When there are discussions of poaching in Yellowstone National Park, the talk usually involves animals of some sort, but earlier this month scofflaws were stopped from poaching eggs in a thermal feature in Biscuit Basin.

It's time for another free weekend in Yellowstone National Park, as entrance fees to America's oldest National Park will be waived on July 18-19, the second time this summer the Park Service has taken this step to spur interest in national treasures.

This should be an event worth attending: some of the area's top researchers and scientists -- including ichthyologists, ornithologists, mammalogists, entomologists, herpetologists and botanists -- will be gathering in Yellowstone National Park on Aug. 28-29 for the first-ever Yellowstone National Park BioBlitz, a 24-hour inventory of all living organisms.

Access to the greater Gibbon Falls area is closed effective immediately, as road construction between Norris and Madison on the Grand Loop Road forces the National Park Service to cut off access to the area. The closure will run through the entire 2009 season.