The WildeBeat

Thu, Oct 13, 2005

The Wilderness at Night, part 2

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is about the science of night time in wilderness. How does the sky glow from cities, and light pollution in general affect wilderness areas?

Steve interviews Chad Moore, a physical scientist with the National Park Service, and leader of their night sky research team. He talks about measuring light pollution in the parks.

Steve talks with Dr. Travis Longcore, the science director of the Urban Wildlands Group. Along with Catherine Rich, they edited a book, Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting, which contains the definitive collection of scientific papers on the subject.

Both Chad Moore and Dr. Longcore mentioned that the International Dark Sky Association is a good place for all kinds of information related to light pollution, it's prevention, and dark-sky science in general.

• Show number 14 [MP3 format; length 9:49; 2,358,881 bytes]
• Show number 14 script
• Supplemental links and information

Thu, Oct 06, 2005

The Wilderness at Night, part 1

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is about places where the wilderness is particularly good at night. Steve talks to some amateur astronomers about their passion for the darkness of the backcountry.

Chad Moore, a physical scientist for the National Park Service, tells us about National Parks where the sky is really dark:

• Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah)
• Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
• Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
• Death Valley National Park (California)
• Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

Mike Koop, president of the San Jose Astronomical Association, gives us some tips for exploring the night sky. He suggests printing a star chart from SKYMAPS.COM, and using binoculars.

Part 2 will be about the science of darkness in The Wilderness at Night.

• Show number 13 [MP3 format; length 7:17; 1,748,765 bytes]
• Show number 13 script

Thu, Sep 01, 2005

Ishi's Wilderness, part 2

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part two of Steve’s exploration of the mysterious Ishi Wilderness. This wilderness is in the Lassen National Forest, in northeastern California.

Steve started hiking from the Deer Creek trailhead, and explored a couple of miles into the wilderness. He feels a heightened appreciation for the way the Yahi lived, and discovers another, a modern mystery.

• Show number 8 [MP3 format; length 6:58; 1,675,099 bytes]
• Show number 8 script
• Pictures from Steve’s hike

Thu, Aug 25, 2005

Ishi's Wilderness, part 1

Posted at 09:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part one of Steve’s exploration of the mysterious Ishi Wilderness. This wilderness is in the Lassen National Forest, in northeastern California.

Steve learns about Ishi from Ira Jacknis, the Research Anthropologist from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley. He tells the story of Ishi, for whom the wilderness is named, and talks about how he lived. (Ishi’s life was best documented in a book, Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America, by Theordora Kroeber. There is also an excellent documentary available on video.)

Steve calls the Lassen National Forest to find out about visiting the wilderness. In part two, he’ll report on his trip there, and in the process discover another mystery.

• Show number 7 [MP3 format; length 6:40; 1,600,076 bytes]
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• Ira Jacknis Unedited Interview [MP3 format; length 20:57; 2,512,794 bytes]

Thu, Aug 11, 2005

Wild but not Wilderness, part 2

Posted at 14:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part two of an exploration of unprotected, potential wilderness areas in California. Steve talks about the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act. He quotes a statement by Congressman Mike Thompson, and a Sacramento Bee editorial about the act.

Steve interviews Ryan Henson, the policy director for the California Wilderness Coalition (CWC). Ryan talks about some areas which would become wilderness under the act, including Cache Creek, the lost coast of the King Range, and proposed additions to the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

• Show number 6 [MP3 format; length 7:42; 1,847,926 bytes]
• Show number 6 script

Tue, Aug 02, 2005

Wild but not Wilderness, part 1

Posted at 17:00

/shows/wild_places [link ]

This wild places program is part one of an exploration of unprotected, potential wilderness areas in California. Ryan Henson, the policy director for the California Wilderness Coalition (CWC), talks about their Citizen Wilderness Inventory project. Steve mentions the California Wild Heritage Act, and talks about the development threatening some proposed wilderness additions to Joshua Tree National Park.

Steve interviews Bryn Jones, the desert program director for the CWC, to find out some special desert wilderness areas to visit. Bryn talks about the Avawatz Mountains, some additions to Death Valley National Park, and the Soda Mountains.

Part 2 of Wild but not Wilderness will continue with descriptions of unprotected wilderness areas in coastal northern California.

• Show number 5 [MP3 format; length 8:09; 1,957,849 bytes]
• Show number 5 script
• Supplemental pictures and information

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