1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: M Ephemeral is a production of I Heart three D 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: audio for full exposure, listen with headphones. This is the 3 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: sound of the American bison. A bull wads across stream 4 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: to feed on grass, a thunderstorm rolls in. It's the 5 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: kind of thing that must happen all the time, but 6 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: this time someone was there with a backpack full of 7 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: audio gear. How many recordings do you think you've made total? 8 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, um, something like that. Maybe it's it's 9 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: it's a pretty big number. I mean I just recorded 10 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty hours working along the Mississippi River 11 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:16,839 Speaker 1: for two and a half months. It's a lot of recordings. 12 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: My name is Jacob job. I am a research associate 13 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: at Colorado State University working for the Sound and Like 14 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:29,960 Speaker 1: Ecology team. Someone just asks you what you do? What's 15 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 1: the you know? Really quick pitch? I just laugh and 16 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: be like I usually turned to someone who knows me 17 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: and say why why don't you describe it? Um? But 18 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: I mean, essentially, I record the sounds of wilderness to 19 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: bring to people, to familiarize them with these places so 20 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: that they care about it. And once they care about it, 21 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: conservation falls into place. That much easier, That's what I say. 22 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: In other words, Jacob takes epic backpacking trips out into 23 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: some of the wildest places on the planet to general 24 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,639 Speaker 1: write a record what those places sound like? This sounds 25 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: like my dream job. Is that a common job? Um No, No, 26 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: it's not. Certainly not with our team and certainly not 27 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: with the National Park Service on this official capacity. I'm 28 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: a research scientist. I trained as a research scientist. I 29 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: came into a post doc position, decided I wanted nothing 30 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 1: to do with research science anymore. But I still love 31 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: science and I love science communication. Told my bosses, I 32 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: was just like, hey, guys, I'm kind of I'm kind 33 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: of done with this. Cringing as I'm watching their faces. 34 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: I just came from a science communication seminar with NPR 35 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: on campus. So I think it's like Christopher Joyce talking 36 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: about science communication. That was sort of the straw that 37 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: broke the camel's back. I said, all right, I'm inspired 38 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: by this. I'm not happy with research. Let's just give 39 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: it a shot and see where it goes. To their 40 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: credit there just like all right, so what can we 41 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: do to help you be successful? And I said, well, 42 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: I'm kind of interested in this audio recording idea as 43 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: a conservation tool. I didn't force their hand. They were 44 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: they were welcoming to it, and they've encouraged it. But 45 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: I just kept pushing it in front of them so 46 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: they couldn't ignore it. I've got this sort of baseline job, 47 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: which is to run this research laboratory with undergraduate students 48 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,679 Speaker 1: who helped the parks quantify noise pollution that's always there, 49 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: that's been there. All of this other stuff I do 50 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 1: on the side, this recording stuff. When I can make 51 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: time for it, I do after hours, and they've slowly 52 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: allowed me to incorporate it more and more into my 53 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: main job. I think I just have better use working 54 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: with the public and sort of conveying what all those 55 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: wonderful scientists do to the public so we have greater 56 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: scientific literacy. I start this position in March of In May, 57 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: I'm going to Hawaii to work at a National Geographic 58 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: Bioblitz event. A bunch of scientists and citizens convene on 59 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: Wide Volcanoes National Park, and the idea is just a 60 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: document as much biodiversity as they can find in the park. 61 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: Morning to I recorded a dawn chorus where the birds 62 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: wake up the world wakes up as the sun comes up. 63 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: That was my first real dawn course recording, and I 64 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: was just blown away. I just I just couldn't believe it, 65 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: both how beautiful it was, but how predictable it was too. 66 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: And I love predictability, and I think that's part of 67 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: just being a scientist. I started working in Rocky Mountain 68 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,840 Speaker 1: National Park, set up a project with Yellowstone National Park. 69 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: I worked in Sekoy and Kings Canyon for almost two years, 70 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: and then Lewis and Clark National Historical Park up in Oregon. 71 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: Been the Mason very day. Then I've gone down to 72 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,840 Speaker 1: Central America and Costa Rica and Mexico. I just spent 73 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: two and a half months on the road recording the 74 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,799 Speaker 1: sounds of bird migration and the stories of people living 75 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: alongside those birds from basically the mouth of the Mississippi 76 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: all the way up to the headwaters in northern Minnesota. 