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| MONDAY January 29, 2001 Vol 5, # 9 |
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| MONDAY January 29, 2001 Vol 5, # 9 |
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YELLOWSTONE 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) -- When most of us think of Yellowstone, the Park's large mammals or many thermal features come to mind. And although the bison, grizzly, wolves and geysers garner the most attention from both the public in general and environmentalists in particular, there is much more about Yellowstone that is valuable and is worth protecting. One of these little known entities is a plant called the "sand verbena." The National Park Service has the following to say about this small plant which is unique to Yellowstone's landshores. Yellowstone sand verbena (Abronia ammophila) is a special plant. Unique to Yellowstone’s lakeshores, this sand verbena is endemic to the park—it exists nowhere else in the world. The presence of a sand verbena on the Yellowstone Plateau is surprising because of the high elevation (approximately 7,740 feet, or 2,360 meters) and long, cold winters. Yellowstone sand verbena is a member of a New World plant family that typically lives in warmer climates such as deserts and tropical areas. The genus Abronia includes about 30 species that primarily occur in warmer areas of the western United States and Mexico. Some botanists speculate that the thermal activity in Yellowstone has made it possible for a sand verbena to survive the harsh winters here and slowly evolve into a species that is adapted to this climate. In recent surveys, botanists have located four populations of Yellowstone sand verbena, but very little is known about its life history and biology. For example, the plant is represented as an annual in the scientific literature, although it is actually a perennial that overwinters underground as a large root system. No one currently knows how the plant is pollinated, how the seeds are transported, or how long the seeds survive. In order to protect this unusual sand verbena, more research is needed to better understand this remarkable plant. For many people, the beauty of a plant growing in its natural habitat is enough reason for it to be valued. Beyond that, Yellowstone sand verbena occupies a specific niche in the unique, high-elevation, thermally influenced lakeshore community. The inter-woven relationship of the plants and animals in this community is not yet fully understood. The loss of any part of this web of life could have far-reaching consequences. Just like many other native plant species, very little is known about the life history and biology of Yellowstone sand verbena. Botanists want to understand how this unique species with its highly restricted distribution evolved in the Yellowstone ecosystem, and what the relationship of Yellowstone sand verbena is to other sand verbenas, especially those in the northern Rocky Mountain region. Scientists do not yet know if the genetic or chemical makeup of this particular plant will be useful to humans. In recent years, important medical treatments have been derived from little-known plants, such as the rosy periwinkle (which contains compounds that are the best-known treatment for childhood leukemia) and the Pacific yew (which contains taxol, the best hope for treatment of ovarian cancer). Yellowstone sand verbena, as long as it is continually protected in the park, will remain available for future research and also for everyone to enjoy. (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 Russ Finley
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SNOWMOBILING
BAN UPDATE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- Western Republican congressman are hopeful that the Bush administration will be able to overturn the snowmobile ban in Yellowstone National Park. However, Jon Catton of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition believes that it will be difficult for Republicans to overturn the ban. The National Park Service published the final rule in the Federal Register this one week ago today. The plan calls for the banning of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks by winter 2003-2004. Catton and other environmentalists point to the comments received from the public during the final 30 day comment period between December 18, 2000 and January 18, 2001. More than 83 percent of all the comments received supported the NPS plan to phase out snowmobiles from Yellowstone. |
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| BIGHORN SHEEP
MYSTERIOUSLY DYING National Park Service ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Col. -- The status of Rocky Mountain National Park's bighorn sheep population has been a concern of park staff for a number of years. Over the winter of 1993-94, an outbreak of pneumonia, complicated by lungworm, decimated between 25% and 50% of the population. Rangers have actively assisted resource managers in census counts and other monitoring activity as the population attempts to recover. Lamb production has been relatively good, but first year survival rates have been poor for unknown reasons. The gene pool was potentially impacted by the recent deaths of two mature rams. The rams, both from the Mummy Range herd, were found with their horns locked together. It appears that the rams locked horns during a jousting episode and fell into a rock crevasse along a ledge system, then died, still locked together. Rangers utilized technical rescue skills to extract the two rams for biopsy examinations. |
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| SMUGGLING OPERATION IN
NORTH CASCADES News Brief NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK, Wash. -- Early last summer, rangers uncovered the smuggling routes of a crime syndicate while investigating reports from park staff of unusual helicopter activity over remote areas of the park. The subsequent investigation ultimately involved the National Park Service, U.S Customs and Border Patrol, the British Columbia Organized Crime Bureau, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the U.S. Forest Service, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, and the Washington State Patrol. Over the course of the summer, rangers and agents closely monitored a number of smuggling incidents in which rented helicopters were used to fly "BC Bud" marijuana into the U.S., and firearms, cocaine and currency into Canada. The helicopters flew low-level through the park's river valleys and passes, with the smugglers utilizing remote forest clearings to transfer loads to and from motor vehicles. On occasion, the pilots temporarily cached loads on alpine peaks in the park. To date, the investigation has resulted in the arrest of nine individuals in the United States and others in Canada. Additional prosecutions are anticipated. Three kilos of cocaine, 970 pounds of marijuana, $558,000 in American currency, $104,000 in Canadian funds, a house, two Mercedes-Benz automobiles, a Ford truck, and a number of firearms have been seized. An Astar 350 helicopter valued at $410,000 and recently purchased by the syndicate has also been seized. DR Hugh Dougher is the NPS lead investigator. |
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