|
||||
| MONDAY February 5, 2001 Vol 5, # 11 |
|
|
||||
| MONDAY February 5, 2001 Vol 5, # 11 |
|
|
. | |
| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion Free Yellowstone Email Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-
|
 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) -- Despite the intense controversy surrounding Yellowstone's bison, this winter has thus far proven to be a good winter for the animals. To date, no bison have been killed by the Montana Department of Livestock this winter, a welcome change from some winters in recent years. The federal/state joint bison management plan implemented late last year is an effort to ensure that less bison will be killed not only now, but also in future years. Many bison advocates, however, are quick to point out that the plan not only allows the killing of bison, but potentially allows much killing in order to maintain Yellowstone's bison herd at "acceptable" levels. Another of the stated goals of the joint management plan is a vaccination plan for Yellowstone's bison. Tentatively slated to begin in 2003-2004, the plan calls for Yellowstone's bison to be vaccinated against the disease brucellosis. Many cattle in Montana and Wyoming are already vaccinated against the disease, because of the fear that brucellosis can be transmitted from Yellowstone's bison to domestic cattle, leading cattle to abort their fetuses. However, despite decades of research and scientific study and tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, there has never been a documented case of the disease being transferred from wild bison to domestic cattle. Facts and evidence, however, are apparently unimportant in this strange fantasy world in which truth takes backseat to unfounded fears. In the final analysis, one is yet left wondering why government agencies continue to insist upon stiff regulations and the spending of tens of millions of tax dollars to combat something which does not even exist: the mythical transmission of brucellosis from Yellowstone's bison to nearby domestic cattle. There is no logical reason why Yellowstone's bison and domestic cattle cannot co-exist in peace. It would appear that some government agencies simply want to make life hard not only on Yellowstone's bison, but also on cattle ranchers and the entire American public. (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.) |
|
| . | . | . |
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley
|
FREE WINTER
ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE IN YELLOWSTONE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- Winter visitors to Yellowstone National Park now have another way to enjoy this winter wonderland. The park is offering free ranger-led snowshoe walks at two locations in the park—at Mammoth Hot Springs and West Yellowstone, Montana. Snowshoe walks are a unique way for visitors to silently traverse the snow and experience Yellowstone’s winter beauty with a park ranger and learn about the diversity of life in this season. This is the second season for this activity at West Yellowstone, Montana; the snowshoe walks, so well received last year, have been expanded to include Mammoth—and no experience is necessary to have a good time. Participants are reminded to dress warmly, with layered clothes, sunglasses, a light snack, and water. At Mammoth, the walks are every Tuesday and Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Participants are asked to sign up in advance by stopping in at the Albright Visitor Center in Mammoth or by calling (307) 344-2263. A limited number of snowshoes are provided free of charge or they can be rented from the Mammoth Ski Hut. Schedule about an hour and a half to two hours for the walk. The two-mile snowshoe walk along the Riverside Trail inside the West Entrance is every Wednesday through Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Visitors are asked to bring their own snowshoes and meet the park ranger at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center on the corner of Yellowstone and Canyon Avenues in West Yellowstone, Montana. For more information, call (406) 646-4403. This walk takes around three hours to complete. EDITOR'S NOTE: There are also many fee-based winter and summer activities offered in Yellowstone. Visitors may call toll-free 1-888-255-7710 to make reservations for fee-based activities. |
|
| , | . | . |
| YELLOWSTONE MEMORIES by Gene Safarik BELGRADE, Mont.(YNET) -- I first started going to Yellowstone in 1954 with my parents. Our family has been going to the park every year up to 1997 or 1998. My parents were campground hosts at Lewis lake campground for about 18 years. I started camping at old Lewis Lake campground in 1957 when it was at the north end of the lake. Back in those days black bears were always coming into the campground in the evening. I remember the old West Thumb Village, and while my mother cleaned clothes at the laundry, I watched many black bears walk through the campground looking for food. The years I sent going to Yellowstone made it my second home. My father once saved a man canoeing on Lewis Lake be in 1976 after his boat was struck by lightning. I still love to go to Wyoming and I well remember the peaceful times I spent in the park. My whole family has lots of stories of life at Lewis Lake. The ranger that was posted at Lewis was Larry Newell and one of the finest persons I ever met in my life. I like to read about other stories peoples' Yellowstone experiences and am looking forward to going back to Yellowstone in the future. EDITOR'S NOTE: Mr. Gene Safarik is from Wichita, Kansas. Yellowstone Net welcomes stories from Yellowstone visitors about their experiences. Click here to send us your Yellowstone story. |
||
| w | . | . |
| UNITS ADDED TO NATIONAL
