Yellowstone Net Newspaper

		.
Site Search		Support Yellowstone! Discussion Free Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter

YELLOWSTONE WEATHER Highs 30s, Lows 0s Partly Cloudy More Weather ROAD REPORT Roads are closed for the season. More Info THE DAILY CARTOON ONLINE GREETING CARDS PUBLISHER Yellowstone Net Company EDITOR-IN- CHIEF Bruce Gourley MORE LINKS Discussion Newspaper Archives Send us your comments		FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE: The National Park Service has finalized its plans to ban snowmobiles from Yellowstone. The final phase out has been moved to the 2003-2004 winter season. Read more details in this coming Monday's edition of the Yellowstone Net Newspaper. PROTECTING YELLOWSTONE by 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) -- The Montana State Department of Livestock and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks have released the Interagency Bison Management Plan for The State of Montana and Yellowstone National Park. This Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is the state's response to the federal plan of the same name which was recently released in its finality. This plan was developed by the state of Montana as their response to being removed from the jointly developed Federal Plan. Originally a cooperating agency in the Federal Plan, the state of Montana ultimately refused to compromise with the Federal agencies (National Park Service, National Forest Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) over a Preferred Alternative for the Federal Plan. Accordingly, the state of Montana was removed from the process. Afterwards, a federal judge ordered the state of Montana and the federal agencies to resolve their differences, but the state of Montana yet refused to cooperate, and instead began working to implement its own bison management strategy. The newly-released state plan, however, reads much like the federal plan, with some notable exceptions. The state's plan, for example, continues to allow hazing, capturing, testing and slaughtering of bison. It also seeks to limit the number of brucellosis free bison which may be present outside of the Park's northwestern boundary to a maximum of one hundred through May 15. Bison in excess of this number are to be shipped to a research facility or quarantine. In addition, bison which wander out of the Park and into certain other areas will be subject to "lethal removal." The state's plan goes on to maintain that slaughtering 1000 animals or more is acceptable. Yellowstone's bison herd, by comparison, stands at roughly 3000 strong. Needless to say, thanks to the stubbornness of the state of Montana, and the state's unwillingness to act reasonably and responsibly, the future of Yellowstone's bison continues to hang in the balance. To view the state of Montana's bison management plan, click 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. If you wish to take more direct action in regards to Yellowstone's bison and the state of Montana's bison management plan, you may call Pat Graham, Director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, at 1-406-444-2535.) BACK TO TOP
.	.	.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley Ralph Maughan Kim Steinbacher Kevin Sanders Steve Brashear Clint Wilkes Hon. Bob Gammage Lee Whittlesey Tom Mazzarisi David Monteith Denise Elmer Dr. Bob Bara Matthew McLean		LYNX UPDATE News Brief CODY, Wyo. -- Evidence of the reclusive and rare lynx has been confirmed in the Sunlight Basin and Clarks Fork Canyon of the Beartooths east of Yellowstone National Park. Biologists have been seeking to confirm the presence of lynx in the Beartooths since last year, when they rigged carpet tacks with catnip in an effort to entice the cats. Some of the hair collected from the carpet tacks, which was subsequently sent to a lab for DNA testing, has confirmed the presence of lynx in the Sunlight Basin and the Clarks Fork Canyon. Earlier this year in March, the lynx was classified as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The animals have also been confirmed to exist in several other locations in Wyoming, including Thorofare area in the southwestern portion of Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park and near Dubois. BACK TO TOP
,	.	.
		FOCUS: TOWER AND ROOSEVELT AREA by National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- The geology of the Tower district is incredibly varied. Major landforms are expressions of geologic events that helped shape much of the Yellowstone area. Absaroka volcanics, glaciation, and erosion have left features as varied as Specimen Ridge's petrified trees to the gorges along the Yellowstone River's Black Canyon and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Mt. Washburn and the Absaroka Range are both remnants of ancient volcanic events that formed the highest peaks in the Tower District. Ancient eruptions, perhaps 45 to 50 million years ago, buried the forests of Specimen Ridge in ash and debris flows. The columnar basalt formations near Tower Fall, the volcanic breccias of the "towers" themselves, and numerous igneous outcrops all reflect the district's volcanic history. Later, glacial events scoured the landscape, exposing the stone forests and leaving evidence of their passage throughout the district. The glacial ponds and huge boulders (erratics) between the Lamar and Yellowstone rivers are remnants left by the retreating glaciers. Lateral and terminal moraines are common in these areas. Such evidence can also be found in the Hellroaring and Slough creek drainages, on Blacktail Plateau, and in the Lamar Valley. The eroding power of running water has been at work in the district for many millions of years. The pinnacles of Tower Fall, the exposed rainbow colors of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone at Calcite Springs, and the fearsome gorge of the Black Canyon all are due, at least in part, to the forces of running water and gravity. In the Lamar River Canyon lie exposed outcrops of gneiss and schist which are among the oldest rocks known in Yellowstone, perhaps more than two billion years old. Little is known about their origin due to their extreme age. Through time, heat and pressure have altered these rocks from their original state, further obscuring their early history. Only in the Gallatin Range are older outcrops found within the boundaries of the park. BACK TO TOP
YO	.	.
		ROAD BAN FOR MONTANA NATIONAL FORESTS News Brief The U.S. Forest Service has called for a ban on timber cutting and road building on 58.5 million acres of roadless public land, including some 6.4 million acres in Montana. The Forest Service proposal would prohibit road construction and reconstruction in areas of national forests where there are no roads. Logging would be allowed only where needed for "stewardship purposes." The ban would affect 38% of the national forest land in Montana. Montana's national forest land has come under close scrutiny following this past summer's severe fire season. Environmentalists have long advocated a ban on further development and logging in national forests. BACK TO TOP