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| WEDNESDAY May 17, 2000 Vol 4, # 31 |
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| WEDNESDAY May 17, 2000 Vol 4, # 31 |
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| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion Free Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN- |
WHERE ARE THE BEARS? by National Park Service
Black bears are active primarily during the day and at dawn and dusk. Look for them in small openings within or near forested areas. Black bears are often seen along the road corridor from Mammoth to Tower and the Northeast Entrance, and in the Old Faithful, Madison and Canyon areas. Black bears are also seen in the remote southwestern corner of the park, the Bechler area. Many visitors remember the days when bears were commonly seen along the roads and within the developed areas of the park. Bears were attracted to these areas by the availability of human foods, either handouts or unsecured camp groceries and garbage. While people enjoyed seeing the bears close up, these encounters resulted in an average of 48 bear-caused human injuries each year from 1930 through 1969. In 1970, Yellowstone initiated an intensive bear management program with the objectives of restoring the bear populations to subsistence on natural foods and reducing bear-caused human injuries. Regulations against feeding bears and securing human food out of the bear's reach were strictly enforced. Garbage cans were bear-proofed and garbage dumps within the park were closed. Today, visitors still see bears (an average of 1500 bear sightings are reported each year), but we are happy to report that bear-caused injuries have been reduced to approximately one each year. (Photo by Kevin Sanders) |
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughan
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BELGRADE, Mont. (YNET) -- Yellowstone Net Company is very pleased to announce that we will be offering FREE Yellowstone River raft trips to ALL Park employees all summer. The trips will be on the Yellowstone River and are at scheduled times throughout the summer months. For more information, please click here. We also encourage summer Park employees to send us photos for posting on our website. Again, for more information, visit the link above. Bruce, Debra and I are very proud to be able to offer these FREE trips to park employees and we want to extend a special THANK YOU to Mike and Shawn also. |
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| YELLOWSTONE SEWAGE LINE
OVERFLOWS News Brief YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK -- Yellowstone's sewage woes continue, although this time officials wonder if vandalism might be the cause. Sunday night some 500 gallons of raw sewage overflowed from a plugged line onto the ground in the Old Faithful Village area, the latest in a continuing series of sewage problems (although the first incident this year). The spilled sewage did not reach any streams or park waters, and has since been cleaned up. A tree branch which was found lodged in a sewage line leading from Old Faithful Inn to a pump house (whose purpose is to pump the sewage to a treatment plant) was the culprit in this incident. The overflow from the blockage came up through a manhole cover. Park officials have indicated that the tree branch was too large to have fallen through a hole in the manhole cover, and there is some suspicion that vandalism may be involved. |
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| JUDGE REFUSES TO RESTRICT
BISON HAZING News Brief HELENA, Mont. -- A federal judge has ruled against a lawsuit filed last month to stop the use of helicopters in hazing stray bison back into Yellowstone. The suit was filed on April 27 by Buffalo Field Campaign (Buffalo Nations), Ecology Center and Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers. The suit was brought about by charges from the environmental groups that government agencies involved in the hazing of Yellowstone's bison were flying helicopters in restricted areas where bald eagles, an endangered species, were nesting. The judge threw out the lawsuit, however, based on the fact that the suit failed to comply with a requirement to provide 60-day notice of their intent to go to court. The 60-day requirement before legal action can be taken under the Endangered Species Act is designed to give the government time to review and correct actions if necessary. It is unclear whether the suit will be brought forth again after the required 60 day time period. |
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YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Grizzly bears are active primarily during the night and at
dawn and dusk. Look for grizzlies with binoculars or a spotting scope in open
meadows around sunrise or sunset. Grizzlies are often seen from the road in the
Lamar Valley, from Tower to Canyon, Lake, and Fishing Bridge. They are also seen
along the road to the East Entrance. In the backcountry, grizzlies are most often
seen south and east of Yellowstone Lake and in the Gallatin Mountains in the northwest
corner of the park.