VOA慢速英语--新墨西哥牧场的恢复工作仍在继续

New Mexico Ranch¹ Works on Wildfire Recovery as Season Nears

The Philmont Scout² Ranch is a special place for members of the Boy Scouts³ of America.

The ranch lies at the base of the Rocky Mountains, in northern New Mexico. More than 1 million Scouts and other people have visited the property over the past 80 years.

Philmont has large stretches of wilderness⁴ and is known for its demanding, backcountry trails.

For many people who have spent time on the ranch, they cannot wait until their next visit. One could say the experience gets in their blood. They love every minute of it. That explains why there was so much sadness last year when a wildfire burned through the center of the property.

The fire destroyed many hiking trails and campsites. It will take years and millions of dollars to return the ranch to the way it once was.

The work is necessary. Boy Scout leaders say Philmont is a large part of the scouting⁵ experience.

“There’s just a real sense of loss, kind of a grieving process so to speak,” said Roger Hoyt. He is a longtime Scout leader and Philmont’s general manager. But he added, “Nature does renew itself and I think from the tragedy and the heartache comes this sense of renewal⁶ and opportunity.”

More than $500,000 already have been raised. The rebuilding effort has begun, with workers setting up 85 new campsites.

Workers had to stop in January because of snowfall. But work has begun again in the lower parts of the mountain as warmer weather returns.

And it will be an exceptional season with a record number of Scouts, possibly as many as 24,000, Hoyt said. Some of them had planned to make the visit in 2018 but stayed home because of the wildfire.

With nearly one-fifth of Philmont destroyed, the ranch owners are not alone in their desire to do a better job of caring for the land. Western land managers now face larger and hotter wildfires caused by overgrown forests and lack of rainfall.

In 2018, fires burned more than 3.5 million hectares of land across the United States. Most of it was in the West, says the National Interagency Fire Center. Many records were set, especially in California, which had its deadliest and most destructive wildfire last November. The fire destroyed the town of Paradise, killing⁷ 85 people.

Scientists have said the 2018 fire season was part of a larger trend and more common fires in the western U.S.

In New Mexico, nearly 160,000 hectares burned in 2018. The state has experienced its largest and most destructive fires on record within the past ten years.

Roger Hoyt estimates the Philmont Scout Ranch will spend $1 million in the next year on restoration and fire control projects. While the work is relatively⁸ low-cost, it requires a large workforce⁹, Hoyt noted¹⁰.

In March, 140 volunteers spent over 6,000 hours on fire control and restoration projects.

Hoyt hopes parts of the burned camp can be used as an outdoor classroom for visiting Scouts.

Across the country, in the eastern state of Virginia, members of Scout Troop 715 are preparing for their trip to Philmont. They gathered recently for a 3-kilometer hike so they could learn what equipment to take. They will eventually work up to longer walks, hiking 16 kilometers a day.

Then there is the first aid training and other skills that will help when Scouts are far from civilization, said Scout Master Steve Tyler. He will travel to the Philmont Scout Ranch with his sons.

Aside from being in what Tyler calls “big sky country,” he said another goal is reaching the top of Baldy Mountain — a 3,793-meter high peak on Philmont’s northern side not far from the Colorado border.

“So it’s very, very different out there. It is a special experience,” Tyler said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

trail – n. a path through a forest, field,

hike – v. : to walk a long distance especially for pleasure or exercise

grieve – v. to feel or show grief or sadness

manager – n. one who in in charge of other people

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

trend – n. a way of behaving, proceeding¹¹, etc., that is developing and becoming more common

peak - n. the pointed top of a mountain

1 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

2 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

3 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

4 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

6 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。