PARK SYSTEM National Park Service WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPS) -- National Park Service (NPS) Acting Director Denis Galvin has announced the recent addition of five units to the National Park System: First Ladies National Historic Site (NHS); Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front National Historical Park (NHP); and Great Sand Dunes National Preserve, created by the 106th U.S. Congress; and U.S. Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (NM); and Governors Island NM, created under the Antiquities Act by President Clinton during his administration. This brings the total number of NPS units to 384. Attached is a list of current NPS units organized by classification. First Ladies NHS in Canton, Ohio, was established to preserve and interpret the role and history of First Ladies in American history. The site will consist of two properties: 331 Market Avenue South, the home of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley, and 205 Market Avenue South, the City National Bank Building. The site will be managed through a cooperative agreement with the National First Ladies Library, a nonprofit corporation. Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front NHP in Richmond, Calif., was created to commemorate the mobilization of the workforce on the home front during World War II, while specifically recognizing the contributions of women and minorities to this effort. The park will consist of five sites in the city of Richmond where the original buildings still stand that housed employees and provided services to those working at the shipyards. The park also will include various areas along the waterfront of Richmond where a World War II Home Front Education Center will be established. Great Sand Dunes National Park (NP) and Preserve is located in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. It was formerly a National Monument (NM) established by Presidential proclamation in 1932 and was authorized to be designated a NP by the Secretary of the Interior with the acquisition of sufficient diverse lands. Plans are for the acquisition of part of the existing Baca Ranch as well as lands west and south of the existing NM to provide for a 108,000-acre NP. A new 42,000-acre National Preserve was established on the date of enactment of the new law. The preserve is adjacent to the existing NM and consists of lands formerly administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Rio Grande National Forest. The Virgin Islands Coral Reef NM is located in the submerged lands off the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The island of St. John rises from a platform that extends several miles from shore before plunging to abyssal depths in the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean. The platform contains a multitude of species that exist in a delicate balance, interlinked through complex relationships that have developed over tens of thousands of years. The NM designation furthers the protection of the scientific objects included in the Virgin Islands National Parks. The monument contains all the elements of a Caribbean tropical marine ecosystem and several threatened and endangered species. Humpback whales, pilot whales, four species of dolphins, brown pelicans, roseate terns, least terns, and the hawksbill, leatherback, and green sea turtles all use portions of the monument. Governor's Island NM is located on Governor's Island, N.Y., between the confluence of the Hudson and East Rivers. It served as an outpost to protect New York City from sea attack. The monument is part of a larger 1985 National Historic Landmark District designation and contains two important historical objects: Castle William and Fort Jay. Between 1806 and 1811, these fortifications were constructed as part of the First and Second American Systems of Coastal Fortification. Both Castle William and Fort Jay represent two of the finest types of defensive structures in use from the Renaissance to the American Civil War. The monument also played important roles in the War of 1812, the American Civil War, and World Wars I and II. During the past 200 years, Governors Island was managed by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Coast Guard but is no longer needed for military purposes. "The addition of these units is a wonderful example of the breadth and depth of our National Park System," Galvin said. "From women's history to marine ecosystems to the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado -- there is definitely something in our parks for everyone." Two National Park System units have recently changed designation. One, mentioned above, was the conversion of Great Sand Dunes from a NM to a NP. The other was the change of Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area to Cuyahoga Valley NP. The NPS anticipates the addition of two more sites: Sand Creek Massacre NHS and the Minidoka Internment NM. Sand Creek Massacre NHS is located in Kiowa County, Colo., and commemorates the November 29, 1864, massacre of about 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians by approximately 700 volunteer soldiers commanded by Colonel John M. Chivington. Those killed were mostly women, children, and elderly Indians. The site will be established when the Secretary of the Interior determines that sufficient lands have been acquired to commemorate the massacre. The site could ultimately consist of approximately 12,480 acres and will be administered by the NPS. The Minidoka Internment NM is located on Federal lands in Jerome County, in south central Idaho. The Minidoka Relocation Center, also known as the Hunt Site, was established in August 1942 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which authorized the designation of military exclusion areas during World War II. The Center operated until October 1945 and during its operation the population reached a peak of 9,397 Japanese Americans from Washington State, Oregon, and Alaska. The Center included over 33,000 acres of land with administrative and residential facilities located on approximately 950 acres, and had more than 600 buildings. The living conditions at Minidoka where harsh. Internees were housed in crude barracks and cramped quarters, and they shared communal facilities. They engaged in irrigated agriculture, livestock production, and light manufacturing to produce food and garments for the camp. The site is expected to be transferred from the Bureau of Reclamation to the NPS. |
||
| |
||
