CORE tour emphasizes petroglyph preservation

Posted 6/16/15

“Wyoming kids doing Wyoming things,” said Paul Rau, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) outdoor recreation planner in Cody.

Tuesday, the youth hiked to the summit of Heart Mountain, but it wasn’t just any old stroll.

They hauled a 200-pound …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

CORE tour emphasizes petroglyph preservation

Posted

Now in their 16th year, Casper-based Conservation Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) youth are cleaning up the Big Horn Basin one scrap at a time while appreciating what the Basin’s environs have to offer.

“Wyoming kids doing Wyoming things,” said Paul Rau, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) outdoor recreation planner in Cody.

Tuesday, the youth hiked to the summit of Heart Mountain, but it wasn’t just any old stroll.

They hauled a 200-pound bench to the top, taking turns carrying the bench dismantled in two parts. Now the seat sits at the summit for hikers, said Victor Orr, CORE conservation outdoor recreation educator, who leads kids on outdoor trips all summer.

On the way back down they worked on the trail, Rau said.

“Orr and the kids received the BLM’s prestigious ‘Making a Difference’ National Volunteer Award for outstanding youth,” said Sarah Beckwith, BLM public affairs in Worland May 29.

Last year, Casper CORE kids picked up loads of trash, nails, glass and other litter left behind at the Oregon Basin petroglyph site southeast of Cody.

“I think 900 pounds of trash went out of there,” Rau said.

To demonstrate his appreciation for the youth who worked so diligently to police the area last year, Kierson Crume, BLM archeologist in Cody, took them on an educational tour of the petroglyphs.

Before hitting the trail, Orr reminded his charges to leave no trace of their passing, such as hiking on durable surfaces so vegetation is not disturbed and packing out everything they brought in, including trash.

To prevent vehicles from straying off the road, BLM partnered with Marathon Oil. The company donated used drill stems to use as posts and recycled cable to use a a sort of fence rail to keep vehicles on the road, Crume said.

The petroglyphs, on five separate “panels” carved in the sandstone faces, have cultural significance, Crume said.

People have used chalk to enhance the images. The lye in chalk makes accurate dating nearly impossible, Crume said.

Responding to a question Crume said the art’s origin was likely later than the archaic period around the sixth and seventh centuries B.C.

The cliff is perhaps 100 feet high. Around its base, sandy soil and grass cushion feet and individual spruce of striking character stand out while swallows dart from their cliff dwellings like winged sentinels guarding a museum. Amid other images, a bird claw and a human are depicted in one panel. In another, three figures ascending in height stand like a family portrait of mother, child and father.

The petroglyphs are said to have been crafted in prehistory times — before written records. But, gazing at the beautiful etchings it seems that the artist — perhaps a millennium or more ago — was leaving an enduring pictorial chronicle of his/her people’s lives to share with others forever.

But the art has been desecrated by spoilers from the modern era. Bullet holes disfigure the stone like pockmarks from careless disease. Names and dates document more heedless vandalism.

The modern day talentless graffiti leaves a foul taste in everyone’s mouth.

“Kind of upsetting,” Rau said.

He said he believes teenagers have more influence on their peers than adults. Orr hopes the disgust he sees in his kids’ eyes will be a learning experience so they will pressure their peers to respect the land and its wonders. “The messages you learn on this, you pass on to others,” he said. “Use that power to make things better.”

While returning to the parking lot, the youngsters pick up shards of glass from countless discarded bottles.

Jason Thompson, 15, got the message loud and clear; don’t deface property that belongs to everyone.

“I just think that it’s kind of messed up that people in the future won’t be able to see it if people keep defacing it,” Thompson said.

This is Thompson’s third year with CORE. He hopes to pursue a mechanically-related career tied closely to the land. “It’s something I wouldn’t mind doing,” he said. “Working outdoors beats sitting at a desk.”

Billy McCain, 19, became a CORE kid when he was 9 years old. “Billy used to be one of my biggest pains in the butt,” Orr said, smiling like a father recalling a son’s minor mischief. “Now he’s a staff member.”

It could be said the behavior of 15-year-old Amber Bennett is immaculate. This is her seventh year with CORE.

“I really like to help and keep things nice and clean,” Bennett said. “I love to be outside.”

She has learned to respect herself and others and to take time to consider consequences before taking action, Bennett said.

It was the first year for Mason Wise, 17.

His CORE criteria is practical. He wants to improve his physical endurance, which he believes will be an advantage when he joins the U.S. Army.

Being outdoors with CORE has an added bonus. “So I’m not stuck in my house being bored,” Wise said.

After a brief respite touring the petroglyphs and lunch, the kids rolled up their sleeves.

They were heading to the McCullough Peaks area to remove trash. Working on the land promotes a sense of ownership for the kids, who are the next generation to inherent the earth and its resources. “It really fosters that stewardship,” Rau said.

Orr has led youth outings each summer since CORE’s inception. The groups do volunteer projects for the BLM, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, including an annual trip to Yellowstone National Park, according to a BLM news release. 

The Basin trip ran June 8-12. The kids camped at Five Springs Falls Campground east of Lovell, Orr said.

Comments