Elks, pika, and marmot, oh my! Meet the otherworldly mammals of the alpine tundra. And, learn what it takes to dig out the highest elevation visitor center in the United States out from over 10 feet of snow every year in Rocky Mountain National Park on this episode of Podcasts with Park Rangers.

Show Notes found at: https://www.virtualkamper.com/pwpr9/

Podcast Resources:

* Rocky Mountain National Park: Backpacking the North Inlet Trail
* Rocky Mountain National Park NPS website
* Patreon – We hope you love Podcasts with Park Rangers as much as we love working on this passion project! Consider joining our Patreon where we host exclusive content for our Patrons!
* Elk – Rocky Mountain National Park
* Rocky Mountain National Park – Elk Rut

Topics Covered

* About Cynthia Langguth
* What’s A Park Naturalist?
* About Rocky Mountain National Park
* The Alpine Visitor Center
* The Building
* Animal and Plant Life
* Elk
* Pika
* Marmots
* Sensitivity of the Alpine Areas
* Cynthia’s Love of Rocky Mountain National Park and NPS
* The Rocky Mountain Conservancy
* Thanks to Our Listeners – Let’s Connect More!

About Cynthia Langguth
Ranger Cynthia went on road trips to the National Parks with her family, and carries on that tradition with her son. The summer roadtrips, mountain landscapes, and desert scenery were what drew her to the parks, and as a teen decided to become a Park Ranger.
She’s been with the park service for 20 years and started as an intern at Rocky Mountain National Park. After her internship, she worked at other parks in the NPS but returned to Rocky about 10 years ago.
What’s A Park Naturalist?
Cynthia is considered a Park Naturalist, which is a common term used for Interpretive Park Rangers in natural environments. The role is interchangeable with interpretive ranger, but naturalist sometimes resonates with people a bit better.
Interpreter is a bit more all-inclusive and comprises historical and cultural backgrounds as well. At historic sites, naturalist would not be an appropriate term, but rather historian.
About Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky, as the Rangers call it, is a mountain park with incredible, dramatic mountain peaks sculpted by glaciers. There’s a lot of bare rugged rock with lingering snow in the summer, dense forests, and wide open meadows.
The high mountain alpine ecosystem is buried for 8 months out of the year. People are struck by the scenery, but then there’s a lot of nuance with the various environments and different elevations. The east and west side of the park also feel very different and have different climates during different parts of the year.
In the alpine tundra, the highest elevations of the park, are some of the most dramatic landscapes.