Ethological Ruminations

The culture of 'more' is eating away at our culture. This attitude of bigger, higher, faster, is galvanizing the outdoor recreation community to create a new definition for the word 'stoke'. Recent editorial pieces in High Country News met this phenomenon head on. Upon reading them, it was important to share them with the Land Ethic Leader community of the Aldo Leopold Foundation. They are always seeking current pieces to deliberate and discuss with those whose land ethic is always evolving. And in return, they generously invited me to craft a response to Linck 's and Geltman 's pieces. Enjoy: Raising Up a Fire: Stoked on Conservation? The Land Ethic Now it is crucial to revisit Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic . An ethic always is built on the premise that we are all members of a community of interdependent parts. Leopold is wise to offer the Land Ethic which "broadens the boundaries of the community to include the soils, waters, plants, and animals,...

Crystal River near Carbondale, Colorado on August 1, 2018. Photo by Sarah R. Johnson As the sooty smoke fills the air on day 29 of wildfire in the Roaring Fork Valley, one 12,588 acre wildfire is 90% contained and another grows to over 1300 acres in only a matter of five days sending its smoke over the ridge east into our community. Black ash ridden mud slides into the rivers and streams are inevitable when it finally rains. The Crystal River flows at 4% of average today. Colorado River flows into Lake Powell forecasts are dismal and nearly irreversible. Prolonged high daily temperatures have lasted longer than previous summers anyone can remember; and no significant rain in months. So restrictions result: voluntary fishing closures are in affect, watering restrictions are in place, and fire bans have been enforced for more than a month. Too often throughout the day, I view the fire incident information website looking for updated maps. Upon finding the county air quality mo...

It’s a beautiful day on the Crystal River, a high mountain stream in the Southern Rockies of Colorado. Twenty fifth graders from the local school are here to become “junior geomorphologists,” investigating the lay of the land and how it affects the health and flow of the river. They are instructed to make observations, measurements, and to obtain a general overall feeling of the place before heading to a neighboring river system that is not so healthy. There they will complete a comparative study of the two river systems. The students finish their data sheets, and then begin playing by the river, flipping rocks, moving logs, getting their feet wet, building rock dams in the river, laying on the edge of the river with their hands in the river, watching, listening, and experiencing the place without being instructed to do so; I let it naturally happen. Environmental education is a place based opportunity to explore how the one’s world (community or environment) works and an understandin...