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Posted by Ballpark Frank (24.237.94.196) on 11:19:17 05/16/14
In Reply to: I don't know... posted by Dan M.
Dan,
I kept track of the Loonion attendance numbers (in my head) over the years. I know the first Loonion did not have anywhere near 50 attendees at any one function. I remember panicking when I heard Bob Landis had been telling all comers at pullouts in Lamar about his presentation at the Albright Visitor Center. All kinds of strangers started showing up early for the showing of "Return of the Wolf", and I had to get the word out to the Loons that they needed to get into the auditorium early if they wanted a seat. More than half the faces at that showing were non-Loon, and that facility only held around 75 or 80 people, including the standing room along the aisles. You can look at the Loon group portrait taken out the second story window of Albright by Web Cam Tom, and see we had nowhere near 50 in attendance.
I know that attendance was up year over year for the first 2 or 3 years, maxing out somewhere in the 30-40 range, then started slowly shrinking. I attribute that to the normal human tendency to acclimate to the lack of newness or uniqueness.
The irony is that we were offering some amazing activities in the 2005-2007 era, including Roadie's Rolling History tours, beej's art/drawing/sketching events, and some sweet day hikes, not to mention Lee Whittlesey presenting at Albright. I know that those that participated really got a kick out of the events, but the overall attendance numbers were still slowly dropping, while certain individuals were putting progressively more work into the event. That is why it eventually went away.
It's not like there is a "bad guy" in this history. Given the logistics for most people visiting Yellowstone (something I am well aware of, given my present residence), a trip to the park is a big production. It is a big commitment of time and financial resources. I just thought of an appropriate parallel. Let's consider high school or college reunions. How often are they scheduled? Certainly not annually. Some classes actually manage to meet every five years, but many will have a fifth, tenth, skip the 15th, have a 20th or 25th, and then maybe a 40th and 50th.
Having said all this, I know that I would support a "periodic" Loonion, not necessarily an annual one, once I am living in Greater Yellowstone again. (It's ironic. A few years ago, when I was on the Yellowstone Bison Citizens Working Group, I could have put together one heck of an all-day or half-day session on the bison issue, bringing a number of heavy duty subject matter experts to present or lead discussions, but the group has disbanded, having met its charter. Sadly, Pat Flowers, the Region 3 Montana FWP leader, who has been by far the most open-minded, results-oriented contributor to the Yellowstone bison issue, just announced his upcoming retirement. He will be gone before the end of the summer!)
I do think that if some number of Loons are truly enthusiastic about getting together, whether in Yellowstone or elsewhere, it will happen. It does require some one or more individuals to put it together, even if it is simply a social event, with low planning/organizing overhead. That first Loonion, in 2000, was the product of quite a bit of effort on the part of a number of people. I know that Geri, Deb and Lew Demler, and JT all contributed mightily, among others.
The one thing I remember about the first Loonion is that there was a groundswell of momentum, created by group interest. I don't know if that interest is out there these days.
Ballpark
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