The Next Generation

Who will care for National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and other public lands in the future? As mentioned in previous blogs, if we don’t involve and interest the next generation in nature and stewardship of wildlife habitats, these public lands may suffer.

Reasons for Hope

Over the years, we have met young people who give us hope for the future of these wild areas. Recently, while volunteering at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming, we were assigned a young man to accompany us for several of our naturalist duties. Entering his senior year in high school, Zach Hudgins is interested in becoming a research biologist. To encourage this passion, our volunteer coordinator signed Zach up to volunteer at the National Elk Refuge for the month of July while he visited his grandmother who spends her summers also volunteering at the Refuge.

First Experience

Although we had known Zach for several years, this was our first experience working with him, and we were somewhat skeptical about spending so many hours educating, mentoring, and entertaining a 17-year-old. It had been years since our son was that age and we’d had little interaction with high school students since.

But our qualms were extinguished during the first hour Zach spent with us as naturalists in the Jackson Hole and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center where we display and talk about our collection of skulls and snakes. Since Zach came with little knowledge about skulls, I was unsure where to begin and finally ended up spewing out as many facts as I could and demonstrating interpretation techniques with the skulls before I realized that a person can absorb just so much at one time.

Zach’s Turn

So when a couple kids approached our table, I asked Zach if he would like to try his hand at educating those youngsters. Without hesitation, he plunged into the work and, much to my surprise, remembered and reiterated most of what I had told him. He then held one of the snakes and instructed visitors how to touch them in the manner that Chuck had demonstrated, all the while appearing to delight in these activities.

Later

Several days later, Zach accompanied us on our biology day around the Refuge. Although he needed to squeeze his long legs into the tiny back “seat” of the Ford F250 truck that we are assigned for this work, he uttered no complaints.

We first climbed nearly a mile up Miller Butte where we set up our spotting scope to observe and record trumpeter swan activity in the wetlands below. With no complaints about the long, steep climb up the Butte through somewhat thick brush and sage, he appeared to relish the adventure. Seeming at ease with our mission, Zach spotted some of the swans with binoculars, then observed them through the scope to count their cygnets (swan offspring).

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On Miller Butte
On Miller Butte

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Counting cygnets
Counting cygnets

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Zach continued his appreciation of our day of biology as we returned to the truck and continued deeper into the Refuge. Because public is excluded from this refuge, we encountered no others as we slowly bounced along the rutted dirt road, Zach continually peering out the small back window observing pronghorn and bald eagles. Our next task was to radio track wolves near their den site.

Walking through tall, wet vegetation
Walking through tall, wet vegetation

Radio Tracking Wolves

Although we very rarely see wolves on these outings, Zach harbored hope of sighting at least one. A half-hour drive brought us into the depth of the 25,000 acre Refuge as we turned off the main two-track road onto an even bumpier, lesser traveled road. Farther down, past a few small hills, we stopped the truck and Chuck assembled the tracking equipment.

“Hand me the binoculars,” Chuck said as he scanned the horizon before activating the tracker. I passed the binoculars through the window. “I thought I saw a pair of ears sticking up over the hill.” But after glassing the area for a minute, he lowered the binoculars, shaking his head. We began our work – Chuck operating the tracker while I called out frequencies. After observing a bit, Zach took over my part in order to gain experience in this process.

But we soon halted our work when a female gray wolf trotted out from behind the hill, exciting us all, but especially Zach whose broad grin revealed his emotion. “That’s so cool!” The wolf stopped momentarily to observe us as we gaped in awe, and then, apparently unimpressed, she continued her rounds.

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Recording Signals
Recording Signals

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Learning to Track
Learning to Track

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Radio Tracking Wolves
Radio Tracking Wolves

Future Biologist

During several days of these excursions with us, Zach’s enthusiasm never wavered. He helped when needed, endured hikes through chest-high, rain-drenched, mosquito-infested vegetation when necessary, and demonstrated the dedication required in the field of biology. If our future relies on youth such as Zach, our lands are in good hands.

Zach on Miller Butte

Pictures taken on the National Elk Refuge

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