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Friends oF red rock canyon 5
Sharon’s Slant By Sharon Schaaf
evada in Spring puts a spring in the The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)
“N soul, Renewal has scented the air, newest publication for children participating in
Winter and darkness have ceased taking toll, And the Junior Ranger Program is entitled “My Public
promise and hopes everywhere, And you recon by Lands.” Published by
luck you live there.” These lines are from “Ne- BLM’s Education, Inter-
vada in Spring,” one of many poems written by pretation and Partnerships
Waddie Mitchell, Nevada’s Cowboy Poet. Division, its 14 pages of
activities focus on the
Cowboy poetry has been western states and Alaska.
around for a little over 150
years and tells stories about There are articles about
the daily work and lives of the freezemarks used to
cowboys. The style and con- identify wild horses and
tent depends on the author. burros, wildlife in our
The genre began around habitat, BLM jobs such
campfires and bunkhouses as ranger, biologist and
with cowboys sharing stories. archaeologist, along with
Some of these stories were photos from 12 western
told in verse, even turning public lands and hands-on activities. The book
into songs. concludes with the seven principles of “Leave
No Trace,” along with a website for games. Red
In 1985 Waddie Mitchell Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is one
helped organize the first Cowboy Poetry Gather- of the featured adventures. “My Public Lands” is
ing in Elko, Nevada hoping to keep the cowboy currently available on the BLM website.
poetry tradition alive. At that first event only a
few hundred visitors and forty poets came. This “Junior Ranger Discovery Book” is another
years’ event, which took place in Elko from Janu- BLM publication that can be found on the Red
ary 30 to February 4, featured 90 poets, musicians Rock Canyon website and at the Information
and storytellers with about 7,000 attendees. Desk. Specific to Red Rock Canyon, it is filled
with articles and activities about the area’s plants,
A collection of poems entitled “National wildlife and petroglyphs as well as a glossary,
Cowboy Poetry Gathering: The Anthology” was map, word search and more.
published in 2014. Included in the book is the
work of 55 poets. The authors come from all over Parents can use the book with their children,
the west and one third are women. helping them complete the activities as they
travel the Scenic Drive. A pledge and certificate
Waddie Mitchell published a book of his own that parents sign at the end of the Drive states that
the following year entitled “One Hundred Po- their child has completed the activities to be a
ems.” Born in Elko in 1950, he was introduced Junior Ranger at Red Rock Canyon.
to cowboy entertaining as a boy on the Nevada
ranches where his dad worked. He is a member
of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame and won the Fellow Canyon Cleaner Upper Midgene Spatz
Nevada Heritage Award in 2012. Waddie has also introduced me to Waddie Mitchell and cowboy
produced several CD’s; along with his books, poetry. You can email me your book suggestion
they are available on Amazon. at: news@friendsofredrockcanyon.org.
Spring 2017
