Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Life in the Ithilien ranger service

Posted on June 19, 2016June 19, 2016 By Chris Parsons
Uncategorized

People call them the “Dead Marshes”, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The marshes are in fact incredibly biodiverse and productive. Admittedly that productivity has a lot to do with the slow decomposition of the corpses of men and elves, but they are productive nonetheless. The marsh vegetation also plays an important part in detoxifying the ecosystem. There is a slight problem with the level of mithril contamination in the marshes, but there are several marsh plants that sequester this trace element.

 Illithien ranger2

The marshes are also important sinks for carbon. Climate change is increasingly a concern in Middle Earth, what with the dramatic rise in dragon-related emissions and the felling and burning of Fangorn Forest, not to mention the carbon dioxide plume from Mount Doom.

Now many might think that the life of a ranger is all sneaking around and battles, but we are actually doing some excellent work on interpreting this ecosystem. With the help of some work-release cave trolls, we are putting an expansive system of board walks in the marshes, and next month we will be opening two wetland bird hides. My dream is to have an interpretative center that caters to tourists from both Gondor and Rohan.

This summer we have a multi-cultural summer camp with some orc youngsters from inner Mordor, with a group of hobbit children all the way from the Shire. There will be hikes, camping, team-building exercises, and lots and lots of picnics.

 Illithien rangers

Protecting the species of the Dead Marshes is much harder than other areas, however. Those working to save the oliphaunt, though I wish them well, have it easy. Everyone loves charismatic megafauna, especially mammals. But when it comes to terrifying megafauna, it’s much harder to get funds. We are trying to incubate nazghul eggs and hopefully captive breed a population that we can later release into the wild. But it is very difficult to raise funds for a species that devoured people’s relatives and destroyed their cities. And if it’s hard to get the public to be concerned about the large reptiles, imagine how hard it is to get them to care about the invertebrates. We have so much work to do rebuilding and restoring the Mirkwood spider population, but giant spiders are just not cute and furry, like wargs.

Nevertheless, the life of a ranger is extremely rewarding, and I would highly recommend it for anyone with a hankering for lots of work in the open countryside, who want to do their part in conserving biodiversity!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: careers Dead Marshes Middle Earth rangers trolls wetland restoration

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Did monster hunters find a 120 meter long giant squid on google maps?
Next Post: Reflections on the Boundary of Science and Policy ❯

You may also like

Weekly Salvage
Monday Morning Salvage: December 5, 2016
December 5, 2016
Blogging
Comments, Trolls, and Moderation
September 26, 2013

Recent Popular Posts

Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
My "Follow ocean science and conservation experts on Bluesky and Instagram" assignmentMy "Follow ocean science and conservation experts on Bluesky and Instagram" assignmentNovember 19, 2024David Shiffman
Sustainable Seafood, Endangered Species, and Jaws: Some upcoming talks and panelsSustainable Seafood, Endangered Species, and Jaws: Some upcoming talks and panelsMay 8, 2025David Shiffman
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)September 7, 2010Andrew Thaler
The story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageThe story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageSeptember 27, 2024David Shiffman
I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.June 21, 2021Andrew Thaler
Deep-sea mining, marine protected areas, and the eternal struggle to open doors: This Week in Andrew (and Angelo) Doing PodcastsDeep-sea mining, marine protected areas, and the eternal struggle to open doors: This Week in Andrew (and Angelo) Doing PodcastsMay 7, 2025Andrew Thaler
Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationHere's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationApril 10, 2024David Shiffman
Alberta, Canada is the proud owner of the largest man-made pyramid on the planetAlberta, Canada is the proud owner of the largest man-made pyramid on the planetOctober 16, 2012Andrew Thaler
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown