Wildfires in Yellowstone Wood Print

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photographs yellowstone national park photos tree photos wyoming photos wildfires photos fire photos forest fire photos smoke photos buffalo fire photos northeast photos valley photos ecology photos natural process photos loop road photos tower junction photos burning photos

Fire is key to the ecology of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. For the first 100 years, managers extinguished fires to preserve park resources. Today, the National Park Service aims to restore fire's role as a natural process. The park is required to protect human life as well as the approximately 2% of Yellowstone's 2.2 million acres that are considered developed (e.g., roads, buildings, and other infrastructure) from the threat of fire--while at the same time letting fire carry out its ecological role in the landscape as much as possible. This is a view over the valley in the northeast section of Yellowstone of the billowing smoke from several wildfires burning in September 2016.

Nature has always played a significant role in my life. On walks with my dad when I was a child, I was taught to notice the world around me and appreciate the wonder of nature and all of God's creation. To this day, being out in nature is balm for my soul and necessary for my well-being. When I took up photography, I suddenly had a way to express my joy in nature by preserving the wonder I see, and then being able to share it with others. While I initially did nature and especially macro (close-up) photography, my interests have expanded into photography from travels, scenes of local interest, historic buildings, and basically any interesting image I happen to come across! Since I have taken up photography, my enjoyment of the...