It’s not often a new pack pops up in Yellowstone National Park. Especially when it pops up right on the doorstep of the Park’s headquarters. But that’s exactly what happened this weekend when a remnant of the Hayden Park decided to den right outside Mammoth Hot Springs. Now dubbed the Canyon Pack, the group of three males and one female …

So much for a Yellowstone wolf pack avoiding contact with humans. A small pack — three black males and a gray female — have taken up residence a quarter mile east of Yellowstone National Park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs. Complicating things: the female probably gave birth to a litter in recent days. Now, we’re not going to tell you …

It’s official: the Obama Administration went ahead with a delisting of grey wolves from the Endangered Species list, removing protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana but retaining protections in Wyoming. The delisting, which was first proposed by the Bush Administration and then approved by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, would allow the hunting of wolves in every state …

There’s not a lot of time to prepare for the crowds at Yellowstone National Park — a point made clear by the first trail closure of the nascent 2009 season, as construction work on a popular, short trail will temporarily curtail the opportunity to view an iconic Yellowstone waterfall. Park trail crews will work on the half-mile trail leading to …

Some argue the best time to visit Yellowstone National Park isn’t the height of summer when the weather is gorgeous and the crowds descend on the Park’s hot spots, but rather now: the early days of the season when visitors are scarce and the wildlife is out. You can tell we’re a little itchy to head out to Yellowstone, but …

How long will it take to see Yellowstone? Wiseguy answer: A lifetime.  

Don’t even think about racing around Yellowstone. The park’s 154 miles of main highway, the Grand Loop Road, is in the shape of a figure eight, but it’s no race track. For one thing, most of the other people in the park are not in a big hurry. The general park speed limit is 45 miles per hour but in normal traffic you’ll be lucky to average 30 miles per hour. Visiting park attractions takes time (parking, walking, and waiting for geysers). Figure ½ hour to 2 hours for almost every stop. Plus there will be any number of unscheduled stops, such as waiting for a bison herd to cross the road.

Another legal salvo has been fired in the controversial wolf-management plan proposed earlier this year, as the Greater Yellowstone Coalition filed its own lawsuit opposing the removal of the wolf from the Endangered Species list.

Year by year the distribution of wolf packs in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem becomes larger and more dense. New packs spring up, or move, each year. Some packs disappear, in some cases because the wolves naturally die off or split, in other cases, such as the Moccasin Pack near Red Lodge, Montana, because they are eradicated by agreement of the relevant state …

Sightseeing isn't the only thing to do in the Yellowstone Region; but it's way ahead of whatever is in second place. Even people who come to the area to do things like fishing or hiking will spend a portion of their time seeing (or re-seeing) the sights. So, the question "What's to see?" has got to be very important for making plans. Besides, the Greater Yellowstone Region is one of the most beautiful and scenic in the United States; sightseeing goes with the territory.

For those worried about a slow season ahead in Yellowstone National Park, the May numbers should alleviate some concerns, as the National Park Service announces visitor numbers for May 2009 were up sharply over a year ago.