Articles

Grand Loop Road segment collapses near Canyon

[Tuesday May 13, 2008] A section of the Grand Loop Road collapsed Monday, forcing the road to be closed south of Canyon Junction. The issue is a little complicated: the road sunk (which was bad enough), but then it broke a water line underneath, causing more damage in the form of a washed-out road bed. Basically, the problem area is a …

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Hazing bison — another symbolic gesture

[Thursday May 15, 2008] It’s a classic situation: During a very rough winter, almost 400 bison from Yellowstone National Park wandered over the park boundary north of West Yellowstone, lumbered across U.S. Highway 191 and onto Horse Butte peninsula that juts into Hebgen Lake – a clear case of the grass being greener on the other side of the road. Unfortunately for the bison, this may be …

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As goes Yellowstone’s ecology, so goes the nation’s

[Sunday May 25, 2008] As goes Yellowstone National Park, so goes the rest of the nation’s ecology — at least, that’s always been the theory. We’re now a step closer to cementing that as a reality, as Montana State University officials announced their efforts to bring an ecological observatory near Yellowstone National Park are moving closer to fruition. The proposal …

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Preparing for the 2009 Yellowstone Season: The Lodging Challenge

Last year was a pretty good one in terms of visitors at Yellowstone National Park — good if you want to see lots of people seeing the sights, less so if you like the back trails to yourself, of course. Chances are pretty good you could have more of the park to yourself this coming summer season, as a spot …

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Back in the Public Forum: Guns in National Parks

[Wednesday April 30, 2008] Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne proposed on Wednesday to allow concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges on the condition that the gun owner has a valid permit for a concealed weapon in the state where the park or refuge is located. For Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks this means that people with Wyoming …

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Grazing deal a tiny step toward effective bison management

[Thursday April 17, 2008]  The purchase of grazing rights at Royal Teton Ranch was hailed by officials as a step forward in quelling the controversy over winter bison slaughters in the Yellowstone National Park ecosystem, but the reality is that the agreement will do little than slap a temporary bandage over the issue. The National Park Service and the state …

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Lining up for a great fishing season

[Monday April 22, 2008]  The 2008 Yellowstone fishing season promises to be a big improvement. Thanks to the abundant snow this winter, the streams and rivers of Yellowstone will be running ‘almost normal’ after several years of drought and high water temperatures. Last year, during mid summer, the Firehole River and several other park streams were closed to fishing in …

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Mystery herd: Are mountain bison still in Yellowstone?

[Friday April 25,2008]  While the debate rages about this year’s managed killing and winter loss of half the Northern Range bison herd, it is probably not a coincidence that another bison issue has popped up. In a news release Wednesday April 23 by the Park Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) referencing a recent paper by Robert Jackson, a former backcountry …

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Royal Teton ranch sells off cattle; bison boundaries to be expanded?

[Wednesday April 16, 2008] The owners of the Royal Teton Ranch north of Yellowstone National Park have sold off their cattle in anticipation of the sale of grazing rights to more than 7,000 acres, clearing the way for an expansion of the area bison can roam outside the boundaries of the Park without the threat of slaughter. The pending sale, …

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Is it worth $4 million to keep the Sylvan Pass open in winter?

[Friday April 25, 2008] The stakes were raised in Cody’s fight to keep the Sylvan Pass open in winter after Yellowstone National Park officials reported it would require an investment of $4 million — money Yellowstone Park officials are not willing or able to pay. The Sylvan Pass is prone to avalanches and is often closed for that reason. Cody …

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