Dear Jerry,

I recently read your column titled “What’s Wild?” while browsing the “Wild Wilderness” website. I am a fourth generation Northern Californian who spent her childhood roaming the National parks the old fashioned way....Every summer in the 60’s my family trekked off to a National Park or Forest through San Jose State’s “Field Studies and Natural History”. I remember being awakened early in the morning and eating cold pancakes in a big old lodge while being briefed by a real Park Ranger in a green uniform who knew everything there was to know about our surroundings. I remember complaining to my parents about having to get out of my cozy sleeping bag in the early chilly dawn but my real memories are of the remarkable nature hikes, smelling and identifying the bark of trees, spending long moments watching a particular bird or other wildlife creature and learning every wild flower in the park. In the evenings after a hearty spaghetti or meatloaf dinner we’d all return to that lodge for a nature slide show and a hot chocolate, sometimes going out for a campfire story or two. Oh those were the glorious days of old!

Nothing was removed from the wilderness, everything was appreciated in it’s natural sate and we left feeling invigorated and at peace knowing that we existed together with such natural wonders.

Fast Forward............Spring Break 2002, I grabbed my hubby and 2 daughters for a road trip down memory lane to the great Grand Canyon. When we arrived we marveled at the splendor and beauty of the canyon. We were lucky to experience the canyon on a spectacularly clear day and then wake up the next morning to the canyon covered in 8 inches of snow. That was incredible. Everything else about the park left me sadder than I’d been in many years. I never found a ranger who could answer a single question, although private security guards were around to tell me where I could buy a book or pay for a guide. Very few workers (who I later found out were hired by private concessionaires) could even speak English, and the only wildlife abounding were the squirrels being fed by the throngs of tourists eating popcorn and hamburgers provided by the private enterprises on the rim.

I was stunned....I couldn’t believe what was happening to our National Parks.

My biggest frustration is, I feel powerless to stop the madness. My friends don’t get it. They love going to the fancy park lodges for a 5 star meal and they don’t mind paying to cross country ski or even snow mobile through the trees, knowing that they can buy a nice hot toddy at the bar at the end of the day. I don’t know how to convince my friends or my children the values of a “wild and free wilderness”. I can’t explain how it touches the soul to know we are at peace with our wild neighbors and how important it is to have access to National Parks and Forests where we can go and just “be”. I worry that people don’t look upon wilderness in America as a personal right anymore. I worry that my friends don’t care if the wilderness is being purchased by movie stars, promising to protect the land while saving a corner for their mansions and private fishing lodges. Heck, I worry that my friends are being convinced that privatization is the right way to protect our wilderness. Anyway, thanks for your article. I hope our new leadership in Washington will be open to a new dialogue on the subject and that we can still save some wild wilderness for our children.

Happy Holidays
Judy  Wiesendanger

[This letter was sent to freelance writer "Digger" Jerry George who, with his wife, has spent the past couple years living and working in Yellowstone National Park.]

Comments (2) >>

Jean said:

This is just an amazing letter. It brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for passing it around. Makes everything we're doing still seem worth it...

December 24, 2006

Paul said:

I like her description of the old days at the Parks. The wildlife at the South Rim is still there though, perhaps better than when Ms. Wiesendanger was a child. I have seen Desert Bighorn, Elk and California Condors within easy walking distance of the lodges she describes in the past year, and many other smaller creatures. Those lodges are older than she is, so they were there back when she was a child too. The biggest difference is the job description for the Rangers. Most of them are cops or clerks now, and, since they have a union, they are decimated and as many jobs as possible have been privatized. A lot of bright idealistic people have been forced out and those who obey without questioning have taken their places. The high entrance fees have changed the mix of the visitors. Seniors get in free, basically, so they represent a disproportionate share of the visitors. Large families and minority families are hurt most by the outrageous fees, so you don't see them much. I do notice more African American visitors these days.

December 24, 2006

Write comment

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment