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Yellowstone ranked No. 3 family destination

Yellowstone ranked No. 3 family destination




YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Family Fun magazine readers ranked Yellowstone National Park as the No. 3 attraction for family vacations behind Walt Disney World and Yosemite National Park.


Survey results were published in the April issue of the magazine, which has 1.3 million subscribers.




Rounding out the top five were Washington, D.C., and Disneyland.




In the Mountain-Plains region, which comprises 14 states, Yellowstone took top honors in the nature escapes category and Old Faithful Geyser was No. 1 among tourist attractions.




The survey ranked Jackson Hole Mountain Resort as the premiere area in the region for wildlife tours, mountain bike trails and proximity to national parks. Jackson ranked second to Estes Park, Colo., in the tourism towns category.




"This recognition can do nothing but help enhance our posture as a leading destination for safe, family vacations," Wyoming travel director Laurie Green said.


Snowfall improves Shoshone basin snowpack


Snowfall improves Shoshone basin snowpack




CODY, Wyo. (AP) - The recent storms, including a half-foot of snow last weekend, have improved the moisture outlook for the area.


The Shoshone River Basin snowpack measured 80 percent of normal Monday morning, so "we're making some headway there," John Julian of the Natural Resources Conservation Service said. The snowpack had been around 70 percent of normal.




"It's still not enough to break the drought, but we're well on our way to doing better" than last year, he said. "And some more good, wet storms could put us at 100 percent."




In Cody, 6 inches fell last weekend, National Weather Service volunteer Bob Bircher said. The moisture content translated to one half-inch.



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Replying to:

I will be posting articles on the Yellowstone region on the discussion forum, especially AP stories reported in the Casper Star-Tribune. This paper has a lot of useful stories, especially from the Grand Teton region, but they roll their stories off every few days. I want them up much longer. This discussion forum only rolls off as it gets too large.




Jim

Grand Teton park opens part of Teton Road

Grand Teton park opens part of Teton Road




JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Grand Teton National Park officials have opened a stretch of Teton Road to hiking, biking and other nonmotorized activities, in part because of mild weather.


The road is open from the Taggart Lake parking area to Signal Mountain, park officials said. Motorized vehicles will be allowed on the road starting May 1, Park Superintendent Steve Martin said.




Jenny Lake Loop Road is expected to be snowplowed through Friday.


Elk may add to aspen decline

Elk may add to aspen decline




JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Several studies are being conducted in Jackson Hole on how hoofed species, such as elk, deer and moose, affect the aspen stands, which are on the decline across the Rocky Mountains.


In one study on the National Elk Refuge, published in the Intermountain Journal of Sciences, researchers clear-cut aspen stands to spur new growth.




Older trees in an aspen stand produce a chemical that limits production of new sprouts, called suckers, from the root system. When the older trees are killed, the chemical production diminishes, allowing young suckers to sprout.




Researchers compared the growth of clear-cut aspen inside fenced areas, designed to prevent elk browsing, to clear-cut stands that were not enclosed.




The study found that all stands produced lots of suckers. But over time aspen inside the fences had higher densities of saplings tall enough to escape browsing on the highest buds, allowing them to grow into mature trees and replace aging stands.




Another study by University of Wyoming graduate student Eric Anderson documented a similar trend comparing 30 aspen stands - 15 near elk feedgrounds, including the Refuge, and 15 distant from feedgrounds.




Anderson found higher densities of saplings tall enough to increase the likelihood of escaping browsing from animals and growing into mature trees in stands far from feedgrounds.




Anderson also studied bird species using the aspen. In stands with lots of shrubs growing around their base, he found higher densities of songbirds, such as the MacGillivray's Warbler. The warbler is among birds that nest and forage in these shrubs, which are called the understory.




Those species were less abundant near elk feedgrounds where elk browsing reduced understories.




But Anderson found higher densities of cavity-nesting birds, such as Downy Woodpeckers and Red-naped Sapsuckers, near feedgrounds. In fact, as elk strip bark from aspen they allow fungi and insects easier access to the trees. More decay and insects mean more nesting cavities and food for woodpeckers and sapsuckers.




Overall, he found bird densities about equal in stands both near and distant from feedgrounds, he said.




But observations that stands near feedgrounds are not producing enough saplings to replace aging trees suggests those stands could eventually convert to sagebrush, eliminating habitat many birds depend on, Anderson said.




In a separate study, researcher Joel Berger found less diversity among songbirds in willows where moose had no natural predators. He documented greater songbird diversity in areas where human hunters have limited moose numbers.




But Colorado State University scientist Tom Hobbs said he is not convinced reducing elk numbers would cause aspen and willows to rebound.




Even if the elk population is cut in half, he said, "You may see very little impact on those woody plant communities. They may be heavily used because they are rare and they are preferred."




Wolves may be a more important factor than elk numbers in limiting habitat damage, Hobbs said.




A group of Oregon researchers, who studied the tree cores of aspen stands in Yellowstone National Park, found that new trees stopped growing tall enough to join the canopy about the same time wolves were exterminated from the park.




Today, those researchers are monitoring how wolves, which were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and 1996, may be altering elk movement and eating patterns.




Already, observers in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone have witnessed wolves herding elk.

Study says wildlife don't hurt YNP

Study says wildlife don't hurt YNP




By BUZZY HASSRICK




The wildlife that graze in northern Yellowstone Park is not damaging the range, according to a scientific study released Tuesday.




The National Academy of Sciences' report - "Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range" - settles an 80-year-plus debate about that area of the park, Superintendent Suzanne Lewis says.




Since the park stopped killing elk in the 1960s, the herds have quadrupled from 5,000 to 20,000, the report states. It recommends more scientific study about management options, including the park's policy of natural regulation, in light of the pressures of human development outside Yellowstone's borders.




Praise for the report came from the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.




"The report lays out the challenge at hand: how to safeguard the bison, elk, pronghorn and wolves of Yellowstone's northern range in the face of increasing human pressure," GYC associate program director Hope Sieck said.




She notes the report's recommendations that "vision" and "goodwill" will be needed to ensure protection of America's largest elk herd, last remaining wild bison and wolves.




The report concludes with a note about the policy pressures.




"A future challenge for the (greater Yellowstone) area and other wildlands will be reconciling the laudable goals of preserving ecosystem processes with human interests and influences."




The report resulted from a Congressional order, made in response to the range controversy. It directed the Park Service to prepare the report in 1998.




The National Academy of Sciences reviewed all the science related to ungulate management and the grazers' effect on the range. The report can be read on the Internet at www.nps.gov/yell, or www. nationalacademies.org.

Fewer moose hunting permits to be issued for Jackson Hole

Fewer moose hunting permits to be issued for Jackson Hole





JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - The Wyoming Game and Fish Department plans to issue fewer moose hunting licenses for Jackson Hole this fall.


The reasons is a declining number of moose wintering in the valley. Biologists counted 480 moose in the area last month, down from 815 in the 1998 winter aerial survey.




Game and Fish officials are recommending that 285 moose permits be issued for next season, down from 495 in 1990.




Doug Brimeyer, a Game and Fish wildlife biologist, said the reason for the decline in moose numbers is not entirely clear, but a combination of factors is probably responsible.




He suspects habitat problems are the main reason. Moose get much of their food from young willow stands, many of which are aging after years of wildfire suppression.




Bridger-Teton National Forest fire officials have planned for several years to conduct prescribed burns to foster new willow growth, but timing, the weather and other commitments have not allowed that to happen, according to Brimeyer.




Researchers are also looking at the role of the valley's growing population of grizzly bears.




Joel Berger, a representative of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said he doubts grizzlies have much affect on moose populations, pointing out that the survival rate of moose calves in Jackson Hole is about 90 percent.




Berger instead attributes the decreasing population to a low pregnancy rate among cows, a trend he has been researching.




The cow-to-calf ratio last winter was 30 calves per 100 cows, down from 39 per 100 the previous winter and 50 per 100 in 1990.




Brimeyer said those numbers require a reduction in hunting licenses. The Game and Fish Department has steadily decreased the number of permits issued for antlered moose over the years, down from 205 in 1990 to the 45 proposed for next season.




Also, it became illegal two years ago to shoot a moose accompanied by a calf because the winter survival rate for orphaned calves is extremely low, he said.




With the decrease in the number of hunting permits, the hunting success rate has also fallen, down from 213 bulls and 180 cows taken by hunters in 1991 to 159 bulls and 48 cows killed last year.




It is possible that this winter's population count underestimated the number of moose in Jackson Hole. Brimeyer said last year's poor forage production may have forced the animals to spread out farther than usual to search for food.


Absaroka wolves contracting mange

Absaroka wolves contracting mange




CODY, Wyo. (AP) - Mange has struck several wolves of northwest Wyoming's Absaroka Pack, but there are no plans to treat the animals.


"It's pathetic," said Jim Oudin, a retired game warden who saw the sick wolf on Blain Creek. "It makes me ill."




The black wolf had no hair on its lower hindquarters and its tail was bare, he said. Large sores covered its legs.




Mike Jiminez, wolf project leader for Wyoming, said he also saw the sick wolf recently while tranquilizing wolves with darts to attach radio-tracking collars.




He saw another wolf with similar problems and had heard of two others but could not locate them.




Regardless, he will not treat them.




"We don't want to set a precedent of running in and doctoring sick wolves," he said. "It'll either make it or it won't."




Mange is common among coyotes and domestic dogs. It is caused by mites which burrow into the skin, causing itching, scratching and subsequent hair loss.




The disease is not fatal except indirectly because of possible infection and because animals will spend more time scratching than doing what they must to stay alive, Jiminez said. Also, afflicted wolves might not survive cold temperatures because of the hair loss.




Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the disease was deliberately introduced in Montana in the early part of the last century in an attempt to control free-ranging canines.


Sled ban might be postponed

Sled ban might be postponed




By CAROLE CLOUDWALKER




Limitations on public snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks might be postponed for one year by the Park Service.




