CCM's Project Yellowstone Provides a Fascinating Look at Environmental Protection

Published on February 07, 2019

Learn How the U.S. Has Approached Establishing Protected Lands

During the 2019 Spring Semester, County College of Morris will debuting its newest initiative called Project Yellowstone. The project, which is part of CCM's Community and Civic Engagement Initiative, focuses on conservation and protected lands, citing examples from Yellowstone National Park and other natural environments.

Bison, Yellowstone National Park. Photo by John Soltes

The project consists of multiple events throughout the semester:

• Tuesday, March 5, at 12:30 p.m. in Davidson Room A€”A Talk with Mike Coonan, a park ranger from Yellowstone National Park, via Skype. Attendees will learn about the history of the National Park Service and Yellowstone.
• Thursday, April 18, at 12:30 p.m. in Sheffield Hall, Room 100€”Shane Doyle, an enrolled member of the Crow tribe will travel from Montana to discuss the story of Clovis Boy, a young boy who was buried some 12,600 years ago in what is today southern Montana. This sacred land is important to the Crow tribe and led to an international research project.
  • Want to learn more about the Crow tribe? Join Doyle Wednesday, April 17, at 2 p.m. in the Media Center, located in the Sherman Masten Learning Resource Center, for an intimate interview on his heritage.
• Thursday, May 2, at 6 p.m. in Davidson Room A, located in the Student Community Center­€”View the Screening of Saving the Great Swamp, a documentary on the preserved public land in our backyard. Members of the film's creative team will be in attendance for an audience Q&A.

During the 2018 Fall Semester, five CCM professors traveled to Yellowstone National Park with the nonprofit organization Yellowstone Forever. As they traveled through the park, the professors learned a great deal about Native American history, the indigenous wildlife, such as antelopes and bison, and the various geysers that erupt regularly. Lessons learned during this trip are being incorporated into Project Yellowstone to create greater awareness about conservation and protected lands.

At CCM, the Community and Civic Engagement initiative offers high-impact, interdisciplinary opportunities to help broaden students' knowledge of the world and teach them how to positively impact society.

All events are free and open to the public. If interested in attending a Project Yellowstone event, please RSVP to yellowstone@ccm.edu.