The melodic howling of wolves in winter. A warbling Vireo. And, of course, Old Faithful geyser at full throttle, in stereo no less! These are some of the sounds of Yellowstone National Park that you can now access via your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
The Yellowstone Collection, a curated compilation of field recordings and a developing podcast series highlighting America’s first national park, has been launched by Yellowstone National Park and the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University Library.
The growing audio collection aims to create new ways to experience the animals, landscapes, and people of the area, by offering a freely accessible online archive of natural sounds, interviews, and radio stories focused on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
“We could not be more excited to share the sounds of Yellowstone through our archive,” said Kenning Arlitsch, dean of the Montana State University Library. “Montana State University Library launched the Acoustic Atlas because there are relatively few natural sound collections at libraries, and even fewer focusing on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.”
The Acoustic Atlas was founded in 2013 and includes recordings from throughout the Western United States. The Yellowstone collection builds on the library's mission to document the sounds of regional ecosystems.
In addition to expanding the natural sounds collection at MSU, the field recordings will be used as a foundation in creating sound-rich, podcast-style audio pieces that tell the stories of research and issues in Yellowstone National Park. The audio stories, which visitors and followers can listen to online, will highlight the rich, but changing, soundscapes of the area, chronicle some of the research taking place in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and spotlight key voices in the region.
Project producer and Yellowstone National Park correspondent Jennifer Jerrett says, “It’s kind of like public radio for Yellowstone National Park. I hope these stories build perspective and advance our conversations about science and the complexities of preservation in Yellowstone.”
The project is supported in part by Montana State University, the Yellowstone Association, the Yellowstone Park Foundation, and by a generous grant through the Eyes on Yellowstone program. Eyes on Yellowstone is made possible by Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Comments
Next thing ya know, someone will hook up a 3-D printer and you'll be able to simply import a copy of the whole park into your living room.