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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1998 |
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Volume 2, No 77 | |||
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PARK
WEATHER MORE NEWS The Yellowstone Net Newspaper is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
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PUBLISHER EDITOR IN CHIEF CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS
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Is a Grand Dispersal About to Take Place? by Wolf Expert RALPH MAUGHAN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- Great news for the Washakie Pack. These yearlings have finally left the Gordon Ranch and moved a great distance to the northwest. They are beneath Hawk's Rest Mountain in Yellowstone Meadows near the SE corner of Yellowstone NP. This is the most remote area from a road in the continental United States. It is part of what is called the "Thorofare Country." I learned this in an extended conversation with Dr. Doug Smith, head of the Yellowstone wolf team. That's not all. The Thorofare Pack of yearlings is also in the area, but further downstream on the Yellowstone River to the north. The Soda Butte Pack is also in the Thorofare, but about five miles further north. These wolves are almost certainly aware of each other. Since last winter when Soda Butte killed the alpha male of Thorofare and the alpha female perished in an avalanche, the Soda Butte Pack has been what Dr. Doug Smith calls "the superpower" pack in the area. Washakie and Thorofare are all yearlings. They are no longer a threat to Soda Butte. The previous level of hostility is not likely. In fact, it is probable that a dispersal, perhaps a complicated one, is about to take place. The Soda Butte Pack has been isolated from other Yellowstone wolf packs. It has been a hard core pack subsisting near Heart Lake in the southern part of Yellowstone, even in the winter. The pack has no alpha male. He died an unlikely death for a wolf in late winter 1997. No. 13M, "old Blue," died of old age. Since then his now middle-aged mate no.14F has led the pack. The next eldest is her sole daughter from 1995, no. 24F, who is past the age of dispersal for most wolves. The Washakie or the Thorofare Pack may well appear an attractive option for her -- she would be the experienced, sexually mature female in either. At the same time, Soda Butte lacks a male, other than no. 14's two-year old son from 1996 (no. 43M) and its yearling males. Here is an opportunity for a Thorofare or Washakie yearling male to make a move upward in wolf social status. Remember how in 1995, yearling 8M from the Crystal Creek Pack moved quickly from a runt to the alpha male of the Rose Creek pack. A lot depends on what 24F does. It is also possible that the third eldest female of Soda Butte, no. 44F, or no. 43M (both from 1996) may want to move. This would probably provoke further readjustments. Things certainly look different from the other day when it was feared the Washakie yearlings were destined to hang around the Gordon ranch forever. Click here to go to Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report Home Page.
Editor-in-Chief Needed Yellowstone Net Newspaper is looking for
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by CLINT WILKES
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- After years of spending much time in the Yellowstone region, I recently went on my first raft trip of the Yellowstone River. If you plan on entering the Park via the North entrance in Gardiner I strongly recommend and encourage you to call Lewis and Clark Raft Service to take you on the vacation experience of a lifetime. Monica (LSU), Brian (Univ of Montana) and Casey (Univ of Missouri) are three of the most experienced, professional and FUN guides I have ever met. They have other guides which Brian tried to convince me were even funnier than Monica and Casey but I really find that hard to believe--haha. They offer a full range of guided tours and will customize a trip for you. I went on an afternoon excursion with Monica at the helm but I am definitely going back for one of the late afternoon dinner excursions. I love steak and could see Monica had already prepared the picnic basket for her later trip. I look forward to drifting downstream and stopping and watching these professionals cookout a steak. They also offer a vegetarian meal and will be glad to work with you if you have special dietary requirements. You need to call today if you are going to Yellowstone this summer, even if you are entering the park through one of the other entrances you will still want to go see the Roosevelt Archway at the North entrance and go on one of these raft trips. I suggest you decide before you call the date and time you want to go rafting. They will guarantee your reservation with your credit card. 406-848-7292.
Yellowstone Seeks Public Comments by NATIONAL PARK SERVICE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (NPS) -- Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Michael Finley has announced that the park has released for review a proposal to replace the Fishing Bridge service station's underground fuel storage tanks and retain the service station at Fishing Bridge on an interim basis. The draft proposal is on public review for a 21-day period, until August 11, 1998. In the approved Development Concept Plans (DCP) for Lake/Bridge Bay (1993) and Fishing Bridge (1988), a new service station and repair facility are to be built at Lake to replace the current service station at Fishing Bridge. The National Park Service (NPS) proposes to amend the Lake/Bridge Bay DCP to keep the Fishing Bridge service station operational on an interim basis. Because of changes in bear/human interactions in the two areas, questions about the new site's appropriateness and increasing concern over the historic nature of the service station building, the NPS believes it prudent to maintain the current service station until the Commercial Service Plan is complete and the new concession contracts are in place (the existing contracts expire in September 1999). In order to maintain the Fishing Bridge service station, the current underground fuel tanks must be replaced with new EPA compliant fuel tanks. This process will cause minimal new ground disturbance, and the new tanks could be relocated at a later date. The replacement tanks will have the same capacity as the existing tanks. For the station to be operable for the 1998-1999 winter season, construction must begin by September 1, 1998. Copies of the proposal are available by writing: Fishing Bridge Tank Replacement, Planning Office, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190, or by calling (307) 344-2021. Comments can be made in writing to the same address and will be received
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