77 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: Working in Rocky Mountain National Park helped widen the focus 78 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: of the project. The project there was to record all 79 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: of the songbirds, so we have this library of the 80 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: songbirds that call that park home during the spring and summer. 81 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: Been anticipation of climate change and the impact it's going 82 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: to have on the park. Some species are going to 83 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: be doing well in climate change in the park. Some 84 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: new species will arrive, but we're going to lose some 85 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: species as well. The park won't be suitable habitat anymore. 86 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: Realized that I was missing the forest through the trees, 87 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,279 Speaker 1: and what we're really talking about when we're talking about 88 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: climate change is sort of this whole change to the 89 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: ecosystem and how that ecosystem sound. So I started focusing 90 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: on entire sound events in the park, thunderstorms and the 91 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: elk rut down choruses and amphibian courses at night. That's 92 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,039 Speaker 1: when I really started to go to all the depths 93 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: of the park high elevation, tundra, low elevation, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, 94 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 1: beaver ponds, you name it. And most of the time 95 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: I'm completely off trail, trying to avoid people as much 96 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: as possible because people make noise and noise isn't good 97 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: for my recordings. From inception to execution, this work is 98 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: a mix of serendipity and rigorous planning, but starts with 99 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: pitching an idea to a park. Sometimes the parks have 100 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: heard about the work I've done and they asked me. 101 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: You show up at a park, you get your burying 102 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: straight the first day. You where you're going to sleep 103 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: in a tent on the ground. More than likely sometimes 104 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: you get a bunk house. You're there for X number 105 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: of days, hiking two, three, four or five miles all 106 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: the way up to twenty miles in a day, just 107 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: to get to some of these places that are your objective. 108 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: So I want to go record a high elevation tundra, thunderstorm, 109 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: and every day you've got your objectives thunderstorms, birds, ella, moose, wolves, bears, 110 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: whatever it is. And then at the end of the day, 111 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: your exhausted, You come back, you eat boil bag food 112 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: and you maybe have a little energy to read before 113 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: you fall asleep at eight thirty nine o'clock and you're 114 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: up at four again, and you know, lather, rinse, repeat. 115 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: What's your longest trip look like? Well, two and a 116 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: half months just finished with that, the normal type projects 117 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: for the park service. My longest trip was I think 118 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: it was eleven days. Ten days. We ended up stalking 119 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: big horn sheep up Mount Whitney in California in the Sierra, 120 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: and so we had camped at high elevation thirteen thousand 121 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: feet or so. When we been several days following bighorn 122 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 1: sheep trying to get some good audio and video of 123 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: them during their rut, you know where they bash heads together. 124 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: That was That was a long trip. You have to 125 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: get up there first, and then you have to find them, 126 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: and then then you have to like actually get good audio. Yeah, 127 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: I've got a day pack. It's got a lot of water, 128 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: it's got some trail food, some of the essentials. I 129 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: have two setups that carry with me. One of them 130 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,079 Speaker 1: is a parabolic dish, the ones that they use at 131 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: like sporting of the exactly exactly the sideline of a 132 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: football game or something, so you can like bring into 133 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: focus the sound of a big hit or a quarterback 134 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: yelling a ca hins or something. So it really focuses 135 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:51,599 Speaker 1: on capturing what I call cano recordings of individual organisms. 136 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:54,839 Speaker 1: A bird it can really bring into focus right there 137 00:08:54,840 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: in your ear, or a distant wolf, some individual I 138 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: also have my soundscape set up. It records in stereo, 139 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: but it's sort of constructed like a human head. Two 140 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: ears or microphones was asymmetrical. One of them is sort 141 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: of more forward facing then the other one's higher up 142 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,079 Speaker 1: than the other. It allows you to put on headphones 143 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: and pinpoint with your eyes closed, the location of every 144 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: sound you hear around you. It reproduces the three D 145 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: soundscape around you. And then I got a hundred feet 146 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: of XLR cable and so I'm I don't know pounds 147 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: in any given time. You can be as quiet as 148 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,719 Speaker 1: you want in the outdoors, but if you're sitting there, 149 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 1: things are going to notice and they're going to act differently. 150 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:50,719 Speaker 1: So what I do is set that microphone up and 151 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,839 Speaker 1: then I retreat as far as I can, so, you know, 152 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: fifty ft away with that XLR cord, and I'll hide 153 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: behind a tree, or I'll lay on the ground and 154 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,599 Speaker 1: just be still as can be and allow everything to 155 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:07,319 Speaker 1: happen as naturally as possible. I've probably gone out with 156 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: an assistant three or four times. I prefer to be 157 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 1: by myself, just because it's that much harder to coordinate 158 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: everything and be quiet when you've got multiple people. I 159 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: try to describe it as if you're on a hunt. 160 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: You're moving slowly intentionally, you're not wasting any energy, you're 161 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: avoiding walking through noisy areas, you're not talking. That's a given, 162 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: and when you do move, you're using less of your 163 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:40,839 Speaker 1: small joints and more of your big joints. And what 164 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: I mean by that is you're rotating at your hips 165 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: or your back rather than your neck or your leg. 166 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: If you're gonna move from side to side to grab something, 167 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: you're not just throwing your arm out to the side. 168 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: You're kind of moving like a chameleon. When they move, 169 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: they sort of do this whole body movement that makes 170 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: it harder to notice movement. Trying to lend into the 171 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: background as much as possible. Does it ever go horribly wrong? Yeah, 172 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: I mean that's that's the average day. I mean, it 173 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: doesn't go horribly wrong because there's always some cool sound 174 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: out there to listen to. I've missed thunderstorms that I 175 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: was gunning four, But you find something else. If you're 176 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: able to, are willing to just sit patients and being quiet, 177 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 1: those two things alone can put you in contact with 178 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: the coolest situations outside. Some of it is understanding the 179 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: lay of the land, understanding how animals move and the habitat, 180 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: and so you know where to place yourself for these 181 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: things to happen. But if you can just sit silently 182 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 1: for hours at a time. Things will come to you. 183 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: You will see the best things, and so you know 184 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: that's that's a fallback plan when things go wrong. This 185 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: is a good one. So the junction Butte pack we're 186 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,400 Speaker 1: hiking in. It's it's January, it's six am, five thirty am, 187 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,319 Speaker 1: it's blackout. We're going to record these wolves. I've got 188 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: my equipment all set up. It's on my shoulder, fifty 189 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: ft of XLR cord. Before I learned how to properly 190 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: manage XLR cord. The wolves start howling, and so I 191 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,719 Speaker 1: threw down the tripod and I tried to unravel the 192 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: chords and they were knotted up, and so like there's 193 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: all this noise, and then they stop howling before I 194 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: even get still, and I'm just like bummed out big time. 195 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,680 Speaker 1: I did have two people with me that time, emotionally 196 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:41,839 Speaker 1: them to just sit in the snow and hopefully it 197 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:46,959 Speaker 1: was gonna happen again. I've got the headphones on, I'm monitoring. 198 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: I can hear the snowfalling around us, and all of 199 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: a sudden, I hear the crunch of footprints and the 200 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: snow around us close enough to where I know they're 201 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: within twenty thirty yards and I hear just this little yip. 202 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: The coyotes in that area had woken up, and they 203 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: all went off in this three dog chorus, totally unexpected. 204 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: Didn't know they were there. Got the most incredible recording 205 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: coyotes waking up in Yellowstone. And then the wolves held 206 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,439 Speaker 1: again later on, and so I got that too. But 207 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: it started off as this disaster. One of the perks 208 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,839 Speaker 1: of the job Jacob encounters with few humans will ever 209 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:50,599 Speaker 1: experience firsthand. One of the coolest things I got to 210 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 1: do in Sequoia. It's called Crystal Cave. It goes back 211 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: about half three quarters of a mile. It's open for tourists, 212 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: but at six pm it shuts down. There's a big 213 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: gate and there's nobody back there. They gave me access, 214 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: They gave me a key to go back into this 215 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: cave by myself one night, being back under the earth 216 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,120 Speaker 1: that far back, completely dark, there's no light, not that 217 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: I can detect. Very few people I bet get to 218 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: experience that. I've stalked moose for a couple of hours 219 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: waiting for them to do something, and I got distracted 220 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: for twenty seconds. The next thing, you know, I look 221 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 1: up and it's walking right towards me. My press record 222 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: jumped behind a tree and record this moose fifteen yards 223 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: from my microphones, and it's just eating and grunting, and 224 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: it just starts peeing right next to the microphone. It's 225 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: not like the coolest thing in the world. But I 226 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: don't think many people have heard that, and I'm really 227 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: happy that I have. I just got done in Minnesota 228 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: listening to a den of wolf pups and their mother. 