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Taking the time to listen to the swans
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge manager Ron Cole discusses conservation efforts with the media during Friday's Centennial celebration
Mount Shasta Area Newspapers
August 13, 2008
Ron Cole, current manager of the Lower
Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, spoke at length of his
love for his place of employment during Friday’s centennial
celebration at the vast expanse of mixed wetlands on the
Siskiyou County side of the Klamath Basin.
Concluding his remarks, Cole said, “We thought about doing this inside, but you can’t do something like this inside and do justice to the refuge. We in the refuge system promise to take care of it for you and all those to follow.”
An article about the refuge and the centennial event is on page A11 in this week’s paper. Following is an excerpt from Cole’s speech:
“This past spring, I was driving early one morning across this highway behind you. I came upon something that made me pull off to the side, turn off my engine, and roll down my window. The cold morning air felt good. There before me, were about 50,000 tundra swans.
Close to half of the entire population in the Pacific
flyway. I listened and here is what I thought… They pay no
attention to our calendars. Their arrival is synchronized
with some ancient timepiece. Their voices are a symphony of
crooning echoes that only they understand. To hear half of
the Pacific Flyway population of tundra swans, sharing tales
of travel no doubt passed down from generation to
generation, transports the spirit to a special place. This
is swan-speak. Mount Shasta provides these flocks their
northern compass point with which to mark their journey from
the warm, southern marshes of California. Shasta glows pink,
looming large and out of proportion as if painted by both
child and master artist. For weeks these birds with their
whiter-than-snow feathers, have been building in numbers at
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. This is live theatre
at its finest. Their play is beautiful, entertaining,
timeless, but with purpose. To truly understand the purpose,
the stories of those who passed through the Basin before us,
to learn the secrets of the ancient timepiece and what the
future may hold for us all, take the time and listen to the
swans.”
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