|
||||
| FRIDAY June 30, 2000 Vol 4, # 39 |
|
|
||||
| FRIDAY June 30, 2000 Vol 4, # 39 |
|
|
. | |
| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion Free Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-
|
GRIZZLIES IN IDAHO? News Brief BOISE, Idaho -- The federal government is making plans to reintroduce grizzlies in Idaho, the first such effort involving bears in U.S. history. Thanks to the success of its Idaho wolf reintroduction five years ago (the same year in wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to announce plans this summer to release grizzlies in Idaho as soon as 2002. The agency notes that grizzlies are the missing wildlife element in this largest of wilderness areas in the lower 48 states, an area thousands of square miles in size, stretching across Idaho and into Montana. Not everyone agrees, however. Critics argue that wolves are much different from grizzlies, and that Idahoans are not ready to rub shoulders with the big beasts. The danger to humans is too high, according to some of these critics. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho in particular is much opposed to having grizzlies in Idaho. Grizzlies are large, strong and fast, ruling over the food chain by and large. In fact, humans are their only serious threat. But their habitat and numbers have dwindled as more and more people have moved into the West, and grizzlies are now designated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Although there are an estimated 50,000 grizzlies in Alaska and Canada, there are only about 1,200 in the lower 48 states, scattered across northern Montana, the Yellowstone ecosystem, the Canadian-Idaho border and the northern Cascades. Furthermore, grizzly populations over the last decade have steadily increased in the Yellowstone area and northern Montana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan calls for transplanting 25 Canadian or American bears over five years to nearly 6,000 square miles of rugged mountains and canyons in the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return wilderness areas of Idaho and Montana. Every bear released would be monitored by a radio collar, and the grizzlies would later be allowed to range over another 20,000 square miles that encompasses communities as far west as Washington and east into Montana. |
|
| . | . | . |
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughan
|
WILDLIFE
WATCHING YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (NPS) -- For many Yellowstone visitors, the wildlife is the greatest highlight of their Park visit. Generally, one is more likely to see mammals in the early morning and late evening hours when they tend to feed. Following are some recommendations for seeing wildlife in Yellowstone: Grizzlies: Look around sunrise or sunset in the open meadows of the Lamar and Hayden valleys, Lake and Fishing Bridge areas, and along the road from Tower to Canyon. Also look along the road to the East Entrance. Backcountry travelers should be alert for bears all the time. Black bears: Look in small openings within or near forested areas, especially along the roads from Mammoth to Tower and the Northeast Entrance, and in the Old Faithful, Madison, and Canyon areas. Black bears may also be seen on any backcountry trail. Wolves: Most active at the beginning and end of the day; most often seen in the open areas along the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek. Moose: Look for this elusive animal in willow thickets bordering streams, especially between Madison and Norris, near Lake, and along the road to the Northeast Entrance. |
|
| , | . | . |
| PARK MEDICAL SERVICES National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Yellowstone Park Medical Services Division of West Park Hospital in Cody, Wyoming, has offered medical care to Yellowstone's visitors, employees and residents since 1980. A board-certified family practitioner provides year-round health care to the Yellowstone Park community at the Mammoth Clinic. Experienced registered nurses and office staff complete the team, offering courteous, professional family and emergency medical care. In the summer, the operation grows to meet the needs of the park's increased number of visitors and the employees who serve them. Outpatient services are provided at Lake Hospital and Old Faithful Clinic as well as at Mammoth Clinic. Lake Hospital is also an acute-care facility with ten inpatient beds, clinical laboratory, pharmacy, radiology, and 24-hour ambulance and emergency services. The staff is assembled from highly qualified, experienced professionals from across the country. |
||
| w | . | . |
| FLY FISHING UPDATE News Brief YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- The Madison, Firehole and Gibbon are fishing well. A secondary salmonfly hatch is underway on the Gibbon. Caddis and PMDs are working well on the Gibbon and Upper Firehole. The Madison is fishing better during the evening. Wooly buggers are working well on Yellowstone Lake. |
||
| |
||
