KAMIAH, Idaho:— If you happen to see a uniformed forest ranger reading a children’s book in a blizzard, do not be alarmed; you probably just stumbled upon a shoot for “Story Time With Ranger Dena.” Ranger Dena Puderbaugh is “wildly enthusiastic about children’s books and the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.” An experienced storyteller, former librarian, and forest ranger, Dena “really wanted to share my favorite books with people who haven’t heard of them. When I worked at the library, there was nothing quite like when kids really got into a story.” Creating programming is one of the things rangers are good at, but a regular story hour at her ranger station, the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, would be hard to recruit for, since it is about an hour from the nearest town.
But Dena did not let this get her down; instead, she created a weekly show which airs on the Lolo Pass Visitor Center’s YouTube Channel. In her program, Ranger Dena picks her favorite children’s books and treks to beautiful and historic locations on the forest to read them; visitors can then watch them from anywhere they have an internet connection. Now in its second year, Dena “has no plan to stop. Viewers can look forward to more stories in more places and more seasons.”
Seasonality is important to the program; Dena has shot at the same place in multiple seasons. For example, at Snowshoe Falls “instead of the rushing water when we shot in the spring, this year you see ice formations and icicles. It’s different and equally beautiful.” Other locations Dena has picked out for upcoming stories include the Colgate Licks, the Selway River, the Lochsa Historic Ranger Station, and the Brushy Fork Cabin, which will expose viewers to the diversity of landscapes on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Dena explained that showing the forest in her story time makes an important difference for the future: “People won’t fight for something they’re not invested in. If kids can see how cool the forest is, they’ll care about it as much as I do. If they care about it even a fraction as much as I do, it will be great!”
Want to tune in to Story Time?
Find a new story every Friday at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/@lolopassvisitorcenter
Caption: Ranger Dena in the field, reading a story book
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