The postponement, provided for through an alternative added to the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, would give the Park Service the opportunity to review information including data on new snowmobile technologies. Comments are being accepted until May 29.




The proposal is being met with cautious optimism by Park County officials, who have served as one of several cooperating agencies on the environmental documents.




The Park Service proposes to postpone implementation of existing regulations which phase out snowmobile use in the parks and along the Rockefeller Parkway linking them.




Without the postponement, regulations are scheduled to be implemented starting with the 2002-03 winter season. If the delay occurs, the public would have at least two more years to snowmobile in the parks.




"Additional time is needed to complete a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that was initiated in response to a lawsuit brought by the International Snowmobile Manufacturers' Association and others," Yellowstone spokesman Cheryl Matthews said.




The settlement required NPS officials to prepare the SEIS.




The proposed interim rule was published in the March 29 Federal Register, and is open for public comment until May 29.




Park County Commissioner Charlie Johnstone says a one-year implementation delay was provided for by the NPS, which "completely changed" one alternative of the DSEIS to provide for a "ban, but just a year later."




Johnstone said the NPS originally changed the cooperative agencies' preferred Alternative No. 2, adding the year's delay, but later decided to re-name that choice Alternative 1-b.




"There were three alternatives, No. 1, a no-action alternative, No. 2, the alternative favored by the state and cooperative agencies, favoring clean and quiet machines, and No. 3, with guided tours only," Johnstone said.




"Somewhere during the process the Park Service introduced another alternative, and they called it No. 2; they changed it completely," he said.




"We got them to re-number it 1-A."




Johnstone said the Park Service did not opt for selecting a preferred alternative on the DSEIS.




"It sounds like they (NPS) will be taking a real strong look at economic and environmental effects of clean and quiet snowmobiles," commission chairman Tim Morrison said after reviewing the NPS announcement Monday.




"We suggested, in comments, that the state provide (this) information, and the NPS discounted it," Morrison said.




Commissioner Tim French said it was "our hope they'd take new information into consideration," though he remains cautiously optimistic.




"If they're just delaying implementation a year - what good does that do?" he wondered.




French said the cooperating agencies' goal is to "keep cleaner, quieter snowmobiles in the park, and this is a good step.




"If we can have cleaner, quieter machines, everyone has gained," French said.




Specific information about regulatory changes on winter use in the parks may be obtained online at www.nps.gov/grte/winteruse/proposedrule.pdf.




Written comments on the proposal may be sent to Robert Maguire, Winter use regulations, Park Service, P.O. Box 124, Moose, 83012.

Interagency team unveils wide range of options for elk, bison

Interagency team unveils wide range of options for elk, bison




JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - A federal and state team has unveiled a wide range of options for managing elk and bison on the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park.


The options will be studied in detail, with a draft environmental impact statement released in February 2003.




"We wanted to make sure we captured the whole range of what things the interest groups and public had to say," said Don DeLong, EIS planning team leader.




The options include ending or altering the supplemental feeding program on the refuge, allowing bison hunting, ending hunting altogether and restoring wildlife habitat.




The study stems from a lawsuit by the Fund for Animals that challenged bison hunting as a management tool.




"It will be a better, more thought-out plan," DeLong said.




On elk management, the options include setting no population targets, allowing elk numbers to fluctuate, determining the maximum population by the capacity of the refuge and increasing the winter population maximum to 8,000 to 8,5000 elk.




On bison management, options include maintaining the population of 650 bison and allowing to up 1,000 bison by 2005, having no population target, maintain a population of 350 to 400 bison and maintaining a population of 200 to 250 bison.




On winter feeding of elk and bison on the refuge, options include continuing feeding at current levels, ending all feeding, increasing feeding or feeding only in emergencies and trying to rely on natural forage.




On curbing diseases among elk and bison, options include doing nothing, reducing elk concentrations and vaccinating for brucellosis if a vaccine is proven safe and effective.




On hunting, options include maintaining the status quo by allowing elk hunting on the northern two-thirds of the refuge and on the eastern side of the park but not allowing bison hunting. Other alternatives would end hunting or allow bison hunting.




Options for habitat management include continuing to use flood irrigation, fertilizing and prescribed burning to improvement habitat. Alternatives include using varying degrees of sprinkler irrigation and not managing habitat.




The restoration of historic migration routes and the use of contraceptives in wildlife also will be examined, DeLong said.




A final environmental impact statement is expected in April 2004.




The team includes representatives from the Forest Service, National Park Service, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service.


Wildlife managers hope to bring grizzly hunts back to southwestern Montana

Wildlife managers hope to bring grizzly hunts back to southwestern Montana




BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - Wildlife managers are looking toward the day when they can again authorize a grizzly bear hunt near Yellowstone National Park.


A proposed grizzly bear management plan views the bear as a game animal that would be subject to "regulated hunting when and where appropriate," the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said.




But the plan could not be implemented until until grizzlies in the greater Yellowstone area are removed from the list of federally protected species.




And Department Chief of Staff Chris Smith predicted, "it's a sure thing that any effort to delist the bear will be litigated."




The Idaho Legislature last month approved its grizzly management plan, which takes the same tact as Montana and Wyoming in calling for the bears to be managed as game animals. Wyoming finalized its management plan in February.




The state plans must be in place before federal officials will begin the process of taking the grizzly bear off the endangered species list.




Montana wildlife managers expect their plan to be finalized by fall.




The grizzly was listed in 1975, forcing Montana to abandon its sport hunt of the bear several years later after conservation groups challenged continuation of the hunt in court.




Smith said there are enough bears now that the animal could be taken off the list. But Heidi Godwin of The Sierra Club called the state's view overly ambitious.




The goal of regional wildlife managers, Smith said, is to complete recovery and delisting by 2005.




In addition to the limited hunting season, the plans' are intended to ensure the long-term viability of bear populations so they do not have to be relisted. They all support extending bear habitat into areas that are "biologically suitable and socially acceptable."


Re: Yellowstone Newspaper news

Sled competition helps bring county role to light




By CAROLE CLOUDWALKER




Park Service officials, snowmobile manufacturers and even foreign countries are taking notice of an annual collegiate clean sled competition completed in March at Flagg Ranch.




This year an all-time high of 17 college teams took part in Clean Snowmobile Challenge 2002, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).




Flagg Ranch is a year-round resort south of Yellowstone and north of Grand Teton parks. Like Pahaska Tepee on the North Fork, Flagg Ranch faces the prospect of losing most of its winter business if snowmobiles are banned from the parks.




First conducted in 1998, the snowmobile challenge pre-dated the drawn-out Winter Use Environmental Impact Statement and Supplemental EIS process presently under way in Yellowstone, Grand Teton and the connecting parkway.




But its goals fall in line with those of entities such as the Park County Commission, which as a cooperating agency with Yellowstone winter use actions has urged the Park Service to consider data on clean and quiet snow machines and their use rather than banning snowmobiles from the parks.




Bill Paddleford of Jackson, a Teton County commissioner and co-organizer of the snowmobile contest, said the aim of the event is to see who can engineer the cleanest, most powerful and most fun-to-drive snowmobile.




Co-sponsor of the event is Lori Fussell of Wilson, an environmental engineer.




"All federal land managers have access to our data," Fussell said. "Yellowstone Park has paid for a report on the competition every year - they own our data."




Fussell says the competition is making a difference on several levels, not the least of which is "more than 500 young engineers will be entering the workforce" with a mindset that improvements are possible.




"There is no price tag for the values being instilled in them," Fussell said. In the future, these engineers "can't help but pay attention to a focus on emissions and sound."




The impact of the event on industry is more concrete.




"They get to hire these young students, who require much less training" because of their experience, Fussell said.




In addition, the competition "has created at least a regional market demand for clean and quiet machines," Fussell said.




Paddleford said the Park Service "watched with interest and participated," adding that "for our fuel economy run they (NPS) groomed 25 miles of trail."




In addition, NPS and Forest Service personnel, including "assistant superintendents" of the Forest Service, serve on the Clean Snowmobile Advisory Board.




While the snowmobile industry has been "slow to get on board," they did have a presence at the competition the last two years and have contributed a "small amount of money" toward staging the event, Paddleford said.




The NPS and the Environmental Protection Agency "have been involved in the competition from the start" and also have obtained a hands-on experience that likely will carry over to decisions they make, she added.




Paddleford said he and Fussell served on a clean air board together and "decided we might be able to do something good for everybody" by organizing the collegiate challenge.




For more information about the competition, which will be in Michigan next year, visit the Web site www.sae.org.

Wolf pack spotted near Red Lodge

Wolf pack spotted near Red Lodge




RED LODGE, Mont. (AP) - A pack of up to seven wolves has been sighted in southcentral Montana and could be a new pack for the region, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed.


"It's not unusual for big packs to split up," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.




None of the wolves has a radio collar, he said. There have been previous sightings of wolves in the area, which makes officials think the pack may have denned there last year.




Bangs said pregnant female wolves will be denning soon. If that is the case, he said, wolf recovery officials would dart one and put a radio collar on it to keep track of the pack.




The wolves are not the first to venture along the Beartooth Front.




A litter of eight pups was born near Red Lodge in 1995. The lead male of the pack was killed illegally nearby. Biologists collected the litter and its mother and moved them from Red Lodge to Yellowstone National Park, where the group - called the Rose Creek pack - rebuilt itself and has remained since.




The pups were the first young born to wolves freed in Yellowstone under the federal wolf recovery plan.




In 1996, a pack and its pups that denned near Nye on the Custer National Forest also were moved to prevent confrontations with livestock. That same year the Soda Butte pack denned on private land near the town of Roscoe.

Bureau of Reclamation to dismantle quake sensor network

Bureau of Reclamation to dismantle quake sensor network




JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has decided to dismantle a system of quake sensors along the Teton Range.


Bureau officials say the system, at $100,000 per year, is too expensive to maintain and is yielding no new scientific data.




"If it were to break down tomorrow, no one would repair it," said Stuart Stanger, the bureau's department area manager.




The agency plans to begin dismantling the network's sensors during the next fiscal year, probably during the spring of 2003.




Geologists want the network to stay in place, saying it provides important information about seismic activity along the Teton Fault.




Bob Smith, a University of Utah professor of geophysics and head of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, has been warning his friends and colleagues about the impending end of the system.




"This is a critical area that needs to be monitored," he said. "I'd like to see a partnership with BuRec, the state, the county and the National Park Service. It's time for these agencies to step up and develop these partnerships."




The seismic network was established in 1986 to determine if a project to reconstruct Jackson Lake Dam was adequate.




Diana Cross, a bureau spokeswoman in Boise, Idaho, said the network detects movement so minute that the information has no relevance to the study of the dam.




Jim Case, head hazards geologist for the Wyoming Geologic Survey, said information about small movement is valuable.




"Since the Teton Fault has been so quiet in 16 years, that to us raises a red flag," he said. "If any activity does initiate, it may be of significance. There could be an earthquake that could perhaps exceed design specs" of the dam.




Case wants the state to be notified when the bureau develops concrete plans for dismantling the network.




"Our thought is since BuRec has the network there, they still have the responsibility to maintain it since the dam is still there," he said.




"Until you can adequately model what will happen, you keep the network in. That is apparently something they are not willing to embrace."




Cross agreed that more data is better and maintaining the network will only help science, but said that is not cost effective for the bureau.




"If someone wants to take over it, that would be great," she said.


WY Governor asks for statewide drought declaration

Governor asks for statewide drought declaration




By ELISABETH A. WRIGHT


Associated Press Writer




CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Gov. Jim Geringer sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman on Wednesday asking her to declare Wyoming a natural disaster area.




Geringer said he asked for the designation so farmers and ranchers may qualify for low-interest loans and possibly tax deferrals to cope with a third straight year of drought.




Geringer said it is the first time he has asked for a statewide designation.




Last year, Veneman declared 13 counties as primary disaster areas and 10 counties as secondary disaster areas because of drought and wildfires. In 2000, she declared 22 counties primary disaster areas because of similar conditions.




In his letter, Geringer wrote that ranchers are faced with fewer places to graze livestock on public land and some have been forced to sell their livestock prematurely. Future farming and ranching operations are in serious jeopardy, he wrote.




"Because of the severe drought conditions in 2000 and 2001, there is little if any leftover grass at the beginning of the current growing season," he wrote.




Forecasters predict extreme drought in the Big Horn Basin and severe drought almost everywhere else in Wyoming. Last week's wildfires in Superior and Opal indicate another potentially bad year for fires as well, State Forester Tom Ostermann said.




Moderate drought is predicted in southwestern Wyoming and the state's farthest northeastern corner, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.




Wyoming, Montana and Arizona are also expected to be some of the hardest hit states this year, Geringer said. Montana has also asked for a disaster declaration and Arizona is expected to as well, he said.




In eastern Wyoming, the state engineer declared a monthlong "call" on water in the North Platte River, ending May 1. A call means irrigators who hold the oldest water rights are the first to get their share of the limited supply of river water.




Last year, many farmers and ranchers got by on stored water from reservoirs. This year, stored water may not be an option. Reservoir levels are expected to average 30 to 70 percent below normal, state officials said.




Yellowstone National Park, however, is predicted to do better this year compared to last year, with snowpack at 83 percent of normal levels, Geringer said.




There is a one-in-five chance the drought will end in six months, state officials said.


Park road work slated, includes Canyon to Fishing Bridge in August


Park road work slated, includes Canyon to Fishing Bridge in August




Several road construction projects with potential traffic delays are scheduled in Yellowstone Park this season.




Visitors should be prepared for delays or closures of up to 30 minutes.




Through May 23 the Madison Junction to Norris Junction road will be open 24 hours a day, but with possible delays.




The road will be open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. starting May 28, with possible delays, and will be closed 9 p.m.-9 a.m.




It will be open without delays on holidays.




In September the road will be closed with just two windows of opportunity for travel each day.




Delays are possible on the Canyon to Mount Washburn road in August, and the road is tentatively scheduled to close for the season Sept. 9.




Delays are possible on the Canyon to Fishing Bridge road by late August.




For more information call park headquarters, (307) 344-7381.




Limited services and facilities are now available in Yellowstone Park for spring visitors.




The Old Faithful Photo Shop, and Lower Service Station opened April 19.




The Canyon Nature Store and Canyon Service Station will open May 3.




Mammoth General Store, the Mammoth Clinic and Mammoth campground are open year-round.




All other facilities and campgrounds are closed until their scheduled openings in May and June.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I will be posting articles on the Yellowstone region on the discussion forum, especially AP stories reported in the Casper Star-Tribune. This paper has a lot of useful stories, especially from the Grand Teton region, but they roll their stories off every few days. I want them up much longer. This discussion forum only rolls off as it gets too large.




Jim

For second week, bison leaving Yellowstone killed w/o brucellosis testing





For second week, bison leaving Yellowstone killed without brucellosis testing





WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. (AP) - Seventy-two bison that left Yellowstone National Park on Monday have been sent to slaughter without being tested for brucellosis, federal and state officials said.


"This is the second week that bison have been removed from the herd without being tested for the disease of brucellosis," Montana state veterinarian Dr. Arnold Gertonson said.




Thirty-two bison were sent to slaughter early last week without testing.




The Interagency Bison Management Plan allows the killing of bison that wander outside the park if the overall size of the Yellowstone herd is over 3,000. In late February, the National Park Service documented 3,300 bison. That does not include the spring calf count.




The management plan was developed to reduce the risk of transmission of brucellosis from bison to cattle. The disease causes cows to abort their calves.




An additional seven bison captured at the Horse Butte facility were released after testing negative for brucellosis.




Another 34 bison that left the park were hazed to a separate timbered area outside the park rather than being killed, the state Department of Livestock said.




One protester was arrested by U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers.



--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I will be posting articles on the Yellowstone region on the discussion forum, especially AP stories reported in the Casper Star-Tribune. This paper has a lot of useful stories, especially from the Grand Teton region, but they roll their stories off every few days. I want them up much longer. This discussion forum only rolls off as it gets too large.




Jim

MONTANA BISON EMERGENCY

MONTANA BISON EMERGENCY:




Bison in Montana are facing a crisis situation: the Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) has decided to kill all bison captured outside of Yellowstone Park's protective boundaries, ostensibly to protect a handful of domestic cattle from possible infection with brucellosis.




Previously, the MDOL had tested all captured bison, slaughtered those who tested positive for brucellosis, and released the rest. Even this system was far from perfect because a positive test result only indicates that an animal has been exposed to the disease, not whether the animal is currently infected. MDOL's recent decision to slaughter all captured bison without even testing them is scientifically unjustified and is costing millions of taxpayer dollars. To make matters worse, hundreds more bison may soon be killed when MDOL and cooperating agencies shift from


capture and slaughter of bison to simply shooting those who remain


outside of the Park on May 1.




WHAT YOU CAN DO:




Your urgent (polite) calls and faxes are needed to stop this killing!




Please contact Montana Governor Judy Martz and Montana's state


Veterinarian, Dr. Arnold Gertonson, and ask that they immediately stop the capture, slaughter, or shooting of all bison or, at a minimum, that they reinstitute testing of all bison captured on April 30 and initiate hazing of those who remain outside of the Park as of May 1.




Governor Judy Martz-- phone: (406) 444-3111/ fax: (406) 444-4151




Dr. Arnold Gertonson, State Veterinarian-- phone: (406) 444-2043 / fax: (406) 444-1929

Public comment sought on park courthouse proposal

Public comment sought on park courthouse proposal




YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Park officials have proposed replacing the park courthouse, citing security concerns and limited space for court proceedings at the building in Mammoth.


"It's a major problem, no matter how much crime we have," park spokeswoman Marsha Karle said. "The way it's set up, it's just not adequate."




Public comment is invited through June 3 on a proposed two-story building, which would include a courtroom and judge's chamber, interview rooms, a temporary holding facility and law enforcement offices.




The current building, officials said, provides no room for attorney-client meetings and has limited space for witnesses and family members. Its ground-level access also creates security concerns with the first-floor courtroom and chambers.




Karle said the park needs a courthouse because of the distance officials would have to travel for court appearances at other sites, such as Cody or Jackson. More than 300 court cases were heard at Mammoth last year.




Officials expect to have an environmental assessment ready for the public this winter, with construction planned for the winter of 2004-05.


Animal protection organizations call for a halt to the indiscriminate sl...

ANIMAL PROTECTION ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR A HALT TO THE INDISCRIMINATE SLAUGHTER OF MIGRATING YELLOWSTONE BISON




BILLINGS, MT (May 7, 2002) -The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal protection organization, and the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC), an organization dedicated to ending the slaughter of Yellowstone bison, strongly oppose the recent decision by Montana's Department of Livestock (MDOL) to kill bison leaving Yellowstone National Park without regard to their disease status.


MDOL is concerned that wild bison, who migrate from Yellowstone every winter and spring to search for food and escape the deepest snow in the park, may transmit brucellosis to domestic cattle grazing on public land adjacent to the park. Despite a lack of scientific justification for this concern, MDOL is implementing a needlessly aggressive policy of slaughtering bison outside of the park without first testing them for the disease.


Prior to this recent decision, MDOL, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, has concentrated on hazing wandering bison back into the park, or killing only those bison who tested positive for exposure to brucellosis. This procedure in itself was problematic. A positive test result only indicates that an animal has been exposed to the disease and has developed antibodies; the test does not demonstrate current infection. Thus, the majority of the more than 3,000 bison slaughtered or shot by state and federal officials since 1985 were not infected with brucellosis nor posed a danger to cattle.


Now MDOL is forgoing even this screening process prior to slaughter. Last week alone MDOL captured 104 Yellowstone bison just outside of the park's boundaries and sent them to slaughter.


"The rationale behind MDOL's decision to simply send wild bison to slaughter without even testing them for disease is difficult to understand," said David Pauli, director of the Northern Rockies Regional Office of The HSUS. "No case of brucellosis transmission between free-roaming bison and domestic cattle has ever been documented. But at least the testing has the potential to save many of the bison."


Mike Mease of the Buffalo Field Campaign added, "Bison are already subjected to stressful, physically demanding hazing operations that bring them miles outside of Yellowstone to capture and testing facilities. Now they are being killed merely for crossing an arbitrary line with no evidence that they pose any health risk to cattle. In addition, MDOL officials are not trained in wildlife biology or humane wildlife handling methods. As a result, the bison are subjected to abuse in the capture, holding, and slaughtering process. This atrocity needs to stop."


The duration of MDOL's policy shift is unclear. The current estimated Yellowstone bison population is 3,300, exceeding the 3,000-bison threshold above which more aggressive bison management is allowed. Until the population again falls below 3,000, MDOL is authorized to kill bison found outside of the park without testing them first. Since December, MDOL has sent 170 bison to slaughter.


-30-




Editor's Note: Buffalo Field Campaign b-roll footage of MDOL's roundup of Yellowstone bison for slaughter is available from the HSUS Media Relations Department. Call Kate Luse at 301-258-3071.






Contact: Dave Pauli (HSUS): 406-255-7161 or


Mike Mease (BFC): 406-646-0070

Snake River expected to stay steady

Snake River expected to stay steady




JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -- The Snake River in Jackson Hole should hold steady for whitewater season, according to a river manager.




"Chances are we're going to be releasing enough (water) from storage to keep the river average," said Mike Beus, the Bureau of Reclamation's water operations manager for the Snake River in Jackson Hole.




But Beus said the agency does not expect Jackson Lake's reservoir to be more than half full.




That means boaters on the lake will have a tough time.




The reservoir was only 31 percent full a week ago.


Snowstorm closes Yellowstone entrances

Snowstorm closes Yellowstone entrances




YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - The south and east entrances of Yellowstone National Park were closed Wednesday because of heavy, wet snow.




Snow also forced the closure of Craig Pass between West Thumb and Old Faithful in the park and Bear Tooth Pass on U.S. 212 at the Montana-Wyoming border east of the park.




Snow has also caused slippery road conditions in the Jackson Hole area, including Grand Teton National Park.




The National Weather Service posted winter storm warnings for Yellowstone and mountain areas of northern Wyoming with up to 14 inches of snow possible.




High wind warnings were posted for parts of central and eastern Wyoming.


Suspicious letter to Teton deemed not hazardous

Suspicious letter to Teton deemed not hazardous




MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) - A suspicious letter sent to Grand Teton National Park did not contain a hazardous substance, the state health department has determined.




On Thursday, park employees opened a letter that contained an unknown substance. Teton County's hazardous materials specialists and an FBI agent responded. Five employees working in the office were evacuated.




Although initial investigations deemed the substance non-hazardous, they sent the letter to the Wyoming Department of Health laboratory in Cheyenne.




The office was reopened Monday.

State criticizes snowmobile ban proposal

State criticizes snowmobile ban proposal




CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - State officials have submitted 50 pages of comments lambasting a National Park Service plan to phase out snowmobiles from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.


The comments said the studies behind the proposal are "flawed, biased and objectionable" and do not consider the potential noise and pollution of snowcoaches.




Park Service officials have offered to continue allowing snowcoaches after snowmobiles are phased out.




The comments were written by John Keck, director of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources; John Baughman, former director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department; and Dan Olson, head of the Department of Environmental Quality's Air Quality Division.




The comments were submitted for a draft supplemental environmental study the Park Service has been doing since it settled a lawsuit filed by snowmobile manufacturers, who contested the ban.




Under the settlement, the Park Service agreed to reconsider its decision to phase out snowmobiles over three winters.




Keck, Baughman and Olson said state studies call into question Park Service claims that snowcoaches would carry more people, pollute less and be less noisy.




Keck accused the National Park Service and Environmental Protection Agency of "selective review and analysis of data" and said the proposed actions in the draft environmental impact statement are similarly based on "flawed data and assumptions."




Keck cited a study the state commissioned by Southwest Research Institute. The study, he said, refuted most findings of the draft supplemental environmental study.




Keck demanded more information on the noise and pollution made by snowcoaches and said he wanted information to support a Park Service claim that snowmachines disturb wildlife.




As for concerns about the ability of visitors to hear the parks' natural sounds and not noise from snowmobiles, Keck wrote: "While we agree with the statement in general, we do not agree that this expectation should be for every second upon every inch of NPS soil."




A final decision on the issue is expected at the end of the year.

Yellowstone officials: 'Don't drop backpacks' when meeting bears

Yellowstone officials: 'Don't drop backpacks' when meeting bears




YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Officials are urging visitors to hold on to their backpacks if they encounter bears.




Two fishermen happened upon a black bear Thursday while walking along the Yellowstone River near the confluence of Tower Creek.




The men turned and started walking away from the bear, but it followed them upstream. The anglers became concerned and dropped their backpacks, then continued.




The bear went straight to the packs, opened them and obtained their food, officials said.




Park officials say a bear that eats human food or garbage, even once, can become conditioned to the food source and seek it out, thus becoming aggressive and dangerous.




That could lead to more bear encounters, injuries to humans and possible removal of bears.




"By dropping your pack, you are contributing to conditioning bears to human foods," officials said in a release Monday. "In the rare case where a bear attacks, a pack will help shield your back from injury."


Yellowstone's rail history studied

Yellowstone's rail history studied


CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A project is underway to compile an online history of rail access to Yellowstone National Park.


The Wyoming State Historical Society is funding the project, titled "Making Tracks Through the Yellowstone Country: The History of Railroads and Yellowstone National Park."




The goal is to showcase the history of five railroad lines that served the park from 1882 until the 1960s: the Northern Pacific; Union Pacific; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Chicago and North Western; and Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific.




A particular emphasis will be photographs taken by F.J. and J.E. Haynes, Yellowstone photographers.




Many original railroad publications are very scarce, quite valuable and very fragile, the society said. However, through digital scanning, many of those materials will be available via the Internet.




----




On the Net:




History of Yellowstone:




http://www.nps.gov/yell/history/index.htm


Enzi, Cubin praise direction of snowmobile debate

Enzi, Cubin praise direction of snowmobile debate




CODY, Wyo. (AP) - Sen. Mike Enzi and Rep. Barbara Cubin praised National Park Service officials' willingness to consider allowing some snowmobiling to continue in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.




Meeting with state and county representatives from Wyoming, Montana and Idaho on Tuesday, Park Service officials said they are willing to allow snowmobiles that are equipped with the best available technology to limit air pollution and noise.




"Based on the information I have now, it looks like the park officials are headed in the right direction," said Enzi, R-Wyo.




"Allowing a limited number of snowmobiles in our national parks is preferable to barring the gates and cutting off access. I have always maintained that there can be room for a reasonable solution that protects not only the parks but the ability of those who enjoy the parks on snowmobiles."




Cubin, R-Wyo., said the debate appears headed toward "a solution acceptable to the people of Wyoming.




"From the surrounding counties to the gateway communities that depend heavily on the continued winter recreational opportunities afforded at the park, the alternatives discussed at today's meeting will ensure the continued viability of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton," she said.




During the final days of the Clinton administration, the Park Service proposed phasing out snowmobiles from the two parks by the winter of 2003-04. The snowmobile industry sued and the Bush administration agreed to order a new study of snowmobiling in the parks.




The Park Service's latest proposal would allow cleaner-burning and quieter snowmachines, including snowcoaches. The proposal also favors guided snowmobile tours.


Road work planned for Grand Teton

Road work planned for Grand Teton




MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) - Motorists traveling on U.S. 26-89-191 and U.S. 26-287 through Grand Teton National Park are being told to expect 20-30 minute delays starting Monday.




Workers plan to scrape off the pavement to prepare the highway for repaving, leaving behind a gravel surface. For four weeks, until the paving work begins, the speed limit will be 35 mph, according to park officials.




The resurfacing work is scheduled for U.S. 26-89-191 from Cunningham Cabin, six miles south of Moran Junction, to the east boundary, two miles east of Moran.




Similar work is planned for Moran Junction west to Jackson Lake Lodge.




Meanwhile, shoulder widening and grade improvements are underway along U.S. 26-287 from Moran to the east boundary.




The road work will take place from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday from July through Labor Day.

Thomas: Teton land swap no longer tied to Martin's Cove sale

Thomas: Teton land swap no longer tied to Martin's Cove sale




CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., said a threat to hold up a Teton land-swap measure he backs has been dropped by Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah.




Hansen has pushed legislation, controversial in Wyoming, that would transfer ownership of a historic site known as Martin's Cove southwest of Casper to the Mormon church.




And, Thomas said, Hansen threatened to, in the House, block his try at speeding the federal acquisition of two private land sections inside Grand Teton National Park without Thomas' support for the Hansen measure.




That threat was rescinded just after the U.S. House on a voice vote approved Hansen's bill, Thomas said last week.




The Wyoming senator said he does not know why the threat to tie the measures together was dropped. But he said he made clear to Hansen in a telephone conversation that he still would not support the Martin's Cove transfer.




"And he said, 'I understand,"' Thomas told the Casper Star-Tribune.




The Thomas-backed measure has passed the Senate. Known as the Grand Teton National Park Land Exchange Act, it would direct the government to buy from within the park two sections that could be traded for land, resources such as coal leases or cash of equal value.




Hansen's measure is now in the Senate. It directs the government to sell a 900-acre tract to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose officials say Martin's Cove is important to their pioneer heritage.

Xanterra, Yellowstone concessionaire, to review hiring procedures

Xanterra, Yellowstone concessionaire, to review hiring procedures




LIVINGSTON (AP) - Xanterra Parks and Resorts will review its hiring procedures before next summer, the company's general manager for Yellowstone National Park says.




In the meantime, the company is doing what it can to accommodate scores of young foreigners, mostly European college students, who thought they had summer jobs in the park but arrived to find the jobs already filled.




They arrived late, sometimes weeks late, and the company had to fill the jobs, said General Manager Jim McCaleb.




Xanterra operates hotels, restaurants, stores and campgrounds in Yellowstone and other national parks. It regularly recruits summer workers overseas.




"What we're hearing from many of the kids is that the process for getting visas is delayed," McCaleb said. He said the delays were caused by reactions to the terrorism attacks on the East Coast last September.




The problems surfaced when dozens of the young people began showing up in Livingston, 50 miles north of the park, looking for work, free Internet services to contact their homes, or other help.




Xanterra was simply turning them away and telling them they might have jobs, maybe just part-time work, in a few weeks, they said.




Now Xanterra is doing what it can to accommodate them until they get work. They are being housed and fed free of charge in the park until they get jobs, McCaleb said. After that they must pay $70 a week.




"The employee housing is full at this point," McCaleb said Friday. "We are setting up something very close to a youth hostel situation for most of these kids."




He estimated 100 of the young job hopefuls were staying in the park.




The Bozeman Red Cross has loaned Xanterra 100 cots for them. He said it is unusual for private companies to request such help.




"It wasn't until I signed the agreement that I realized who they were," spokesman Norm Eggert said. At that point, he said, he thought it was too late to back out.




Some of the young job-seekers have found other work in the area. Bud Cahill of the 63 Ranch has hired several and provided them lodging, but said someone should take responsibility for their situation.




"This is a crime," Cahill said. "If these were American students there would be lawsuits like you wouldn't believe."




"This is an embarrassment to all of us as Americans."


Xanterra at Grand Canyon

Here's an opinion article about what is happening at Grand Canyon National Park under Xanterra:


http://www.ibiblio.org/warrior/take5/regime.htm




They will probably be the next Enron or Worldcom.

Re: Xanterra at Grand Canyon


Thanks for the link. That's very interesting. I think some people here should note that Xanterra is in fact the very same company as Amfac. They are not different companies. They simply changed their name this year, which is odd. Perhaps, their image has sunk so low that they thought a change of name may confuse people enough to give them a new look.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Here's an opinion article about what is happening at Grand Canyon National Park under Xanterra:


http://www.ibiblio.org/warrior/take5/regime.htm




They will probably be the next Enron or Worldcom.

Firefighters lose ground in Wind River Range, Yellowstone

Firefighters lose ground in Wind River Range, Yellowstone





FORT WASHAKIE, Wyo. (AP) - Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, a wildfire on the Wind River Indian Reservation grew to 14,500 acres.




Winds in the 30-40 mph range also forced all five helicopters dumping water on the South Fork II fire to retreat to base Monday. Air operations were suspended for up to an hour, fire spokeswoman Marilyn Krause said.




Tuesday's forecast called for more wind, but offered some relief in the form of cooler temperatures, reaching into the 70s in the mountains.




"We're regrouping this morning," she said Tuesday. "We're cautiously optimistic that we'll get some good work today."




The fire was 45 percent contained Tuesday morning.




Firefighters' biggest helicopter, one capable of dropping both water and fire retardant, broke down Monday but was back in service Tuesday morning, Krause said.




Besides the five helicopters, 330 firefighters were at the scene.




Elsewhere in Wyoming, strong, erratic winds forced firefighters to pull back from a 260-acre wildfire six miles east of Mount Washburn in Yellowstone National Park.




"They were all off by 12:30-1 p.m. It was just too unsafe to keep them in there with the erratic winds," park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said.




The crew had been focusing on securing fire lines around the tail end of the Broad fire and its south-southwest flank, as well as continue work along the northern edge of the fire.




The fire was in old-growth timber and heavy accumulations of dead and downed trees.




In all, eight fires have broken out in Yellowstone this summer. One was sparked by a power line and the rest were caused by lightning. All the others have been contained.




Currently, campfires are allowed in established fire pits and grates and liquid or gas fuel stoves and self-contained charcoal grills may be used. All park trails and facilities are open.




Meantime, firefighters continued mopping up a pair of wildfires in the Laramie Mountains west of Wheatland in southeast Wyoming.




----




On the Net:




National Interagency Fire Center:




http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html




Rocky Mountain area large fires:




http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/fire/rmacc.html


Students build more efficient engine they hope will revolutionize the snowm

Students build more efficient engine they hope will revolutionize the snowmobile industry




By NICK WADHAMS


Associated Press Writer




DENVER (AP) - Colorado State University students have built a dramatically cleaner and more efficient version of the internal-combustion engine commonly found in everything from scooters to motorboats to snowmobiles.




If taken seriously, they say, it could help overhaul the snowmobile industry and influence the debate on whether to allow the vehicles in national parks.




"If the debate is about emissions, noise and power, this is a revolution," said environmental engineer Lori Fussell, founder of the Clean Snowmobile Challenge, in which university teams compete to develop a quieter, cleaner snowmobile engine. "It could very much be the answer."




Though proponents say the engine is promising, snowmobiling groups are taking a wait-and-see approach.




There are questions about durability, reliability and cost. The modified two-stroke engine would add about $500 to snowmobiles already costing from $6,000 to $8,000.




"Snowmobiling is a very discretionary product, and if it's priced too high people simply won't buy it, so there has to be a belief that the market will purchase the machine," said Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association.




Two-stroke engines are found in most snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and motorboats. They are used in many power tools and are far lighter than automobile engines, which use a more complicated four-stroke system.




The advantage is in their simplicity, but they emit heavy pollution and have low fuel economy, mostly because they push a great deal of fuel out of the exhaust pipe when the pistons fire, said Bryan Willson, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado State University.




The CSU engine was developed for the Clean Snowmobile Challenge, and was the top two-stroke engine to finish. It won third place.




"There's absolutely no reason these engines need to be dirty as they are," said Tim Bauer, one of 10 students and three professors who worked on the project.




The entry was a modified Arctic Cat ZRT 600 that cut emissions from the standard two-stroke engine by 99 percent and was about 35 percent more fuel efficient. Willson said the engine had a minor malfunction during the contest and its noise level was 74.5 decibels, a half decibel above the challenge's maximum of 74.




"Everyone assumed that the only way you could make a clean engine was to switch to a four-stroke," Willson said. "In life, power-to-weight is king and it is going to be hard to do that with a four-stroke engine."




At its heart, the CSU engine is a fuel-injection system designed by Australia's Orbital Engine Corp. and similar to those found in some motorboat engines. There is also a catalyst to reduce wasted fuel and dirty emissions, and a modified muffler.




The engine reduces hydrocarbon emissions by 99.7 percent and carbon monoxide emissions by 99.9 percent, Willson said.




It could play an important role in the hotly debated issue of whether to allow snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Pollution has gotten so bad that Yellowstone issued respirators to gate workers who complained about headaches, nausea and dizziness on days when hundreds of snowmobilers lined up at a busy park entrance.




The Environmental Protection Agency recently softened its opposition to snowmobiles in the parks, saying clean air standards could be met with newer machines using stricter pollution controls. But it noted that the technology is not yet available.




Snowmobile maker Bombardier will release a semidirect-injection engine in 2003, the first of its kind, but so far there are no immediate plans among the other big three snowmobile makers to introduce similar engines.




"We knew there would come a time when we needed to address this concern," Steve Cowing, a Bombardier spokesman, said of the pollution issue.




Neither Bombardier's plans nor the CSU engine has impressed environmentalists. Some don't care what kind of engine is in the snowmobile; they simply object to the snowmobile itself.




"What you end up having is not just thousands but literally tens of thousands of machines charging through wildlife corridors where the animals are hard-pressed just to survive the harsh winter," said Jon Catton, spokesman for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.




---




On the Net:




Clean Snowmobile Challenge: http://www.sae.org/students/snow.htm

Montana lawmakers want feds to pay for wolf management

Montana lawmakers want feds to pay for wolf management




By CURT WOODWARD


Associated Press Writer




HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Four Republican lawmakers want substantial financial guarantees from the federal government before the state assumes management of transplanted Canadian wolves.




In a letter to Gov. Judy Martz, the lawmakers said the money would be used, among other things, to offset what they fear will be imminent losses of wildlife, specifically elk, to the growing wolf population.




But a federal wildlife manager and environmentalists called the demand troubling, saying it was out of touch with the science on the issue.




"It is a politicizing, and it's a return to the dark ages, really, in basic principles of wildlife management and wildlife science," said Tom France, the Northern Rockies director for the National Wildlife Federation.




In their letter, Reps. Dan Fuchs and Joe Balyeat, and Sens. Mike Sprague and Jack Wells outlined their concerns with the wolves and the process of removing them from the federal endangered species list.




As the wolf populations expand in the central Idaho wilderness and the Yellowstone National Park area, federal and state officials in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have begun the process of removing them from federal protection and turning management over to the states. Before that can happen, each state must have an approved management plan. Idaho adopted its plan last winter.




The Montana lawmakers want the federal government to pay for 80 percent of the state management cost and a per-animal reimbursement for game animals wolves kill.




Fuchs says one late-season elk hunt may have been scaled back because of wolf depredation.




Ed Bangs, the wolf recovery leader for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, conceded that wolves have an impact. But Bangs said the image of packs of hungry wolves exploding across the state is unfounded.




"In northwestern Montana, we really haven't had any wolf population increase in six years," Bangs said. "The idea that wolves are spilling all over the planet - that's not true."




