Many of the natural sounds of Yellowstone National Park are available for on-line listening thanks to the work of audio producer Jennifer Jerrett. The Yellowstone Collection was launched today by Yellowstone Park and the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University.
When asked, Jennifer Jerrett says it’s hard to chose which sounds of Yellowstone she finds the most memorable.
"I think I would start off with fountain paint pots. That one for me is amazing. I could easily stand there for 20 minutes and kinda turn my mind off and just let that sound fill me up. It’s almost like a meditation. It’s so layered and complex. There’s so much going on," Jerrett says.
"I love in the springtime the snipe that fill the air."
Those are just two of the recordings Jerrett made as part of her Yellowstone Collection project. While the project creates a new way for visitors to experience the park’s landscapes and animals, it also documents moments in time.
"You know these sounds might go away," says Jerrett. "Our landscapes are changing, our soundscapes are changing. You know, things like climate change, habitat loss, even just the presence of people in the park changes the acoustic environment."
And all of those visitors present an interesting challenge for Jerrett.
"Yellowstone is a noisy place. It’s kinda like there are two Yellowstones. When you are way deep in the backcountry that beautiful, pure clean natural sound is reality. But when you’re in the front country, and you are close to the roads it’s a really different experience."
At the same time, Jerrett says the people and the noises of human activity are part of the Yellowstone experience. She says she plans on documenting some of that this year on the project.
You can find links to Jennifer Jerrett’s recordings for the Yellowstone Collection here.