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YELLOWSTONE |
IN THE NEWS TODAY: Protecting Yellowstone -- by Bruce Gourley Bison Update -- News Brief Wolf Update -- News Brief Spring Road Closings -- by National Park Service NEW! Daily Environmental News -- from ISyndicate |
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ROAD REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-
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 PROTECTING YELLOWSTONEby Bruce Gourley Yellowstone is a national treasure which is owned by the American public. Protecting Yellowstone is the responsibility of the American public. This weekly feature will help identify and explore the issues which are crucial to the ongoing, healthy existence of the "Crown Jewel" of America's National Park system. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- On Friday we reported on the new "State of the Park" report which Yellowstone officials recently made public. The lengthy report notes that Yellowstone is in need of improvement in many areas, which came as no surprise to long-time observers. The document begins with a section titled "The Challenge of Yellowstone," then breaks Yellowstone down into seven areas: Landscape, Wildlife, Cultural Resources, Science and Technology, Public Use and Services, Infrastructure and Park Staff and Funding. Each of these areas, in turn, is explored quite extensively. Within each area, problems and challenges are addressed, and solutions sought. During the comings weeks, months and years, this document will doubtlessly be referred to numerous times as Yellowstone's officials, the United States Congress and the general public seek ways to protect and preserve Yellowstone for future generations. For officials, this report will act as a guidebook for the betterment of Yellowstone. For the United States Congress, this report forces a closer examination of the government's fiscal responsibility for the preservation and protection of the world's first and foremost national park. For the general public, the report becomes a tool to hold both the United States Congress and Yellowstone officials accountable in regards to the overall health and vitality of Yellowstone. You may read the State of the Park Report by clicking here. (Yellowstone Net provides you opportunity to voice your opinion regarding the various Yellowstone issues to your congresspersons and to editorial sections of magazines and newspapers by clicking here.) |
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughan
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BISON
UPDATE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- The winter has been exceptionally warm in the Yellowstone region. So warm, in fact, that last week Park officials issued warnings to snowmobilers to watch out for bare spots on the roadways which could be dangerous to snowmobilers. The warm weather, however, has been a blessing to the Park's bison population in the sense that it has kept them inside Park boundaries and out of harm's way from the trigger-happy Montana Department of Livestock officials. Thus far, only one bull bison has left Park boundaries. This lone bull, in fact, has been outside the Park for quite some time, and has been somewhat of a bother to Montana Department of Livestock officials for more than a month, as they have repeatedly attempted to haze him back inside the Park, all to no avail. Indeed, the Montana Department of Livestock, having to deal only with this single bull bison, had already spent nearly $50,000 on bison management this winter through January, not including costs for hazing attempts on the bison. It has long been determined that there is no scientific basis for the DOL's policy of killing and hazing Yellowstone's bison, and many people are also questioning the wisdom of putting large sums of money into a program that has no factual basis. Last year alone, the DOL spent $500,000 on bison management. |
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| WOLF UPDATE News Brief DULUTH, Minn. -- Some 700 wolf scientists, wildlife managers and wolf advocates have put together a draft proposal that would reclassify the gray wolf's status from endangered to threatened in most states with wolf populations, including Wyoming and Montana. The underlying basis of this proposal is the belief that the current Endangered Species classification of gray wolves has served its purpose and that a viable population of gray wolves has been established. Many environmental and conservation groups, however, are decrying the de-listing proposal, arguing that wolves still face significant challenges which must be addressed. The de-listing proposal is scheduled to be released to the public this month. |
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| SPRING ROAD
CLOSINGS by National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Beginning today, Monday, March 6, groomed roads in Yellowstone National Park will begin to close to over-snow vehicles so that spring plowing may begin. Roads close at 8 a.m. on the day listed.
In conjunction with these road closures, visitor facilities in the park will also close for the winter season according to the following schedule:
The Mammoth General Store (the store will be closed for renovations from Sunday, March 12 through Tuesday, March 21; it will reopen to the public at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 22) and Mammoth Clinic remain open year round; and the road from the North Entrance to the Northeast Entrance of the park (Gardiner, Montana, to Cooke City, Montana) remains open year round to wheeled vehicles. Visitors are encouraged to call the park for current information prior to traveling to Yellowstone at (307) 344-7381. |
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