If you’ve paid attention to my blog or facebook page, then you’ve noticed I haven’t posted location information for many, if not most, of the images I share. The main reason for this is because I feel social media in general has had a negative impact on our wildlife and wild places and I prefer not to post specific location information in order to protect these places and animals. A couple of examples of what I’m talking about is that visitation in Yellowstone in 2006 was just under 2.9 million visitors. In 2021, Yellowstone had approximately 4.4 million visitors from January through October alone! Social media alone isn’t responsible for that of course but it certainly has had an impact. When there was less cell coverage in the park, bear and wolf jams consisted of people who were fortunate enough to come across them. Today, texts messages go out and people even live stream wolf and bear sightings in the park. This not only increases the crowds at these sightings but also puts the animals at risk. A few winters ago, some trumpeter swans were gaining attention at a popular birding location near Bozeman, Montana. A short time later someone shot the swans (this swan is not from that location and is very much alive at the time of this posting). While poaching in Yellowstone is rare, it does happen. So unless something is very obvious, such as a geyser like Old Faithful, I usually don’t post the location information. After all, my blog and my facebook page are about photography, not travel destinations, and I prefer to keep our wildlife and wild places safe.