Vol 3, # 26

   Monday, March 8, 1999

YELLOWSTONE
WEATHER
Highs 20s, Lows 0s
Possible Snow
 

Yellowstone Net Home Page

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- A recent National Park Service study has concluded that Yellowstone's wildlife is endangered by speeding motorists.

Through most of Yellowstone's roadways, the speed limit is a maximum of 45 miles per hour.  The lone exception is a stretch of highway 191 which slices through the northwest corner of the Park.  The speed limit within Park boundaries on 191, which is the only commercial roadway running through the Park, is 55 miles per hour.   This section of roadway makes up about 7% of the total road miles in Yellowstone, yet accounted for some 40% of road-killed wildlife in the Park from 1989-1996.   Anyone who has traveled that stretch of roadway in Yellowstone is well aware that many motorists drive much faster than 55 miles per hour, which certainly contributes to the wildlife death toll on the highway.

All told, very few wildlife are killed in Park speed zones of 40 miles per hour or lower.  In short, speeding motorists do pose a threat to Yellowstone's wildlife.

Are enough wildlife killed by motorists to significantly impact their populations in the Yellowstone area?  No.  Would Yellowstone's wildlife be safer if motorists obeyed the speed limits.  Absolutely.  And so would motorists!   Full-grown bison, elk or moose can easily total an automobile.

According to Park Service records, nearly 1000 large mammals were killed by motorists between 1989 and 1996, including 375 elk, 286 mule deer, 79 bison, 76 moose and 2 grizzly.

So, the next time you visit Yellowstone, take your time ... and protect the wildlife!

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS

Ralph Maughan
Kim Steinbacher
Kevin Sanders
Steve Brashear
Clint Wilkes
Tim Gourley
Hon. Bob Gammage
Ruth Colter-Frick
Lee Whittlesey
Tom Mazzarisi
Russ Finley
David Monteith
Denise Elmer
Dr. Bob Bara

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- In recent years, Yellowstone has experience a series of sewage problems, brought about primarily by the refusal of Congress since the Reagan years to allocate enough money to maintain the basic infrastructure of Yellowstone's facilities. Old Faithful village in particular has experienced sewer problems during the past few years, raising fear of sewage leaks contaminating the geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin.

A major step forward was achieved this past fall when Congress finally agreed to address the sewage problems in Yellowstone.   Yellowstone officials are to be commended for continuing to lobby an often indifferent Congress for the funds to replace Yellowstone's aging plumbing.

Indeed, some $2.5 is now being allocated to replace the plumbing at Old Faithful.  All told, some 140 projects are now on the drawing board in an effort to bring Yellowstone's sewage infrastructure to up to date.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a study which determines that the reintroduction of wolves into Olympic National Park in western Washington state is viable.  Wolves were once native to the Olympic Peninsula, but were eradicated by the 1920s at the hands of ranchers.  The Fish and Wildlife study declares that Olympic's habitat could support more than 50 gray wolves, and that the wolves would have virtually no impact on wildlife outside the Park.

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GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK, Alaska   --  High standards for minimizing pollution and maintaining healthy competition within the cruise ship industry were key factors in a February decision to distribute 42 entry permits for cruise ships going to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. The number of cruise ships entering the bay during the peak season of June, July and August is limited to 139, with no more than two per day, to protect park resources. The permit system is complex and operates under several overlapping laws. Of the 139 permits, 71 are given to historic operators as provided for in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980; and 68 are periodically offered for competitive bids in a prospectus. The awards made last month stem from a February 1998 prospectus, and cover cruise ship operations from 2000 to 2004.

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