News

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 …

[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 …

[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 …

[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 …

[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 …

[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, …

[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 …

[Monday April 14, 2008] After several years of drought and meager accumulation of snow in the mountains (the mountain snow pack), areas throughout the Greater Yellowstone Region are reporting deeper than average snow pack for this time of year. From the Beartooth Mountains in the east, where snow pack at 8,000 feet is above six feet, to the South Entrance …

[Thursday April 10, 2008]  As the ice begins to melt on Yellowstone Lake, action begins on a new alliance between the East Yellowstone Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to raise money for research into more effective ways to rid the lake of predatory lake trout. The research will be conducted by Montana State University in …

[Monday April 28, 2008] Facing a rising uproar over the slaughter of 1700 Yellowstone Park bison this winter – on top of a winter kill of at least 700 – Yellowstone Park officials and their partners in the Interagency Bison Management Plan have stopped the slaughter of bison (with the exception of “some adult bulls”) that are caught heading outside the …