One of Terry Rasmussen’s fondest memories from childhood is of trotting up a mountain trail behind her father, who spent his summers serving as a park ranger in the West, listening as he pointed out a sego lily to the panting tourists that followed.

Even then, she loved the drama of nature that unfolded alongside the trail. That love called her back to the West, and in 1992, after graduating with an M.A. in English from Iowa State University, she moved to Casper with her husband Ronnie and their two children, Jess and Ryan.

“What I love best about Wyoming are the surprises you find on and off the trail,” Rasmussen says. “And like many, I grieve the loss of these special places to development.”

Rasmussen, who teaches composition and creative writing at Casper College, joined the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s Board of Directors this past winter to become more actively involved in protecting Wyoming’s wild and pristine places.

“I have explored many of the mountains and canyons that grace this state,” Rasmussen says. “Each new hike deepens my conviction that there is much in Wyoming worth saving. But each morning, as I scan the Casper Star-Tribune headlines, my disappointment grows. Since grumblings rarely prove productive, I am determined to better educate myself so as to constructively participate in environmental action.”

Rasmussen is a writer—both a poet and non-fiction essayist—whose work has appeared in numerous literary magazines. For the past few summers, she rented a place near the Washakie Wilderness to work on a book on women and wilderness. One of her classes at Casper College is a nature-writing seminar that involves hiking and journaling in the backcountry of Yellowstone. She served a four-year term on the Wyoming Humanities Council and is a member of the Governor’s Non-point Source Task Force Committee.

In regards to shifting some of her focus from the humanities to environmental causes, she says, “Our attitudes toward the Earth say a great deal about the values that define us, our very humanity. The growing lack of respect toward the Earth suggests, in my mind, a dwindling respect for ourselves and for each other.

“The challenge is to convince our neighbors and lawmakers that environmental arguments are logical. It is all too easy to apply the label tree-hugger to someone and dismiss her position as overly emotional. As a poet, I’m easily moved by a strictly emotional plea, but I realize such sensibilities rarely sway the masses.”