France said there are areas where the wolf population should be controlled, "but I don't think we're at that place yet. To suggest that wolves are having a significant impact on elk is ignoring the data."

G&W: Grizzly plan will stand

G&W: Grizzly plan will stand




EVANSTON, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming Game and Fish Commission officials say they have no intention of rescinding their plan for grizzly bear management.




Representatives from several mountain counties appealed to the commission Thursday, claiming their counties had too little say in the development of a plan that will affect their land and residents.




Game and Fish officials countered that the plan had been in the works for more than two years, and the counties should have spoken up sooner.




"I don't know what more the Game and Fish (Commission) can do," G&F Commissioner Gary Lundvahl said. "They are probably the most open, and have more meetings than anyone I've ever known."




There will be more opportunities for the public to comment as the wildlife agency starts "fine tuning" its grizzly plan, G&F's Dave Moody said.




The federal government is in the process of delisting grizzlies, which have been on the endangered list since 1975. Wyoming, Idaho and Montana are creating their own bear-management plans.




Wyoming's plan would not allow bears in the Big Horn Range, Snowy Range and Sierra Madre Mountains. It would provide bear habitat in all suitable and socially acceptable areas within the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.




The plan will take effect when grizzlies are removed from the endangered list, which is expected to happen sometime between 2003 and 2005.


Officials estimate 40 percent loss of bighorn herd

Officials estimate 40 percent loss of bighorn herd




JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - The population of bighorn sheep in herd near Jackson dropped about 40 percent over the winter, according to recent surveys.




State researchers aren't sure what caused the high death rate, but veterinarians speculate that stress from drought and poor forage led to a pneumonia outbreak.




"It's a lot higher than we wanted," Game and Fish biologist Doug Brimeyer said of the death rate. He added that a pneumonia outbreak can claim up to 60 percent of a herd.




Last fall, there were about 500 animals in the Jackson herd, which ranges from south of Hoback Junction through the Gros Ventre drainage and to the upper Green River area.




In response to the population decline, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking hunters to voluntarily give up their permits this year.




Game officials had already reduced the number of permits issued in the Jackson area to 16, down from 28 last year.




Preference points will be reinstated for hunters who turn in their permits, which increases their odds of drawing a license in the future, Brimeyer said.




Because of last winter's die-off in the Jackson herd, Game and Fish may issue fewer hunting permits for at least the next five years while the population recovers, Brimeyer said. If sheep continue to be stressed by poor habitat and forage, the limits may last longer.




Despite the high death rate in the Jackson herd, surveys of other herds show that the overall sheep population survived the winter.




Meanwhile, the number of lambs born this year varied by location, with some areas showing low numbers and others fairly high, Brimeyer said.




Hunters who want to turn in their permits for the year can contact the Wyoming Game and Fish License Review Board at 800-842-1934.


Injured climber rescued from Grand Teton

Injured climber rescued from Grand Teton




MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) - A woman injured while climbing the Grand Teton was rescued Tuesday.




Angela Edlinger, 18, of New York state, suffered a shin injury while stepping between two rocks while she and her companion, Pete Marsiglio, 30, were descending from a day climb, Grand Teton National Park officials said.




Park rangers who happened to be descending the nearby Middle Teton were notified and reached her about 9 p.m. Monday, two hours after she was injured.




Ranger determined her injury was not serious enough to warrant immediate evacuation, so they camped overnight with her, then helped her walk to Garnet Canyon Tuesday.




Two rangers with pack horses met them and Edlinger was carried out on horseback in the afternoon.


Ohio man falls to death in park

Ohio man falls to death in park




MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) - A man was found dead Sunday apparently of a fall from Symmetry Spire in Grand Teton National Park.


Ben Carlson-Berne, 19, of Wyoming, Ohio, was found at the bottom of a steep gorge by park rangers on a routine mountain patrol.




Carlson-Berne was apparently solo climbing Friday away from the normal route for Symmetry Spire, which is about 20 miles north of Jackson, when he reached technically difficult steep rock. He was wearing a helmet.




Rangers are estimating he slipped and fell 150 feet.




His body was flown out of the park Sunday in a helicopter.




According to the National Park Service, Carlson-Berne had signed up on Friday to camp for several nights in Garnet Canyon beginning Saturday.




His backcountry camping permit indicated he intended to climb the Southwest Couloir on the Middle Teton and climb the Owen-Spalding route on the Grand Teton. A couloir is a steep gorge.




Carlson-Berne had stowed his camping gear in a locker at the Jenny Lake store before going climbing on Friday, indicating that he was planning only a day climb.




It was the second fatality in the mountains this year and the sixth major search and rescue operation.

Bridger-Teton fires ignited Tuesday all contained

Bridger-Teton fires ignited Tuesday all contained




JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - All of the fires started by lightning on Tuesday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest were reported contained on Wednesday by forest officials.




Still burning is the Divide Fire which started August 6th. It has burned a total of 2200 acres.




The fire, burning nine miles east of Pinedale, is being managed as a "wildland fire use fire," according to fire officials.




Wildland fire use fires start naturally and are allowed to burn while they are monitored.




Officials say that these fires help promote healthy forest regeneration, wildlife enhancement and hazardous fuel reduction.




For more information on the Divide Fire, call the Bridger-Teton National Forest at 307-739-5500.


Poor cone crop bad news for bears and people

Poor cone crop bad news for bears and people




CODY, Wyo. (AP) - The continuing drought, a poor crop of whitebark pine cones and hungry bears could mean trouble for both bears and people according to Shoshone National Forest wildlife biologists.




Wildlife Biologist Mark Hinschberger said because of the low crop of whitebark pine cones there could be an increase in bear-human conflicts this fall.




Nuts found in whitebark pine cones are one of the major food sources for bears.




In a good year a single whitebark pine will produce scores of cones, but this year a pine cone survey done by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team found that trees have produced an average of only 2.4 cones per tree.




Forest biologists say they aren't sure what caused the poor cone crop.




"This is bad news," said Grizzly Bear Biologist Kim Barber. "Research has shown that when whitebark pine cone numbers are low, human-bear encounters increase."




"Bears are hungry and looking for food wherever they can find it," Barber said.




Forest officials are urging hunters and other forest users to be extra careful in the woods because of possible increased bear activity.




"We are asking all forest users to voluntarily comply with the food storage order, even in areas where the order has not been officially implemented," Barber said.




Barber said the one bright spot is that this is a good year for army cutworm moths, another important food for bears.

Re: Yellowstone Newspaper news

Bears, sex and Woody Allen



By Dan Whipple



UPI Science News




One of the greatest conservation victories of the past century is the recovery from near-extinction of the grizzly bear in the lower 48 states -- especially the famous bears in Yellowstone National Park.




So why isn't everyone cheering?




In 1982, I went to a meeting in Yellowstone of bear afficionados in which a bear biologist reported he believed there were only 47 reproducing female grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park. He showed a graph with a single, sharply declining line indicating population trends. It projected extinction for grizzlies in the park by the early 1990s.




Now, only 20 years later, by official estimates there are 500 to 800 specimens of Ursus arctos in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem, and some biologists think the number may be as high as 1,000.




According to U.S. Geological Survey biologist Dave Mattson, the success of grizzly bear recovery can be laid squarely at the door of the federal Endangered Species Act. Writing with co-author Troy Merrill in the August issue of the journal Conservation Biology, Mattson said, "Our results show that changes in human attitudes and behavior have been critical to the survival of grizzly bears form 1970 to the present ... This is direct evidence for the dramatic beneficial effect of conservation policies enacted through legislation such as the U.S. Endangered Species Act."




Despite this success, and what University of Alberta biologist Mark Boyce has called the saturation of available habitat by grizzlies, Mattson and Merrill urge that the grizzly bear be kept on the endangered species list.




Because of some threats to its food supply -- especially whitebark pine -- they write, "The apparent robustness of Yellowstone's grizzly bear range is deceptive ... Virtually all the whitebark pine in the system is projected to be lost either to an exotic pathogen or to global climate warming ... Such vulnerability emphasizes the need for concern over loss of this food and argues for the inadvisability of removing any legal protections for this population."




That is one viewpoint.




Dave Moody, trophy game coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, told United Press International it probably is time to remove the Yellowstone grizzly from the endangered list.




"It has met or exceeded all of the recovery criteria specified in the 1993 recovery plan," Moody said.




This situation reminds me of a scene in Woody Allen's film, "Annie Hall." Allen's character Alvy Singer is answering his therapist, who has asked how often he and the eponymous Annie have sex.




"Hardly ever," he complains. "Three times a week."




Meanwhile, on the other half of the screen, Annie is answering the same question posed by her shrink.




"All the time," she kvetches. "Three times a week."




Regarding grizzlies, one side says there are hardly any in the Yellowstone ecosystem: 500 to 800. The other side claims there are plenty of them: 500 to 800.




Why the conflict? Part of it is political. Removing the bear from the endangered species list would take most of the control of its management out of the hands of scientists and place it with the states surrounding Yellowstone -- Idaho, Montana and especially Wyoming.




Louisa Willcox has been an activist with several conservation groups involved almost exclusively with grizzly bear recovery for the last 20 years. "It is a success in the sense that bears are there, when there was some real question 20 years ago about whether that would be so," she told UPI.




"People like Dave Moody are a large part of the reason why bears are here," Willcox said. "(But) we have different views on the future. It comes down to your faith in the political system. And looking at the history of wildlife conservation in states like Wyoming -- not at the Moody level, but at the political level, at the governor's level -- what is there that suggests we be optimistic about Wyoming's ability to keep the bear healthy?"




Sure enough, this past spring, the commissioners of Fremont County, Wyoming, which is important bear habitat just south of Yellowstone, passed a resolution prohibiting grizzly bears -- and, in passing, wolves -- from living in their county. How it was to be enforced, however, they did not say. Bears do not often read county commission resolutions.




