wild or wilderness. Jack believes they are not as wild as we may think. He posed questions such as, “How can we call something wilderness if we actively try to control it?” Poignant examples he used were the controversial wolf reintroduction and the newly proposed elk and bison herd culls.
His ideas have sparked interesting discussions around our community. The discussion has been timely because it corresponds to the “Ecological Inquiry” class currently happening. In this class, graduate students are exploring multiple perspectives on ecological issues in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Check back for some results of their inquiries.
