Yellowstone National Park launches acoustic archives

Yellowstone National Park and the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University Library announced today the launch of the Yellowstone Collection, a curated compilation of field recordings and a developing podcast series highlighting America’s first national park.

Through a cooperative project between the Acoustic Atlas and Yellowstone National Park, the growing audio collection aims to create new ways to experience the animals, landscapes and people of the area, by offering a freely accessible online archive of natural sounds, interviews and radio stories focused on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

“We could not be more excited to share the sounds of Yellowstone through our archive,” said Kenning Arlitsch, dean of the MSU Library. “Montana State University Library launched the Acoustic Atlas because there are relatively few natural sound collections at libraries, and even fewer focusing on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.” 

The Acoustic Atlas was founded in 2013 and includes recordings from throughout the western United States. The Yellowstone collection builds on its mission to document the sounds of regional ecosystems.

In addition to expanding the natural sounds collection at MSU, the field recordings will be used as a foundation in creating sound-rich, podcast-style audio pieces that tell the stories of research and issues in Yellowstone National Park. The audio stories, which visitors and followers can listen to online, will highlight the rich, but changing, soundscapes of the area, chronicle some of the research taking place in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and spotlight key voices in the region.

“It’s kind of like public radio for Yellowstone National Park,” said Jennifer Jerrett, project producer and Yellowstone National Park correspondent. “I hope these stories help build perspective and advance our conversations about science and the complexities of preservation in Yellowstone.

“2016 marks the National Park Service Centennial, so it seems fitting to stop and listen—to really listen—and reflect on the meaning of parks and preservation in America,” Jerrett added. “I’m proud to be working on such an extraordinary project.”

The project is supported in part by Montana State University, the Yellowstone Association, the Yellowstone Park Foundation and by a grant through the Eyes on Yellowstone program. Eyes on Yellowstone is made possible by Canon U.S.A., Inc.