"I think that the bear has been on everybody's radar screen for so long and there are a lot of people who have made careers out of it," Moody commented. "And there's the fact that the bear stands as a symbol for wild country, maintaining back-country values."




Moody said the grizzly has become a poster child for people who have "different regimes and goals and what they want to see long term like dealing other land use issues. The bear should be addressed as a species."




As Mattson's work indicates, the bear also is a poster child for the Endangered Species Act, both its effectiveness in protecting endangered species and in its legal power. The ESA is the 1,600-pound gorilla.




The wildlife managers who have protected the grizzly bear have made many courageous decisions the ESA gave them the clout to enforce. To give but one example, they forced the closing off of dumps to the bears.




Dumps had become prime grizzly habitat, with bears foraging among last night's roast beef and mashed potatoes for today's meal. There were lots of reasons to close the dumps. For instance, dump scavenging encouraged bear-human encounters, which inevitably ended in the bear being shot.




Part of the reasoning might almost be called "moral." Many scientists and activists wanted to save grizzlies only as wild animals, not as semi-domesticated dump scavengers.




Closing the dumps was not popular, however, because it made it harder for tourists to see bears. Also, during the first couple of years after the dumps were closed, bear numbers dropped. Lots of people, some scientists included, argued the continued existence of the grizzly was more important than retaining its "wildness." They wanted the dumps reopened or supplemental feeding instituted for the animals.




Managers resisted this pressure.




Being a conservation poster child cuts both ways, of course. Grizzlies require lots of room to roam. A paper published in 1998 found grizzlies require 50,000 square kilometers to have a 90 percent chance of survival. When the animal is protected by the extremely strict ESA, this can result in tough limitations on economic activity in bear habitat.




This issue is more than theoretical. The Bridger-Teton mountain range around Yellowstone is a major oil and natural gas zone. Conservationists have used the grizzly bear to slow or prevent oil and gas drilling the area, pleading ESA habitat protections.




Attorney Steven Quarles, with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Crowell and Moring, said, "Until recently, environmental laws and regulations have required the regulated and regulators to pay close attention to only the non-living resources, such as air, water and waste."




Until the ESA was enacted, Quarles continued, "and except for migratory species protected by international treaties, federal environmental laws and regulations did not feature and seldom referred to living resources."




The regulated community is "seriously crabby" about the living resource laws, he said.




Living resource laws such as ESA unquestionably have led to a rejuvenation of grizzly bear populations. The application to this healthy, growing -- and dangerous -- animal population will test our commitment to biodiversity.




Copyright © 2002 United Press International


Beetles could destroy most North Fork trees

Beetles could destroy most North Fork trees




CODY, Wyo. (AP) - About 70 percent of the trees along the North Fork of the Shoshone River in the Shoshone National Forest will die from a beetle infestation, district ranger Brent Larson said.




The gray- and red-needled, dying trees are "symptomatic of problems throughout the West," Larson said.




"They're not unique to Cody and the North Fork corridor," he said. "It's Mother Nature's way of cleaning up a forest."




While trees harbor an endemic population of beetles, the insects found an easy entree into the forest stressed by the 1988 fires.




"They hit the mother lode," Larson said.




In the last four or five years the beetle devastation has accelerated because of the drought, he said.




The infestation begins with a female beetle who finds a tree and emits a pheromone. The males follow and when the density peaks, "The party's over," Larson said.




The female lays eggs around the trunk, which girdles and kills the tree. Larson knows of no effective treatment besides a fire or weather.




"A really cold, long, nasty winter would kill the beetles," he said.




Other options are limited because of the forest's terrain, structures and its function as crucial range for elk and bighorn sheep.




Forest officials are concerned about the infestation because of the decline in forest habitat and deciduous trees, fuel build up and threat of wildfire. A fire along the river's corridor would threaten to close U.S. 14-16-20, which passes through Cody and into Yellowstone National Park.




"The corridor is the life blood for the community and the Big Horn Basin," Larson said.




Additional concerns are public safety, water quality and visual resources.




Driven by those concerns, forest managers decided to launch a vegetative management plan, which would produce a diverse, uneven-age forest.




Some possible treatments include eliminating conifer encroachment, constructing sheltered fuel breaks through thinning, conducting prescribed burns, creating defensible spaces around structures and opening up areas for deciduous trees.




The options would apply to the corridor outside wilderness, mainly along the Shoshone River. In the wilderness, Larson said, the fire policy dictates assessing the risk of letting a fire burn.




"With the corridor's condition, we're in full suppression mode every time we get a fire," he added.


Yellowstone seeks anglers' help

Yellowstone seeks anglers' help




YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Park officials are appealing to anglers to help control lake trout in Yellowstone Lake.




They are providing maps of lake trout spawning areas for shore and boat anglers in hope that more of the nonnative fish will be caught.




"Lake trout are beginning to move to their spawning beds and are vulnerable to anglers during September and October," park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis said.




"There is no creel limit for lake trout on Yellowstone Lake and the more removed, the better."




She recommended fishing in the lake's West Thumb area, where there is a large concentration of lake trout between 16 inches and 8 pounds.




According to the National Park Service, lake trout were discovered in the lake in 1994. Lake trout threaten the park's population of cutthroat trout, which are smaller.




One large lake trout can eat as many as 50 cutthroat trout in a year.




Yellowstone Lake is the largest remaining undisturbed natural habitat of Yellowstone cutthroat, which live and spawn in shallow streams and lake waters and provide food for at least 42 species of birds and mammals.




Park officials have also been using gill nets to try to control the lake trout population.


Steamboat Geyser has 2nd major eruption of the year


by Jim Macdonald




For the second time this year, the world's largest geyser, Steamboat Geyser, in the Norris Geyser Basin, has erupted. Thanks to the geyser listserv, I have the following information.




Steamboat Geyser erupted on September 13 at 10:20 PM MDT, the water phase lasted just over an hour, and the steam phase was ongoing (as of 9/14 at 11 AM MDT). According to Sandy Nykerk, the person who posted this to the listserv, rangers were there. She also reported the rumor that someone had lights so that the geyser could be seen.




Steamboat last had a major eruption on April 26. At the time, rangers were not sure whether anyone had witnessed the eruption. In the days following, it turned out that some tourists from Cincinnati had seen it but had not realized that they were witnessing a unique event. Previously, Steamboat erupted on May 2, 2000, and before that, October 2, 1991.




The enormous geyser can eject water between 300 and 400 feet. More frequently, the geyser has minor eruptions, which spray water between 6 and 8 feet.




For more pictures of the May 2000 eruption, go to http://www.nps.gov/yell/press/images/steamboatpics/, or to http://yellowstoneassociation.org/whatsnew/steamboat.htm.




I want to thank Bob Berger for making this information available to me.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I will be posting articles on the Yellowstone region on the discussion forum, especially AP stories reported in the Casper Star-Tribune. This paper has a lot of useful stories, especially from the Grand Teton region, but they roll their stories off every few days. I want them up much longer. This discussion forum only rolls off as it gets too large.




Jim

Re: Grand Teton lodging contracts to open for bidding

Grand Teton lodging contracts to open for bidding




MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) -- Grand Teton National Park soon plans to open for bidding the contracts to run many of the park's businesses.




A tour will be offered Oct. 2 to show prospective bidders the operations run by two of the park's biggest concessionaires: Grand Teton Lodge Company and Signal Mountain Lodge.




"This will be the first time that both of these two large concessionaires have to competitively bid for a new contract under the 1998 act," park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.




In 1998, Congress overhauled the guidelines governing concessions contracts, with the goal of increasing competition.




Concessionaires were previously given preferential treatment in that they were allowed to continue their contracts by matching the highest bid submitted for them. That is no longer allowed under the new guidelines.




Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., was a leader of the reforms.




The Grand Teton Lodge Company is the park's biggest concessionaire with average gross receipts of about $25 million annually over the past three years, according to park officials.




The company manages Jackson Lake Lodge, Jenny Lake Lodge, Colter Bay Village, an RV park, tent cabins, five restaurants, a bar, eight retail outlets, a marina, two corrals, three service stations, bus tours, boat tours, guided float and fishing trips, employee housing and other services.




Signal Mountain Lodge, meanwhile, manages lodging, three restaurants, two retail outlets, a bar, two marinas, guided float trips and employee housing. The company's average gross receipts have been about $4 million annually over the past three years.




Bids on the concession contracts will begin to be accepted sometime this winter.


Yellowstone wants to improve west entrance

Yellowstone wants to improve west entrance




YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Yellowstone officials plan to build a larger West Entrance station to improve visitor safety and service.




Superintendent Suzanne Lewis announced Friday that the National Park Service has begun exploring alternatives for a new station at West Yellowstone, Mont., and asked the public for ideas.




The Park Service proposes to construct a station farther into the park but no more than a mile from the boundary. The project may also include a visitor contact station.




Among the problems with the existing building is that today's taller and wider vehicles routinely hit the station or its detached roof, officials said.




Also, because the station is next to West Yellowstone, a line of vehicles entering the park often backs up into town, creating congestion. Installation of an express kiosk has not solved the problem because the lane leading to it is too short, officials said.




In addition, the station lacks adequate office space and restroom facilities and has no room for visitor information services.




Construction of the new entrance station is to begin in the fall of 2004 or spring of 2005.




Before altering or razing the existing one, the Park Service will determine if it is eligible for listing on the National Historic Register.




The public's concerns will be addressed in an environmental assessment being prepared for the project, Lewis said.




Comments may be sent to Planning Office, West Entrance Project, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 82190. The deadline is Nov. 15, 2002.




----




On the Net: http://www.nps.gov/yell


Coalition created for clean air

Coalition created for clean air




DRIGGS, Idaho (AP) - Mayor Louis Christensen lived in southern California, so he's seen what air pollution can do.