229 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,040 Speaker 1: Hoween hiked out in the middle of the night. The 230 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,800 Speaker 1: guy who has with the wolf biologists retreated back down 231 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: the trail a few yards and left me there and 232 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:25,400 Speaker 1: he did his howl. He's an incredible howler. I thought 233 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: it was the wolf they started holling. Rodway. I'm sure 234 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: you've gotten asked this before. Do you have a favorite sound? Oh, 235 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: my gosh, do I have a favorite sound? Um? I do. 236 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: It is the sound of wilderness in the north Woods, 237 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: especially northern Minnesota. It's at night at camp, the haunting, 238 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 1: haunting call of common looms echoing from lake to lake. 239 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: It's just the best sound in the world to me. 240 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: I first heard him. I was fishing with my dad 241 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: in northern Michigan. Since then, I've taken several trips into 242 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: the north Woods Michigan, Minnesota, searching for that sound in 243 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: that experience. And now my parents live in a place 244 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: in somewhat northern Michigan where they have loons nesting on 245 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: their very small lake. So I love going to the 246 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: house there and during that It's just one of my 247 00:16:34,480 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: favorite places to be. M hm. So once you have 248 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 1: this incredible library of the natural world captured and cataloged, 249 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,639 Speaker 1: what exactly do you do with all of it? I 250 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: think online in sort of a library like SoundCloud is 251 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: one of the worst places that can go. That being said, 252 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: Jacob SoundCloud is amazing. He has his sight set on 253 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: more participatory mediums. So what I do is I work 254 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:40,719 Speaker 1: with the parks and create either interactive exhibits. You can 255 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,399 Speaker 1: go to Sequoyan Kings Canyon. They just opened up this 256 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: rotating permanent exhibit that goes through all their visitor centers 257 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,880 Speaker 1: and you stand under these like sound domes parabox dish 258 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 1: above your head and you can watch this film we 259 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: put together. It's completely non narrated. It's the soundscapes of 260 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:00,119 Speaker 1: Sequoyan Kings Canyon and there's accompanying video and it's just 261 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: this immersive experience. It should when you're done with it, 262 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: just blow your mind about what opportunity exists out in 263 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,640 Speaker 1: the park. That's one way to get people's imagination going 264 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,639 Speaker 1: and get them excited about the park. We put together 265 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: a story map, so essentially we we followed a trail 266 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:22,600 Speaker 1: that exists in the park. It starts in the foothills 267 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,639 Speaker 1: about feet and then it goes all the way up 268 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: to alpine zone up to four feet, and we recorded 269 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: the sounds, all types of sounds, animal, water, wind, thunder, whatever, 270 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: all the way along this trail through these different ecosystems. 271 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,720 Speaker 1: The visitors can put on the headphones and explore this 272 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: map and listen to these sounds, and there's accompanying text 273 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,880 Speaker 1: that interprets the sounds and what they mean and give 274 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: people a better understanding of what they're experiencing when they 275 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:57,680 Speaker 1: experience it in the park. Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National 276 00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: Park and Secoa and Kings Canyon all have sound live 277 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 1: berries where every recording I've ever made in those parks 278 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: they're on there for people who just listen to at 279 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 1: a minimum, it tells them where it was recorded and 280 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: what the vocal subject is. And then with Yellowstone we 281 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: make what are called audio postcards. We take our coolest 282 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,680 Speaker 1: sounds of Yellowstone National Park. There's a short bit of 283 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: narration geyser continuously, a rough, short burst of water, but 284 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,399 Speaker 1: not too much, just enough to let people know what 285 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 1: the scene is, what's going on. And then we just 286 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:36,920 Speaker 1: both those out there on social media, and it's another 287 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 1: way to get people engaging with the park and thinking 288 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:44,359 Speaker 1: about the park in a different way. The hope is 289 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:52,680 Speaker 1: they become advocates or stewards of that place. That's a 290 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,880 Speaker 1: somewhat realistic hope, especially now that our public lands are 291 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: under attack in a lot of ways. A lot of 292 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: them have been shrunk, giving way to oil and gas interests. 293 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,200 Speaker 1: That should never happen when you've set aside places to 294 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: be protected, or humans to be able to go and 295 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: test their metal against wilderness to be inspired and awestruck. 296 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,399 Speaker 1: I'm an advocate of preservation, so there's a conservation and 297 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,120 Speaker 1: preservation I would love if we could protect some places 298 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: where humans can't go. I don't need a place to 299 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: exist for my enjoyment. I would like it just to 300 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,360 Speaker 1: exist for the fact that it supports life for other 301 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: organisms that I don't need to be a part of 302 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:49,960 Speaker 1: But if I can get people just to care about 303 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: conservation of our already protected places, that's great. If I 304 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: can get people to think about their impact on natural 305 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: places when they're out there, so if they can be wider, 306 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,159 Speaker 1: if they're not revving their engine, if they're not yelling, 307 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 1: they're not playing music, if they can just think about 308 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 1: experiencing the outdoors in a more natural way, that's a 309 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 1: huge wind for me. Perhaps these soundscapes tap something deep 310 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: within us a time before, but the pristine place evoked 311 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: is in some ways only a fantasy. Wilderness doesn't exist. 312 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 1: It does as a talking point, it's great, but noise 313 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: pollution has completely removed wilderness from this planet. It's hard 314 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: to go longer than ten fifteen minutes without a jet 315 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: flying over, like they kind you take in vacation. I 316 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: think you're anywhere in Colorado or most of New Place, 317 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 1: any further than seventeen miles from the road, and that 318 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: seems like a long way. But these a low frequency 319 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: engine sounds, they travel forever, especially when you get in 320 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: these canyons, generators, boiling gas, the sound of drilling or 321 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: pumping or post production. I mean just low frequency noise, 322 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 1: the sound of human advancement. Um, It's just it's everywhere, 323 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: and it's it's almost impossible to escape for any period 324 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 1: of time. I love solitude, I loved silence. I hate 325 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 1: noise pollution. There's a very real thing that people love, 326 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: the din of city light, and part of that is 327 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 1: the energy and the noise that comes along with it. 328 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: There are cool urban sounds, for sure. But if I 329 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: had the choice to get rid of them all, if 330 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:40,439 Speaker 1: we could somehow make society or quieter, I don't a heartbeat. 331 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,359 Speaker 1: I wouldn't miss any of it. We could do a 332 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:47,680 Speaker 1: better job of getting rid of the unnecessary noise pollution. 333 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: Vehicles that are overly loud, motorcycles without bufflers, I mean, 334 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: stuff that's just not necessary. It's just a way for 335 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: people that peacock their way around the world. For now, 336 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,440 Speaker 1: freedom from pollution is only ever temporary. Are there any 337 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:09,400 Speaker 1: places left untouched by human noise? They've all been touched 338 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,359 Speaker 1: by human sounds. It's just a matter of how long 339 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: you can go between noise pollution events. The Boundary Waters 340 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,399 Speaker 1: of Northern Minnesota, that Canoe area wilderness up there, you 341 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: can go quite a long time. Hours or maybe even 342 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:26,439 Speaker 1: a whole day sometimes without noise pollution. That's really special. 343 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,639 Speaker 1: But like Rocky Mountain National Park, you think it's this 344 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: wilderness area, and you can be in some of the 345 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: more popular parts of that park and you can't go 346 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: more than fifteen seconds, And you certainly can't go during 347 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: rush hour, both morning and evening more than a minute 348 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: and a half to two minutes without an overflight a 349 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: jet landing into Denver in the national airport. You know, 350 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 1: the desert is a great place to find silence sometimes, 351 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:57,639 Speaker 1: but again, over flights will get you eventually. It's just 352 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: incredibly rare. And the fact that I'm telling you this 353 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: will probably alert you to this for the rest of 354 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: your life. So I'm apologizing right now. The more you 355 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: start to pay attention, the more you realize everything we 356 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: think is this grand outdoor experience is manipulated, controlled, touched 357 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 1: by the human hands. It's almost as far away from 358 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: that wilderness experience as being in a city park in 359 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,200 Speaker 1: some ways. I mean, I can be with around grizzly 360 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: bears and wolves and you don't see that in a 361 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:34,440 Speaker 1: city park. And that's that's a very real thing that 362 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,159 Speaker 1: can put you in a lot of danger quickly, But 363 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: there are still elements that are completely missing from that 364 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: wilderness experience, and you can't ignore that. Like climate change, dehabitation, 365 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:50,159 Speaker 1: and other symptoms of human advancement, noise pollution alters the 366 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 1: behavior of wildlife. Imagine going on a date with somebody 367 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 1: to a bar. First date. You're trying to communicate some 368 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: information to them, but the bars so loud. What do 369 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: you do? Talk louder, You move closer, You maybe moved 370 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,640 Speaker 1: to a different, quieter part of the bar. You talk 371 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: during gaps in the noise, you just sticulate more. You 372 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: do all these adjustments to make yourself heard. But the 373 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:26,199 Speaker 1: birds of the same birds avoid singing in the noisiest places, 374 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: which can be hard. If you're in the middle of 375 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,399 Speaker 1: the city, all may be noisy. They also adjust their 376 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: songs so they're in a different frequency level that is 377 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: not being overlapped with urban noise. In the marine world, fish, whales, dolphins, 378 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:48,640 Speaker 1: there's evidence to suggests that shipping lanes the Navy sonar 379 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:54,520 Speaker 1: causes these animals to display these behavioral adjustments, avoid areas altogether, 380 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: and sometimes even beach themselves because of noise pollution. It's 381 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:03,880 Speaker 1: so loud insects. We see insects responding to noise pollution, 382 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:11,040 Speaker 1: some mammal species, amphibians. We see a response across the 383 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 1: board of invertebrates and in some invertebrates. As the world changes, 384 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:21,680 Speaker 1: the moments frozen in these recordings reflect less and less 385 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 1: the character of our planet. They become remembrances what did 386 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:31,360 Speaker 1: this place used to sound like? All of my work 387 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: in Rocky is based on the idea that these species 388 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,080 Speaker 1: are going to shift their ranges and so new species 389 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: will show up. Species will be lost completely the soundscape 390 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: because of the birds and maybe amphibians disappeared in Pike 391 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: a pike At these little adorable little rabbit rodents at 392 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,760 Speaker 1: the top of mountains. They can only go so high 393 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,879 Speaker 1: up in elevation before they run out of mountain and 394 00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: they can't exist anymore. That's going to happen, certainly. I 395 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: don't see any trajectory where that doesn't happen because of 396 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 1: where we're going with climate change. As far as like development, 397 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: you know, every time I go to my parents house, 398 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:13,200 Speaker 1: there's another house built on the lake and it gets 399 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:20,159 Speaker 1: a little bit louder. In national parks we do a 400 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,800 Speaker 1: pretty good job of protecting and thinking about soundscapes. But 401 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: you know there are construction projects or new trails that 402 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 1: get put in, and that puts people in new places 403 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: and that changes the soundscape. For sure. What I'm doing 404 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,440 Speaker 1: when I record certain birds in Rocky Mountain National Park 405 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:42,840 Speaker 1: that are projected to not live there in the future 406 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:49,359 Speaker 1: because the climate change is creating acoustic fossils, the moment 407 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: in time that was captured that will never happen in 408 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: the same way. Again, It's no different in some ways 409 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: than finding a fossil dinosaur bone. It's it's evidence of 410 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,560 Speaker 1: something that used to be there. It's important to capture 411 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: that now as a record of what once was, as 412 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: in any kind of documentary work, every editorial decision. As 413 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:21,359 Speaker 1: an ethical consideration, I fall back on my background as 414 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: a scientist, understanding how all the pieces of an ecosystem 415 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: work and what's natural and what's not natural. I know 416 00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:30,760 Speaker 1: when I've interrupted things. I know when things are responding 417 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:34,240 Speaker 1: to me, they're vocalizing because of me. If I'm editing 418 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: tape and I'm cutting things certain ways, I know that 419 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: I can't cut certain bird songs a certain way because 420 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: they're not singing out a way that they normally, would 421 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: you have to remember your objectives of the project, whatever 422 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 1: those are, you make sure whatever decisions you make fall 423 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: in line with those objectives. I'll get a really good 424 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 1: recording and I'll remove the sound of an aircraft flying 425 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,120 Speaker 1: over Well, what was the objective of the project? Was 426 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 1: it to accurately represent the sounds of that location? If so, 427 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: I'm going to leave the jet. There is the objective 428 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: to produce an awe inspired recording just get people excited, 429 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: then yeah, I may cut that out of there. I 430 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: rely on ecology, and I rely on the goals are 431 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: objectives of the project to make those decisions. In our big, 432 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: noisy world, what becomes a fossil next? Jacob has a 433 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:32,560 Speaker 1: hit list. Most every night, I fall asleep dreaming about 434 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 1: these sounds. I would love to capture the sounds of 435 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: the sandhill crane migration through Carney, Nebraska. And that sounds 436 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: maybe about its boring. It can be to some people, 437 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: but like, can you imagine several hundred thousand cranes all 438 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 1: moving through this area at the same time? And I 439 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: don't know if you've ever heard of Sandhill crane. That's 440 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,280 Speaker 1: your homework for the day. Go listen to one online. 441 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: It's such a loud prehistoric noise. Listening to all them 442 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 1: at once would be incredible. More and more I find 443 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:10,720 Speaker 1: myself focusing less on individuals or organisms rather than ecosystems 444 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: and places. I would love to go to Grand Staircase, 445 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,640 Speaker 1: Escalante and the Coyote Bridge Natural Area and recorded Dawn course. 446 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: They're just to advocate for those places that are under threat. 447 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: My dream, my absolute dream right now, and I'm I'm 448 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: tossing around how do I approach this is to get 449 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:34,680 Speaker 1: up to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, hearing the sound 450 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:39,280 Speaker 1: of Arctic wolves and seabirds and sea ducks and shorebirds 451 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 1: as close as to wilderness as we have in this country. 452 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,760 Speaker 1: There was a rider in the two thousand seventeen tax 453 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 1: bill that opened up an noir for oil and gas exploration. 454 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: I want to get up there and record the sounds 455 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:58,120 Speaker 1: of that place before that's happened, because that's not a 456 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 1: place that will recover pure read. One of the things 457 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:09,280 Speaker 1: that is so chilling and horrifying to me is that 458 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: you never get it back. You can, there's no there's 459 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,760 Speaker 1: no there's no rewind, there's you never get that thing 460 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: ever again. That's I don't you know. And I think 461 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: this is where our science education fails us in grade 462 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,880 Speaker 1: school and high school. We don't instill upon people the 463 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,520 Speaker 1: fragility of places like this and moments like that, and 464 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: we make it about facts and numbers and things that 465 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 1: they have to learn, but we don't really inspire awe 466 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,959 Speaker 1: and wonder. So a place like anwar, if you were 467 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: to go in there and put in roads and start drilling, 468 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:52,920 Speaker 1: you're disrupting so many systems and processes and animals and plants. 469 00:31:54,040 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: And because the tundra is so slow growing the growing 470 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: season and I almost scoffed to say growing season, although 471 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,520 Speaker 1: it's getting longer, believe it or not. I guess you 472 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: don't have to believe it or not. Climate change is happening. 473 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:13,000 Speaker 1: It's so short that for that place to overcome that damage, 474 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 1: it would take tens of thousands of years. If ever, 475 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:21,959 Speaker 1: if I could push a button right now to preserve 476 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,800 Speaker 1: this place, to lock it as totally protected, but humans 477 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 1: never get to go, and that includes myself, I would 478 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: absolutely do in a heartbeat, just because it exists, and 479 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: it doesn't have to exist for us. It can just 480 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: exist for the sake of existing. When you consider all 481 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:41,959 Speaker 1: of humanity's threats stacked against the natural world, it can 482 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:47,720 Speaker 1: feel insurmountable, hopeless. The work of groups like the Sound 483 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:57,480 Speaker 1: and Light Ecology Team help keep things in perspective. The 484 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:01,720 Speaker 1: next step for me is this national geographic projects that 485 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:06,760 Speaker 1: I'm working on called Voices of a Flyway. In A flyway, 486 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 1: by the way, is a route that migratory birds take 487 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,320 Speaker 1: to move across continents or oceans or hemispheres. It's just 488 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 1: a route that they take over and over a year 489 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:18,840 Speaker 1: after year. I've already got the natural world covered in 490 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 1: some ways. That's where my focus is. But now I'm 491 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:26,080 Speaker 1: turning my attention to the voices of people living alongside 492 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 1: the natural world who have a relationship with it one 493 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,080 Speaker 1: way or the other. Maybe they farm the land, or 494 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 1: they fish, or they hunt. Maybe they are a conservationists 495 00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:37,680 Speaker 1: or biologists. Maybe they're a bird watcher, maybe they just 496 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: live out in the country. The idea of this project 497 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:46,160 Speaker 1: is to understand a our relationship with the natural world, 498 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:50,400 Speaker 1: build an idea of commonality between all of us. We 499 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:55,440 Speaker 1: all rely on healthy ecosystems for food and water and 500 00:33:55,600 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: clean air and economic advancement. We're so divided into how 501 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:02,719 Speaker 1: we talk about each other, and we think about our 502 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 1: place in this world. The goal is to bring in 503 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 1: commonality first and make us all neighbors again in some way. 504 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: But also the second part of this is climate change, noise, pollution, 505 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:18,719 Speaker 1: and habitat destruction. All of these things affect birds and 506 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:25,640 Speaker 1: other organisms. Forty