This Week's Program - National Park Service 7-2-16

Posted by Stacy Plemmons

Smokey the Bear turns 100! Well, not Smokey, but the National Park Service will complete 100 years of stewardship of America's national parks on August 25, 2016. Our speaker this week is Anniversary Coordinator and Park Ranger Interpreter, Barbara Scott, who will be introduced by Randy Kurtz.

In kicking off a year-long exploration of our parks, National Geographic Magazine quoted writer and environmentalist Wallace Stegner as calling it “the best idea we ever had.” A quote from the act that created Yellowstone, our first National Park, in 1872, said “For the benefit and Enjoyment of the people.” National Geographic goes on to state that “A national park is more than just a scenic place. It is a nation’s common ground. …to be shared, even with visitors from around the world.”

Barbara Scott earned her BA from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1998, and became a Park Ranger at Grand Teton National Park, a Coastal District Interpreter/Park Ranger at Olympic National Park, and Supervisory Park Ranger at Yellowstone National Park, and has been at Rocky Mountain National Park since 2011. The National Park Service’s mission is protecting and preserving some of the most awe-inspiring places in the country, and engaging communities through recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs.