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| FRIDAY February 16, 2001 Vol 5, # 16 |
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| FRIDAY February 16, 2001 Vol 5, # 16 |
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| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion $7.95 Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN- |
ROAD CONSTRUCTION UPDATE by National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Road construction is perennial in Yellowstone National Park. In general, park roads have either been recently repaired or reconstructed, or are scheduled for repair or reconstruction. Approximately 80% of main park roads (about 185 mi or 295 km) are in a structurally deficient state, with poor quality road bases failing under the weight, speed, and volume of modern traffic for which they were not designed. Harsh winter weather and short construction seasons provide additional challenges. These needs are now being addressed under a 20-year, $300 million Federal Lands Highway Program for Yellowstone National Park. In addition to the major construction addressed below, park road repair crews will be working in other areas of the park throughout the 2001 season. Thank you for your patience with our road construction efforts. The Norris to Madison section of roadway will be under construction this summer. The road will be closed from 9 PM - 9 AM during the summer months, with specific dates to be announced at a later time. In addition, fall construction is planned on the Beartooth Highway near the NE corner of the Park. Other road closures or delays are possible. For current road information, call (307) 344-7381. Additional construction zones and schedules may be announced as construction contracts are awarded. |
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley
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WOLF UPDATE
A calf was reported killed by wolves along the East Front of Montana. WS investigated and determined the calf was likely killed by wolves. A flight over the area did not locate any radio-collared wolves. Attempting to get a radio-collar in the group of up to 3 wolves, if the opportunity presents itself, will be the only control at this time. Yellowstone National Park will begin its second year of adult female elk capture, pregnancy testing, and radio-collaring this week. Seventeen elk were caught on the 6th, the operation ended on the 8th after 11 more were captured. Thirty-five elk from last year are also being monitored. In the past year one was killed by a mountain lion, one by wolves, and 5 by hunters during the Gardiner late hunt. |
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| BISON UPDATE by Buffalo Nations WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. -- The Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) fired cracker rounds from a helicopter this week to haze fourteen bull bison along the Madison river. The helicopter proceeded to haze the bison inside of Yellowstone National Park and flew as low as 20 feet over the wildlife rich area. Later, the helicopter hazed seven bulls in the Duck Creek area, six of which were already inside of the Park. The DOL helicopter was assisted by nine agents on snowmobiles and seven law enforcement agents from Gallatin County, Montana Highway Patrol, and the National Park Service. BFC volunteer Megan Fishback said of today's operation, "There is absolutely no reason to haze bison in this area as it is never used for cattle grazing and is prime wildlife habitat. By flying a helicopter at low altitudes over the Park, they have severely threatened wildlife's chances of surviving the winter." Buffalo Field Campaign is opposed to the repeated and unnecessary hazing of these animals, and remains adamant that bison be granted the same rights as other wildlife. BFC volunteers have observed that bison hazed back to the park during past DOL operations quickly return to the same area. Each hazing action further depletes the bison's winter energy reserves. DOL contends that cattle permitted to graze on public lands during summer months are at risk of contracting the disease brucellosis and thus causing the state to lose its brucellosis-free status. However, Montana's position is neither supported by science nor endorsed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the federal body responsible for maintaining the state's brucellosis-free status. The summer grazing on Horse Butte amounts to 172 cow/calf pairs. This grazing allotment brings in less than $800 to the U.S. Treasury. "This is a typical example of DOL wasting taxpayer dollars for no reason. These bison pose absolutely no threat to anyone, yet they are willing to spend thousands of dollars in a futile attempt to keep them inside of Yellowstone," said BFC spokesperson Peter Leusch BFC, Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers, and the Ecology Center Inc. have filed a lawsuit claiming that DOL's Annual Operating Plan is illegal because it violates the requirements for pre-monitoring of bald eagles. The Annual Operating Plan must minimize harm to bald eagles nesting and foraging along the Madison, Hebgen Lake, and Horse Butte. Since pre-monitoring was not done, the agencies have no baseline data to determine the impacts of their actions on the bald eagle population. According to Peter Leusch, "Operations like today's are highly stressful on eagles, and can cause reproductive failure. DOL and the other agencies involved obviously have no regard for an endangered national symbol." |
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| ELK IN THE GREAT SMOKIES? by National Park Service GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, Tenn. (NPS) -- On February 2nd, park wildlife biologists brought 25 elk to the park as the first step in a five-year experiment to determine the feasibility of a later permanent release. Elk were reportedly common in the Smokies when the first settlers arrived, but were extirpated between 1830 and 1850 through over-harvesting, logging and other development. The elk, which were transferred to the park from a Forest Service area in Kentucky, were released into a three-acre acclimation pen in Cataloochee Valley prior to a "soft release" in mid-April. Over the next two years, about 25 more elk will be released annually. All animals will be radio-collared and tracked by University of Tennessee graduate students under the direction of USGS Biological Resource Division staff. The project is expected to cost $1.1 million over five years, none of which will come from the federal government. The park is working with three partners - the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Friends of the Smokies, and the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association - to raise the needed funding. The foundation already has about $500,000 in hand. |
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HELENA, Mont. (USFWS) -- Attempts to helicopter capture and
radio-collar additional wolves in packs in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho are continuing.
Weather and helicopter availability did not come together this week but the effort is
ongoing.