of the world's bird species are threatened 507 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 1: with extinction because of our activity on this planet. And 508 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:35,120 Speaker 1: that doesn't really connect well with people. It's so far 509 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:38,120 Speaker 1: removed from their lives it may be a luxury even 510 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:41,719 Speaker 1: for them to even think about stuff like that. The 511 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: goal is to show, yeah, these birds are struggling along 512 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: this flyway, this route along the Mississippi because of habitat 513 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:52,160 Speaker 1: loss and pollutants and so on and so forth, but 514 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:57,440 Speaker 1: people are also struggling for the same exact reason. It's 515 00:34:57,480 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: not just the birds. It's YouTube that aren't going to 516 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,800 Speaker 1: suffer for because, let's face it, everything we do, we use, industry, 517 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 1: oil and gas, mining, logging, those are the things that 518 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: make our life possible, at least how we've come to 519 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,080 Speaker 1: learn how to go about life. They're not going anywhere, 520 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: and I don't want them to go anywhere, but I 521 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 1: do want them to go about their business in a 522 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:23,080 Speaker 1: way that is as sustainable as possible and preserves or 523 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:27,480 Speaker 1: protects the surrounding area so that the birds can have 524 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: the best chance for future as possible, but so can people. 525 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:39,040 Speaker 1: The biggest component and through line of Jacob's work, it's 526 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:43,719 Speaker 1: just getting people to listen. In Rocky Mountain National Park. 527 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:45,319 Speaker 1: Last week or the week before, I gave a talk 528 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,160 Speaker 1: and someone came up to me and they had listened 529 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:48,640 Speaker 1: to some of the recordings and they just said, I 530 00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:51,120 Speaker 1: just can't believe that this is out there. And when 531 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 1: I'm outside, I listened to everything so much more, and 532 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,120 Speaker 1: it's sort of changed my way of interacting when I'm outdoors. 533 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 1: It's opened up a new world for me. I hear 534 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,280 Speaker 1: that quite a bit, and then I've had a hundred 535 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,279 Speaker 1: people tell me You've ruined listening for me, because now 536 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,360 Speaker 1: I hear every airplane, a supplies, over all the cars, 537 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:14,920 Speaker 1: and I can't unhear it. The only time in my 538 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,719 Speaker 1: life where I'm truly mindful and truly present in the 539 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:26,600 Speaker 1: moment is when I'm listening outside. I lived so much 540 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,840 Speaker 1: of my life planning three or four or five steps ahead, 541 00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:34,759 Speaker 1: trying to be as efficient as possible trying to be 542 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: as productive as possible. That prevents you from living in 543 00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 1: a moment. When I'm out there, I can just be, 544 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: which is such a reliefs almost like I'm sleeping with 545 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:54,839 Speaker 1: a few other sensory systems working. It also just brings 546 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:58,640 Speaker 1: me into contact with the coolest events and organisms that 547 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,680 Speaker 1: I wouldn't see otherwise if I wasn't just sitting and 548 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:34,319 Speaker 1: listening and being patient. Mm hm m hm hm oh. 549 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 1: Home the ra where the deer and the anal play 550 00:37:50,800 --> 00:38:10,240 Speaker 1: worse mser is raagent. I'm ah oh oh. This episode 551 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:13,160 Speaker 1: of The Femeral was written and assembled by Williams and 552 00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:18,000 Speaker 1: produced by Matt Frederick, Trevor Young, and Max Williams. By 553 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:21,320 Speaker 1: the way, what does your SoundCloud name mean? Gavia immer 554 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,440 Speaker 1: That's the Latin name of the common lunar g A 555 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:28,200 Speaker 1: v I A I am m e R. That's also 556 00:38:28,239 --> 00:38:32,080 Speaker 1: of my license play in my car. Jacob Job has 557 00:38:32,080 --> 00:38:36,360 Speaker 1: a new national geographic podcast called Voices of a Flywet 558 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:40,200 Speaker 1: Find it wherever you listen to podcasts, and find us 559 00:38:40,800 --> 00:39:05,000 Speaker 1: at ephemeral got show um where so May's her are 560 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:16,680 Speaker 1: despird agin word and the sides are not all oh 561 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:09,719 Speaker 1: mhmm next Time on Female. Alex Ki Blascha was the 562 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:15,080 Speaker 1: first female film director. The Lumillar Brothers projected their first 563 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:22,160 Speaker 1: motion picture in and she started. It's been hard for 564 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:26,200 Speaker 1: people looking through twenty century eyes or century eyes to 565 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:31,160 Speaker 1: see her as a person. If you say she directed 566 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,719 Speaker 1: a thousand films, you're really taking her out of context. 567 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:38,759 Speaker 1: But she did everything the scenes, the costumes, and the 568 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:42,960 Speaker 1: first actual story film in a minute. Wow, how did 569 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,960 Speaker 1: anybody ever do that? Well? She started in the beginning 570 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:52,520 Speaker 1: support e Femeral by recommending an episode, leaving a review, 571 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:57,040 Speaker 1: or dropping this a line at ephemeral Show, the More 572 00:40:57,120 --> 00:40:59,920 Speaker 1: podcast met my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart rate 573 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:03,520 Speaker 1: your app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 574 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:10,360 Speaker 1: favorite shows, and learn more at ephemeral dot show. H 575 00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:13,080 Speaker 1: m hm