Vol 3, #88

   Friday, October 15, 1999

YELLOWSTONE
WEATHER
Highs 40s, Lows 10s
Snow Showers
 

Yellowstone Net Home Page
 

Travel News:

ROAD REPORT
Some road
construction
delays.
 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- On Tuesday of this week, the Beartooth Highway closed for the season, as did the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.  The Beartooth Highway, a well-known mountain highway which attains almost 11,000 feet, connects Red Lodge, Montana to the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone via Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana.  The highway closes annually in mid-October because of the coming of the winter season in the higher elevations.

Also on Tuesday, Dunraven Pass inside Yellowstone closed for the season.  Dunraven Pass is located between Tower and Canyon villages, and is susceptible to early snows at its high elevation.

The remainder of the park roads (with the exception of the road from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, to the Northeast Entrance at Cooke City, Montana), will close for the season to the public at 8 a.m. on Monday, November 8. Beginning November 8, snow will be
allowed to accumulate on park roadways in preparation for the winter season.

At 8 a.m. on Wednesday, December 15, 1999, Yellowstone will open for the winter season to oversnow vehicles. Winter oversnow road openings are dependent on sufficient snow. Groomed roads will begin to close to oversnow vehicle use at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 6, 2000, with the closure of the Mammoth-to-Norris road. On Wednesday, March 8, Norris Junction to Madison Junction, and Norris Junction to Canyon will close. All remaining groomed roads will close to oversnow vehicle use at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 13, 2000. The road from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, to the Northeast Entrance at Cooke City, Montana, remains open year-round to automobile traffic; this road is subject to temporary closures, and chains or snow tires may be required at times due to hazardous winter driving conditions.

Park visitors are reminded that with the closing of park roads, the fishing season in Yellowstone also closes (at 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 7) in ALL portions of the park.

When the interior park roads close to automobile traffic on November 8, non-motorized travel in the form of bicycles, roller blades and roller skis, will be allowed as long as weather permits. Specific information on these types of activities can be obtained by contacting the park.

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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

LIVINGSTON, Wyo. -- Earlier this week, federal wildlife agents shot and killed a male wolf which had been preying on livestock in the Paradise Valley, just north of Yellowstone National Park.   A week earlier, three other members of the pack, which have made their home in the Paradise Valley, were shot and killed for the same reason.  The wolf, which was located by its radio collar and shot from a hovering helicopter, was a black adult male weighing about 120 pounds.  It had been observed feeding on a dead calf.  Under the provisions of Yellowstone's Wolf Reintroduction Program, those wolves which are caught preying upon livestock may be killed.

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- The Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee (GYCC) has announced that their annual fall meeting will be held at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, on October 20 and 21. The meeting will begin at noon on the 20^th and end at noon on the 21^st. The meeting is open to the public.

Issues that will be discussed include weed management, winter use and wolf recovery, as well as status reports from individual committee members.

Participants include the Forest Supervisors from the Bridger-Teton, Custer, Beaverhead, Gallatin, Shoshone and Targhee National Forests; the Superintendents of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the Manager of the National Elk Refuge.

Additional information on the meeting is available by contacting Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Michael Finley or Administrative Assistant Jan Laye at (307) 344-2002.

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The National Forest Service wants to run a trail through Western Montana that would connect Canada, the U-S and Mexico. The extension of the "Great Western Trail" would connect the West Glacier area to West Yellowstone. All three alternative paths are close to the Continental Divide. The trail would be open to off-road vehicles. Other trail parts have been established in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah.

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