BLM Program Helps Cowley Students Find Their “Inner Bison”
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CODY, Wyo. – Summer school students from Rocky Mountain Middle School in Cowley, Wyoming, recently took part in a Bureau of Land Management hands-on educational program on public land just north of Cody.
The “Take it Outside! Living Landscapes” program is an experiential learning session that helps students understand they are an integrated part of their ecosystem. Through various activities, they discover relationships between components of the Bighorn Basin ecosystem and past and present human activities.
BLM staff involved the students in short educational programs with topics including geology, wildlife biology, paleontology, archaeology and outdoor recreation ethics. Illustrations and model skulls helped students imagine the wildlife that once roamed the Bighorn Basin including short-faced bear, dire wolf and saber-toothed tiger.
“We all have an inner bison,” Dr. Larry Todd, chair of the Park County Historic Preservation Commission, told the students. “You’ve got a skeleton in you that ties you to every other mammal on earth.”
Todd and BLM staff went on to demonstrate this statement, comparing bones from a human skeleton model to casts of both ancient and modern day wild animals.
“The Take It Outside! Living Landscapes program is a valuable component of the Cody Field Office’s efforts to be a good neighbor through interpretation and environmental education for local students,” said BLM Archaeologist Kierson Crume, who began offering the program nine years ago.
Rocky Mountain High School Teacher Ryan Boettcher sees the middle school summer program as a way to keep students’ skills sharpened and keep them engaged over summer vacation.
“We use the BLM’s archaeology curriculum as a framework to get the students outside and to encourage outdoor recreation, healthy habits and exercise,” said Boettcher. “My hope is that this kind of hands-on learning will inspire them to get interested in something and to do things they don’t normally do.”
Dr. Todd, a BLM partner and genesis for the “Take it Outside! Living Landscapes” program, also thinks it’s important for local youth to start connecting with their outside environment.
“The long-term stewardship of the cultural and natural resources found on public lands are in the hands of these kids,” Todd said.
For more information about the “Take it Outside! Living Landscapes” program, please contact Kierson Crume at kcrume@blm.gov or 307-578-5900.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.