This month, Mary had the chance to talk with Traute Parrie, an environmental engineer and conservationist who had a career with the U.S. Forest Service. Traute says she’s at her best in high-mountain pika habitat. The small mammals scampering between boulders with their chirping voices capture her curiosity and have long been teachers. She’s also prone to long walks - often days at a time - including a recent hike through the Yellowstone ecosystem from the Lamar Valley on the east side, to Jackson and the Teatons on the west. 

Now, on the heels of a long career which culminated in her leading the Custer National Forest Beartooth Ranger District, you can find Traute in ecosystems of every description - wandering and listening to the land. She bikes, hikes, skis, sometimes in dubious weather. And is also known to pound nails as part of fire-lookout restoration projects. 

Traute knows wild nature from her work and from her lifelong dedication to the world outside. She’s been watching human and more-than-human behavior for a long time and has plenty to share that can offer all of us additional understanding and ideas for being active participants in climate repair.

You can learn more about Traute by taking a look at the book she helped edit, Voices of Yellowstone’s Capstone: A Narrative Atlas of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Celebrated as "A riveting history of the areas animals, plants and soaring mountainsides with historical perspective from the Absalooke people, and the first non-native people to enter and engage with the land."   

The book: https://shop.abwilderness.org/products/the-atlas 

Video Interview: https://www.anewanglepodcast.com/p/traute-parrie-and-aaron-teasdale-776 

Excerpts: https://books.google.com/books?id=2if1xQEACAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false 

And these resources that Traute mentioned.

The book, The Crazies by Amy Gamerman

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214152457-the-crazies 

The poetry of Montana Poet laureate, Chris LaTrey

https://www.chrislatray.com/ 

As Traute says - we’re all related to each other and to all beings in the natural world. Her career in the Forest Service and her retirement illustrate there’s a lot to guide us in that relationship. 

MUSIC

Instrumental Acoustic Guitar Music - Music by Viacheslav Starostin from Pixabay

Upbeat Acoustic Guitar - Music by Tunetank from Pixabay

Acoustic Guitar - Music by Sound Music from Pixabay