He did not want the same thing to happen in the Upper Snake River Valley so he joined leaders from through the three-state Greater Yellowstone Region to make The Greater Yellowstone/Teton Clean Cities Coalition part of the national Clean Cities Coalition. It is the first member to include two national parks.




"I watched as the San Bernardino Mountains became covered in smog," Christensen said. "I don't want to see that happen in Teton Valley."




Their attack on air pollution includes finding new ways to power cars and trucks.




Alternative fuel vehicles are already being used by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory for commuters to the site from Idaho Falls and other locations. Yellowstone National Park also has a prototype 27-seat bus that was developed by engineers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. It can run on biodiesel or natural gas.




In addition to relieving congestion on the park's 350 miles of roads, the new vehicle could also lessen pollution caused by almost three million visitors annually.




Idaho Falls Mayor Linda Milam laid the groundwork for the regional membership in the national coalition back in 1997 when she first heard about the national group, that is made up primarily of urban areas already fighting air pollution.




City leaders went to their counterparts throughout the region in communities like Driggs, Jackson and Cody, Wyo. and Bozeman, Mont. to create a three-state group the size of Connecticut with 260,000 residents and 80 percent of the land in federal hands.




"You seldom get a coalition that is exclusively in a rural area because there is a lot of funding attached to the clean cities program," said Jon Lear, deputy coordinator of the regional effort to join the Clean Cities Coalition.




"Rather than taking an urban area where there is already an air quality problem, the effort here is to try to preserve something significant to the Greater Yellowstone area," he said.

Yellowstone tourism season strong

Yellowstone tourism season strong




CODY, Wyo. (AP) - Tourism was strong for Yellowstone National Park and Park County this summer, according to tourism officials.


That's in contrast with places like Grand Canyon and Death Valley, where tourism has been down this year.




"We're almost an island in some respects," said Rick Hoeninghausen, director of sales and marketing for Yellowstone National Park lodges.




Two Cody attractions reported especially high visitation through August. Attendance was up nearly 20 percent at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, which opened its new Draper Museum of Natural History on June 4, and attendance increased nearly 11 percent for the Cody Nite Rodeo.




Both the historical center and the Park County Travel Council boosted their marketing efforts this year, the Cody Enterprise reports.

Teton land swap approved by Congress

Teton land swap approved by Congress


By The Associated Press




The U.S. House on Tuesday approved a land exchange between the state of Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park.




The bill, passed by a voice vote, heads to President Bush's desk.




Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., sponsored the measure, which was passed by the Senate last October.




The proposal would allow the state to trade 1,406 acres of state school land and mineral interests within the park to the National Park Service. In exchange, the state would receive federal money and land elsewhere of equal value.




Money raised through the trade would go to Wyoming's school land trust, earnings of which help pay for K-12 education.




"Wyoming's children deserve the benefit of Wyoming's lands, and this bill helps deliver that benefit," Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., said in a release.




When Wyoming was granted statehood, the federal government gave it scattered parcels of trust lands for the benefit of schools. The parcels in Thomas' bill were later surrounded when Grand Teton National Park was created and their use was limited.




The state has been leasing the lands for grazing and wildlife protection, raising about $2,000 annually. Absent an appraisal, state officials have guessed their value on the open market would be about $100 million.




Three parcels of land and a 40-acre tract of subsurface mineral interests would be exchanged.




The mineral interest is in the northern part of the park near Jackson Lake. The smallest parcel, 86 acres, is across the Snake River from the Jackson Hole Airport.




The two largest parcels, 640 acres each, are in the southern and eastern portions of the park near some of the park's roads.




The bill is S. 1105.




----

Update from the Field 10/03/02


Update from the Field 10/03/02




Buffalo Supporters,




As the snow falls to the ground outside, my tears follow. Yesterday marks the earliest buffalo being killed in Buffalo field Campaign's five year history. Three bull buffalo were less than one half mile outside Yellowstone National Park and now lay dead in a slaughterhouse. Last week all cattle in the area were loaded up and taken out of the area , to pastures where they spend most of the year. The Montana Department of Livestock (DOL), the agency that killed the three buffalo, did not even test for brucellosis before shipping them to slaughter. In their own press release they stated they have hazed these bulls at least seven times. All these hazing operations were conducted while the cattle were present. It makes no sense that buffalo are killed when the cows will not be back here until June 2003. The DOL's actions attest to the fact that the current slaughter has nothing to do with disease control. How long shall the people of Montana and the United States fund this senseless destruction of the only continuously wild bison population in the world?




Each winter I watch the MDOL fly their helicopters 20 feet off the ground terrifying all in their path. I watched 300 trumpeter swans take flight as a helicopter flew into their feeding grounds. Trumpeter swans are listed as sensitive under the Endangered Species Act. All wildlife are affected when helicopters, snowmobiles, ATVs, 4 by 4 trucks, and horses roar into their habitat. Winter is also the time when animals need to be conserving energy, not being constantly chased. The DOL have no training in wildlife biology or management yet they run the circus out here. The Park Service and the DOL are now saying that the buffalo herd has grown to 4,045, up from last year's estimated 3,300 to 3,500. With 202 buffalo killed last year, not counting the pregnant moms as two, this year looks to be a very difficult one for the buffalo.




Our Governor, Judy Martz, continues to slander environmentalists as "eco-terroists" while she applauds the extractive industries. "There's not a one of you in this room that isn't a true environmentalist," she told representatives from Exxon-Mobil, ARCO, Burlington Northern, and Smurfit-Stone Container on Tuesday. -- some of Montana's worst polluters.




Call Governor Martz and tell her you do not support the slaughter of America's last wild, genetically pure bison. Demand protection for the bison of Yellowstone National Park and Montana. Call, fax, and email Governor Martz today!




In Montana:1-800-332-2272


out of state (406) 444-3111


fax406) 444-4151


email: jdelger@state.mt.us




This year is looking to be the hardest one yet. We need your help more than ever. Funds are getting low, we continue to gather firewood, and patrols have started up again. Our ability to be here has always relied upon the people and the people have always made us real. We thank you for supporting us through the years and pray for the day when our work is no longer needed.




With the Buffalo,




Mike Mease






------------------------------------




Kitchen Update and Request






Dear buffalo people,




Another winter season of feeding the defenders of the last wild free-roaming bison is upon us. This means that soon loads of hungry volunteers will be arriving on our doorstep ready to sacrifice for the bison . This year some changes are taking place that require us to reach out and ask for help so that we can feed the people and stay strong. The wonderful folks of Seeds of Peace who have for many years provided kitchen equipment and served incredible meals to hundreds of volunteers here will no longer be providing this service. Seeds will remain part of the BFC family and many of the same cooks will be gracing us with their talents, but starting this winter the coordination of the kitchen will be the responsibility of the campaign. We want to thank Seeds for all their love and dedication to this campaign and to all the other causes they continue to serve and support.




Because Seeds will be needing their kitchen equipment, and we need to be functioning in just a few weeks, WE ARE IN DIRE NEED OF INDUSTRIAL/RESTAURANT QUALITY KITCHEN EQUIPMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




We serve four plus meals a day, every day from November to June, to an average of 20 to 60 people. It's a lot of food, a lot of work , a lot of love, and is central to the well-being of everyone and all that we do here. Anyone who would like to help us out and donate and or purchase any of the items on the following list WE WOULD LOVE YOU FOR IT. Please let us know as soon as possible if you can make a donation.




THE KITCHEN IS THE HEART OF EVERY HOME AND COMMUNITY. Please help us keep our hearts strong.






10 and 20 qt. stainless steel pots and lids




regular kitchen size stainless pots and pans with lids




industrial size wok and sautee/fry pans




regular kitchen size heavy duty sautee pans




hotel pans with lids (all sizes)




industrial sized coffee grinder




kitchen-aid mixer




industrial strength food processor




industrial strength juicer




large meat grinder




Cambro containers for transporting hot food to the field




pressure cooker




large insulated hot pots for liquids




large chest type freezer




non-aluminum baking sheets and pizza pans




gas oven/range






Thanks and blessings for the buffalo,




Amani




Kitchen Coordinator


Buffalo Field Campaign






-------------------------------------------




"We are the watchers. We are the witnesses. We see what has gone before. We see what happens now, at this dangerous moment in human history. We see what's going to happen, what will surely happen unless we come together---we , the Peoples of all Nations---to restore peace, harmony and balance to the Earth, our Mother."




--Chief Arvol Looking Horse


-------------------------------------------




Buffalo Field Campaign


PO Box 957


West Yellowstone, MT 59758


(406) 646-0070


www.wildrockies.org/buffalo






Buffalo Field Campaign


(formerly Buffalo Nations)


PO Box 957


West Yellowstone, MT 59758


406-646-0070 phone


406-646-0071 fax


buffalo@wildrockies.org


www.wildrockies.org/buffalo


For The Buffalo


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--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I will be posting articles on the Yellowstone region on the discussion forum, especially AP stories reported in the Casper Star-Tribune. This paper has a lot of useful stories, especially from the Grand Teton region, but they roll their stories off every few days. I want them up much longer. This discussion forum only rolls off as it gets too large.




Jim

Weather helps Grand Teton prescribed burns

Weather helps Grand Teton prescribed burns




MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) - Favorable weather helped fire crews carry out two prescribed burns in Grand Teton National Park.


The goal of the burns was to reduce fuel for wildfires and to improve wildlife habitat, according to park officials.




One burn Sept. 28 covered about 120 acres of sagebrush between Gros Ventre Road and the Gros Ventre River west of Kelly.




"Now there will be a buffer area west of town," park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said. "In the event we get a lightning strike out there it will help us defend the town of Kelly."




The fire was originally planned for last spring but was not carried out because the weather was so dry and hot.




A 1,700-acre burn was also completely recently on Wolff Ridge south of Moran. The goal of that fire was to burn aging aspen and sagebrush.




Aspen depend on fire and other disturbances to regenerate. Wyoming has lost half its aspen stands over the past 100 years due to fire suppression.

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