Badlands National Park was originally meant as just an overnight stop for camp while on my way to Yellowstone. I did a little research on the park of course, and knew it was a unique place. As soon as I pulled into the park, something clicked with me.
The landscape, up until you approached the park, was flat. Exactly what you would envision when you think of driving through the plains. Then the flat plains start falling away to rocky buttes and spires in the distance. The landscape seems like driving down 240 (the main hwy through the park) has somehow transported you to another planet. In several spots along the highway, you literally have two completely different worlds on either side of the road. On one, a prairie with deer, pronghorns, and prairie dogs live happily. The other side is another world. It’s treacherous and inhospitable; yet, big horn sheep call this place home.
I fell in love with the dichotomy of the park. The contrast between calm and raging. The life living in the face of desolation. I’ve always loved strong contrasts, I guess that’s why my photography tends to lean that way.
Lightning in Badlands
I keep coming back to the Badlands not entirely for the beauty, there’s so much more to the park. From a historical standpoint, well before the Europeans settled the area, it was sacred land for several indigenous tribes. It was their land. The knew how to use, but more importantly respect the land.
From the geological standpoint, the park is full of fossils. It’s also one of the fastest changing parks. The entire park was created by erosion, and the park loses about 3cm a year. That speed is likely going to start increasing as climate change becomes more severe.
Those are the stories that I need to tell. Climate change affects everything, especially at the Badlands. There are already affects being seen. The bighorn sheep population recently suffered huge losses to the number in the heard. Mostly driven by a bacterial infection and a horrible winter in the park. Erosion is speeding up; in a park where fast erosion will already completely change the landscape of the park in a hundred years. I also want to tell the story of what the indigenous tribes think we should do to save the planet.
This story, is just the start of my likely life project. I want to tell the story of climate change using the national parks as my lens and point of reference.