News

Another bear casualty in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem -- this time in the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club -- has officials from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department steamed about the club's poor practices regarding bears.

The Arthur 2 Fire near Yellowstone National Park's East Entrance is smaller than originally estimated and runs little chance of spreading significantly, leading the Northern Rockies Wildland Fire Management to withdraw resources from the area.

Tomorrow sees the dedication of the new Visitor Education Center at Old Faithful Inn. Here's the agenda, should you decide to head to an impressive addition to the services in Yellowstone National Park.

The Arthur 2 Fire has grown to 218 acres and has the potential to impact operations at the East Entrance, but cool, wet weather is stifling the fire's growth, leading experts to predict no major spread today and tonight.

Two more bear deaths were reported last week in Yellowstone National Park, bumping the 2010 total to seven -- and that doesn't count the bears relocated or euthanized just outside the Park's boundaries. Why has this been such a bad summer for bears? The answer seems to be in the humble pine cone.

Fire-spotters noted another small fire in Yellowstone National Park, near the East Entrance, but efforts to scout it out were hampered by windy conditions yesterday, preventing the NPS from launching a helicopter to assess the situation. UPDATED

The semi-annual estimate of the Yellowstone National Park bison population is out, now pegged at 3,900 bison -- up significantly from last summer's estimate of 3,300 bison, but far short of the peak population of 5,000 in 2005.

The results of the necropsy on the grizzly bear that killed one and mauled two others in the Soda Butte Campground outside Yellowstone National Park indicates that she was ill and stressed but not baited, providing some vital clues that could certainly explain her condition.

The assumption from the folks at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department is that the state's wolf population needs "management" -- but a recent court decision holding them protected under the Endangered Species Act makes it impossible.

We'll be in Yellowstone National Park, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, on Aug. 25 when the new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center is dedicated and opened to the public. We hope you are too -- but if you can't, here's a sneak peak.