So what connects Yosemite’s rangers to anything to do with motorcycles in Mongolia?
We just heard about this fascinating film to be shown by Grizzly Cinema in Mariposa, CA, just outside the park line, on Friday, May 29, 2015, at 7:00 pm, that explains the connection.
Preserving Wild Mongolia: One Motorcycle at a Time
Apparently, Mongolia has some beautiful and pristine national parks. Rangers patrol on REINDEER for part of the year and on motorcycles part of the year. The reindeer footage is simply magical and I can’t wait to see more. But, these parks are not well funded and the passionate, hardworking rangers don’t have the tools they need to effectively protect their parks.
Mongolia’s Lake Hovsgol National Park, surrounding its namesake lake, has a great need for funds to train and equip the park rangers that preserve this magnificent ecosystem. The parks are threatened by commercial fishing and logging, overgrazing and unsustainable tourism development. VIDEO CLIP
Yosemite Park Ranger, Tom Medema , who we enjoy mountain biking with right here in our Yosemite West neighborhood, was part of a group of volunteers from around the globe that in 2014, rode 15 motorcycles 1500 miles across Mongolia to donate them to the Lake Hovsgol rangers.
And Ranger Tom plans to do it again in 2015. When we visited Tom in his office in Yosemite Valley last week, to talk about the film, we learned some more intriguing facts about this project, called “ Rally for Rangers ”
• Lake Hovsgol contains 70% of Mongolia’s Water and 1% of the Earth’s water
• Nomadic tribes were first attracted to the beauty of the lake some 4000 years ago
• This Park encircles the lake and covers 2.5 million acres making it bigger than Yellowstone
• The 2015 project will equip 20 more rangers with motorcycles
To donate to the project visit Blue Waves Mongolia
To meet Ranger Tom Medema and attend the film, just show up! Its free.
Location: Fiester Auditorium at Mariposa County High School
Friday, May 29, 2015, 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm
