Vol 3, #82

   Friday, September 24, 1999

YELLOWSTONE
WEATHER
Highs 60s, Lows 20s
Partly Sunny
 

Yellowstone Net Home Page
 

ROAD REPORT
Some road
construction
delays.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPS) -- Saturday, September 25th, over 30,000 people of all ages will volunteer their time and energy making needed improvements at close to 200 parks, forests, lakes, wildlife refuges and recreation areas across America - from Hawaii to Puerto Rico, and from Alaska to Texas.

The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF), which coordinates National Public Lands Day (NPLD), projects that over $5 million in needed improvements will be completed through this annual volunteer effort.   Kevin Coyle, NEETF president noted, "National Public Lands Day is America's fastest growing and most  effective conservation event.  It's the number one chance for people to get their hands dirty on behalf of these irreplaceable natural resources."

Sponsored nationally by Toyota, the dramatic growth of NPLD from 1,700 participants at nine sites in 1996, to over 30,000 participants in almost every state, reflects the growing sense of community and commitment to our public lands felt by Americans.  It also signifies the increasing awareness that local, state and federal land management agencies can no longer, alone, guarantee that our public lands will meet the recreational and environmental needs of future generations.  Only "shared stewardship" - giving something back to the lands from those who use them - will ensure their continuing beauty and value.

A sample of the projects that will take place this year include, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, where volunteers will restore a trail and then take a sunset hike with a view of the Hollywood Bowl, Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie in Wilmington, Illinois, where volunteers will have on a choice of five different projects ranging from restoration of prairie grass to archeological work, and 1,000 Hands, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where volunteers will participate in a five-day, round the clock marathon to build a new playground, as well as countless other projects across the country.  For information on volunteering and the sites near you call 1-800-VOL-TEER (1-800-865-8337), or check out www.npld.com.

Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, stated, "Our public lands belong to everyone.  National Public Lands Day is the perfect opportunity to take some time to give back to those lands and to ensure that they are well cared for and available for future generations."

National Public Lands Day is a partnership among the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation and a number of federal agencies including; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Land Management, Defense Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority, as well as numerous state and local agencies.   In addition to national sponsorship by Toyota, support for NPLD is provided by REI, BHP, Leave No Trace, and the Outdoor Life Network. 

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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. -- The scientific world has placed high hopes in Yellowstone National Park as a place where new medical cures and technological breakthroughs may take place in the next century.  The actual object of these high hopes?  Yellowstone's smallest organisms, known as "microbes."

Next week NASA scientists will lower miniature digital cameras baited with insects and leaves into Yellowstone's hot springs in hopes of finding and extracting larger microbes that might thrive in extreme environments. Currently it is believed that only single-celled organisms can live in such extreme conditions, but NASA hopes to discover multi-celled organisms in the hot springs environment.  Beyond this, NASA sees the exploration of Yellowstone's hot springs as practice for future space missions to probe for cellular life in outer space.

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- Two teenage shooting suspects were arrested in Yellowstone on Tuesday.  They were wanted for connection in a non-fatal drive-by shooting in Spirit Lake, Idaho.   Authorities, who first came into contact with the suspects when they were illegally camping in the Park, chased the suspect's car through the Park's northern roadways and out of the Park at the northern gate.  The pursuit continued through Gardiner, Montana and north on U.S. 89 towards Livingston.  The suspects, however, fled their vehicle about fifteen miles north of Gardiner, and were soon apprehended by authorities.   Both suspects are from Idaho.

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GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- Grand Teton Lodge Company, the Park's largest concessionaire, has voiced support for raising the state sales tax within the Park.  Currently, the state levies a four-cent tax, and Teton County adds an additional two cents in Grand Teton.   The proposed increase would be one cent, and the extra income would be used to improve services in the Park.

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