The Race To Rescue The Guadalupe Fescue

Short Wave

NPR

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2022

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Big Bend National Park in Texas is home to the only remaining Guadalupe fescue in the United States. The grass is tucked away in the Chisos Mountains, high above the Chihuahuan Desert. These mountaintops form a string of relatively wet, cool oases called "sky islands" — unique, isolated habitats. But as the planet warms, species that depend on "sky island" habitats tend to get pushed even higher up the mountain — until they eventually run out. Carolyn Whiting, Park Botanist at Big Bend, talks to host Aaron Scott about why the little things are worth preserving.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, my name is Blaze Loebner. I'm nine euros old. I'm at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
0:06.9	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR News.
0:11.3	Big Ben National Park sits on the US-Mexico border in West Texas.
0:16.0	You know where the state dips south then bends back up before turning down again.
0:20.5	Following the big bending curve of the Rio Grande.
0:24.2	So we have a river as our southern border.
0:26.8	This is Carolyn Whiting.
0:28.0	In the middle of the park we also have a small mountain range called the Chiso Mountains.
0:33.0	But most of the park is what we would call a lowland desert.
0:37.2	And it's just all sorts of cacti and shrubs with small leaves and real expansive desert habitat.
0:46.5	These different ecosystems, mountains, water and desert.
0:50.5	They're why people often say big bend is three parks and one.
0:54.4	Carolyn says the idea of spending her life exploring this massive diverse landscape.
0:59.6	Learning its secrets and its moods.
1:02.8	It was irresistible to her from the moment she set foot in the park.
1:07.2	She was a grad student.
1:08.8	They're on a trip led by the park botanist Joe Saratnik.
1:12.0	And that particular day was really stunning.
1:14.4	There was a thunderstorm moving across the sky in the distance.
1:18.4	And I just thought, gosh, Joe is the luckiest guy on earth that he gets to come out here every day.
1:23.5	And this is his job to look after these plants in this really special place.
1:28.5	And I immediately tried to, you know,
	...

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