Greenwich Post
Residents lend a helping hand to an iconic national park
May 1, 2008

Yellowstone National Park covers 2.2 million acres in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, an expanse so big that you can fit both the states of Rhode Island and Delaware inside it and it comes close to equaling the size of Connecticut. It’s home to thriving wildlife and 10,000 geothermal features like the Old Faithful geyser. Close to 2 million people still visit the park annually, but right now it’s facing the challenge of attracting younger people who don’t feel as connected to the outdoors.

What was once one of the most visited popular vacation sites in America is having trouble competing with MySpace, iPods and a thousand channels for the attention of today’s younger generation.

A group of Greenwich residents are part of an effort to change that.

The Yellowstone Park Foundation is working with the park to attract the interest of younger people while maintaining what made the first national park such an iconic site.

Suzanne Lewis, the park’s superintendent, came to town Monday night for a special presentation at the River Club in Cos Cob, arranged by the foundation. She brought with her pictures, video clips and her own experiences as the park’s first female superintendent to inspire more interest in the 136-year-old park.

“When I go out in the park and see people have what I think is sheer joy when they’re in Yellowstone, that’s the best part,” Ms. Lewis told the Post.

John Raben, a Greenwich resident and member of the foundation’s board of directors, said members wanted Ms. Lewis to visit to make the community more aware of what the foundation does and reintroduce people to the park’s “spectacular beauty.”

Getting younger people involved in Yellowstone is something very much on the foundation’s radar.

“I’m concerned about it,” Mr. Raben said, citing the park’s ongoing No Child Left Inside program as a solution. “There is a disconnect throughout the world. People don’t get outdoors as often as they once did. There are so many things children have today that I didn’t have growing up, like electronic games. The concept of a child’s play is in front of a computer or an Xbox. Where in my generation you were sent outdoors to play, these kids are sent to their room to play, and I think you lose something in that.”

While Yellowstone Park is hardly a local attraction, the Greenwich residents involved in the foundation are just as passionate about the park located on the other side of the country as they are about their own homes.

“It’s one of the great national treasures,” Carol Shattuck, a board of directors member, said. “As you go out West and see some of the great treasures like Yellowstone, you want to help to make sure it’s there for the generations to come. For me, this place touches the soul in a very personal way.”

Jim Shattuck said the attendance numbers have shown the park holds less appeal for teenagers today than it did 10 years ago. Nina Jaeger, the foundation’s director of development, said the foundation is aware of the challenge of attracting new people, pointing to efforts to expand its audience online with programs like Roving Rangers, where Web surfers may download 60-second videos about the park.

Ms. Lewis said giving the younger generation online access is a path to success. The park actually has the most visited Web site of any of the national park sites by a 50-to-1 margin, keeping people interested even if they can’t visit in person.

“Yellowstone is not an easy place to get to,” Ms. Lewis said. “It’s not an exit off the interstate. It’s located in a fairly remote area, which keeps the visitation at a level we can manage. I think a lot of people feel today that if they’re connected electronically then you’re connected, whether you visit or not.”

Of course, having a real visit to the park can’t be duplicated by going online. Ms. Lewis is quick to describe the natural wonders of the acres of undeveloped land.

“Yellowstone is a place that simply has to be experienced,” Ms. Lewis said, later adding, “We have to make sure every generation feels as connected to this place as the last generation did.”

For more information, visit nps.gov/yell or ypf.org.