Launched WEDNESDAY January 23, 2019 on www.zReportage.com Story #692: THIS IS OUR LAND - The current impasse between President Trump and Congress is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including National Park Service personnel, remain furloughed. Many of America's public lands are without gates and largely unsupervised, and national parks, visitors and surrounding communities are feeling the effects. This conflict exacerbates the decision by the Trump administration to shrink the national monuments, designated by former President Barack Obama. The current government has rescinded national monument protections on 1.9 million acres of Utah canyon land setting conservationists and recreational users of public lands against the oil and mining industries. ''This is Our Land'' is a visual conversation about the tension between experiencing and protecting the natural world. It illustrates the dual - and often dueling - mandates that Congress gave the National Park Service during its founding in 1916: to preserve our national treasures and to provide for the enjoyment of the American people. That conflict is captured through images of nature paired with images of people interacting with the natural world - how we experience, enjoy, reshape, honor and diminish nature. And how it changes us. This microcosm of a story in one park aims to create a larger picture of the state of our parks and why they are still important, relevant, and perhaps even magical in American lives today. This is particularly poignant right now as parks are closed across the country during the partial government shutdown and there are reports of damage to some parks in the absence of caretakers.
© Story of the Week : Launched WEDNESDAY January 23, 2019 on www.zReportage.com Story #692: THIS IS OUR LAND - The current impasse between President Trump and Congress is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including National Park Service personnel, remain furloughed. Many of America's public lands are without gates and largely unsupervised, and national parks, visitors and surrounding communities are feeling the effects. This conflict exacerbates the decision by the Trump administration to shrink the national monuments, designated by former President Barack Obama. The current government has rescinded national monument protections on 1.9 million acres of Utah canyon land setting conservationists and recreational users of public lands against the oil and mining industries. ''This is Our Land'' is a visual conversation about the tension between experiencing and protecting the natural world. It illustrates the dual - and often dueling - mandates that Congress gave the National Park Service during its founding in 1916: to preserve our national treasures and to provide for the enjoyment of the American people. That conflict is captured through images of nature paired with images of people interacting with the natural world - how we experience, enjoy, reshape, honor and diminish nature. And how it changes us. This microcosm of a story in one park aims to create a larger picture of the state of our parks and why they are still important, relevant, and perhaps even magical in American lives today. This is particularly poignant right now as parks are closed across the country during the partial government shutdown and there are reports of damage to some parks in the absence of caretakers.

August 20, 2018 - Utah, USA - A couple that has hiked and adventured together for decades, continues their journey slowly but steadily up the narrow, boulder-strewn Sheets Gulch slot canyon.These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 2, 2018 - Utah, USA - With soaked boots and tired muscles we pass through discomfort into the sublime with each discovery that is as old as time, but new to us. A waterfall pours into a deep undercut in Sulphur Creek. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

October 1, 2018 - Utah, USA - Just outside of Capitol Reef National Park active ranching still exists, such as this cowboy herding cattle across the Burr Trail, also a popular access road to the park. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

October 29, 2018 - Utah, USA - Unlike the wood-framed paintings in a museum, this vista - the Golden Throne - beckons to be seen, touched and climbed. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 22, 2018 - Utah, USA - The less-traveled Frying Pan Trail reveals many seemingly secret vistas to those willing to venture away from the main trails. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 20, 2018 - Utah, USA - Lead Interpretive Ranger Lori Rome prepares to start an evening program at the campground in Capitol Reef National Park. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 20, 2018 - Utah, USA - Deep in the remote Halls Creek Narrows, the isolated beauty of the slot canyon is mirrored in the stream that shaped it. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 26, 2018 - Utah, Capitol Reef National Park, U.S. - Towering cliffs are reflected in the placid water of Halls Creek Narrows. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 22, 2018 - Utah, USA - A hiker traverses a waterfall in Sulphur Creek. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 5, 2018 - Utah, USA - Although still tethered to the rock, canyoneers soar among cliffs once considered impassible. Unlike many other places, in Capitol Reef National Park enthusiasts practice clean canyoneering, which uses no bolts and leaves no equipment behind after a series of rappels. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 5, 2018 - Utah, USA - A canyoneer coils his ropes after rappelling from a slot canyon in Capitol Reef National Park. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 6, 2018 - Utah, USA - A hiker is dwarfed by the 1000-foot walls of Halls Creek Narrows. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 22, 2018 - Utah, USA - Caught in a barbed wire fence, a deer perished and slowly returns to the earth as irrigation continues in the desert to grow crops to feed cattle at the edge of the national park (the hills in the background), an intangible boundary that animals cannot see. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 19, 2018 - Utah, USA - Grasses along the Fremont River catch the last light of the day. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 3, 2018 - Utah, USA - Park horticulturalist AMANDA SNODGRASS and her team hand prune the park's thousands of fruit trees planted by Mormon Pioneers. As historical artifacts themselves, they continue to be watered using flood irrigation, diverting water with hand tools, just as the pioneers did and the Native Americans before them. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 25, 2018 - Utah, USA - Fossilized dinosaur swim tracks from more than 200 million years ago intrigue explorers who know where to look. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 26, 2018 - Utah, USA - Deer are regularly found in the orchards and meadows of the park, to graze and possibly to find protection from mountain lions by staying close to human presence, although even that does not always work. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 26, 2018 - Utah, Capitol Reef National Park, U.S. - Backcountry hikers staked out a camp site under the soaring cliffs of an amphitheater-like curve in the Halls Creek Narrows. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 23, 2018 - Utah, USA - The serpentine Hickman natural bridge arches across the sky, while visitors pass beneath on the most popular trail in the park. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 5, 2018 - Utah, USA - The confines and obstacles of Burro Wash, with several lengthy slot canyons, are a challenge to body and mind. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 10, 2018 - Utah, USA - Unpredictable flash floods have reshaped these canyons for thousands of years and continue to do so, moving builders storm by storm, creating and removing obstacles for explorers. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 9, 2018 - Utah, USA - Having explored the outdoors for decades together, a couple in their camper near Sheets Gulch wait for relatives to join them for a few days of hiking and camping. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

October 4, 2018 - Utah, USA - Many visitors rarely leave a parking lot or paved road, just passing through the park, especially those with pets which generally are not allowed in the national parks. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

September 10, 2018 - Utah, USA - Early Americana is on display at the Gifford House, a pioneer-era home turned into a store where visitors can buy fresh pies, a reminder of the thousands of still-producing fruit trees that settlers planted there. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 21, 2018 - Utah, USA - Intern Ranger AUSTIN KELLY makes camp for the night in the back country, preparing to hike through Halls Creek Narrows in the morning. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

October 30, 2018 - Utah, USA - Thousand-year old Fremont culture anthropomorphs (human figures) are hidden in plain sight within distant view of the public. The Fremont anthropomorphs are unique in their shape and design, with broad shoulders. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

October 22, 2018 - Utah, USA - The view from the artist-in-resident's house reveals the cocoon of wonder from which creativity is born. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire

August 21, 2018 - Utah, USA - A hiker leaves Halls Creek Narrows carrying his sopping wet boots after a day of hiking through the stream that created the canyon. These photographs were created as artist-in-residence at Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah, USA in April/May 2018 as a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in both protecting and experiencing the natural world.
© Benjamin Rusnak/ZUMA Wire