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YELLOWSTONE |
IN THE NEWS TODAY: Protecting Yellowstone -- by Bruce Gourley Yellowstone Wolf Update -- by Ralph Maughan Wolf Awareness Week -- ENN Jobs in Yellowstone -- by Clint Wilkes |
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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) -- Winter is approaching in the Yellowstone region, and the Park's bison, once again, face execution if they leave the confines of the Park during the winter months. In 1996-1997, some 1100 bison were killed during the winter months. Last year, few were killed as the winter season was much milder. However, some experts are predicting a very harsh winter again this winter, and the number of bison killings could once again soar. The bison problem stems from the fact that Montana cattlemen are concerned that bison, which can carry the disease brucellosis (a disease which can cause cows to abort), pose a threat to the 2000 or so cattle that graze near the Park's boundaries. Scientific studies do not support the cattlemen's concerns, yet adament opposition to the presence of bison remains. The National Park Service and the state of Montana continue to seek a resolution to the problem, and they are inviting the public to comment on the Draft of their Environmental Impact Statement. The comment public comment period has been extended to November 2. To request a copy of the Draft Bison EIS, write Bison Management Plan EIS Team, National Park Service, Sarah Bransom, DSC-RP, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, Colorado 80225-0287; phone (303) 969-2310; or visit the web site at http://www.nps.gov/planning/current.htm. You can mail your written comments on the draft EIS to the above address. |
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughn
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YELLOWSTONE
WOLF UPDATE by Ralph Maughan
They also observed eleven wolves in the Leopold Pack on its winter range north of the highway on the Blacktail Deer Plateau (note: their summer range is a few miles further south). The only radio collared wolves are the venerable alpha pair no. 2M and 7F. The rest of the collars from last winter were chewed off. Smith is fairly certain that there are five pups in the pack. The most amazing observation was fifteen wolves in the Crystal Creek pack bedded down together in the Pelican Valley, with the new alpha male 104M, and a grizzly bear. This huge pack was bedded with a grizzly! The grizzly got up and walked within a few feet of a yearling wolf, and all the wolf did was stand up and move so the bear could pass. Smith hypothesized that grizzlies are so common in the Pelican that the wolves and bears may only be tense around each other when there is a kill. Not too many folks ever make it into the Pelican because it is "grizzly central," and there are strict closures and restrictions on human travel for safety reasons. Smith thinks there is one more wolf in the pack, bringing the total to sixteen wolves. Other news: No. 16F and her pups were finally located, and only about six miles from their previous location in Cottonwood Creek. They were about four miles north of Yellowstone Pack above the mining town of Jardine in Bear Creek. The entire area around Gardiner and Jardine is deer winter range. This is probably how amazing no.16 has been able to keep her pups alive. She is one Yellowstone wolf who lives on deer rather than elk. The pups normally don't' contribute much to the hunt until about February so she still has her work cut out. Howver, the deer population in the area is greater in the winter than in the summer. The Chief Joseph Pack was back in the headwaters of the Gallatin River in the Park after killing a sheep dog northwest of the Park in Tom Miner Basin. There seems to be good cooperation between the rancher the wolf team. The Chief Joseph Pack visits Tom Miner Basin about once a month as part of a big loop they travel. The Druid Peak Pack remains fairly scattered around the Lamar Valley, on Specimen Ridge, and in the upper Lamar around Cache Creek and even further upstream. The Nez Perce Pack -- five adult wolves, and maybe or maybe not, pups -- was radio tracked in Nez Perce Creek. They have rarely been observed visually. It's the only pack in the Park for which there is no pup count even this late in the year. The Soda Butte Pack was in their normal range -- this time on the Yellowstone River Delta as it empties into Yellowstone Lake. They had killed a moose. Amazingly, a 3 year-old female, no. 24F, the pack's beta female, remains with the pack despite a number of lone Thorofare and Washakie males in the general area. The pack is led by female 14F. There is no alpha male. "Old Blue," no. 13M, the former alpha male died of old age in late winter 1997. It looks like the Thorofare and Washakie yearlings have dissipated as any kind of packs. Lone wolves and maybe pairs are wandering the Teton and Washakie Wilderness and the southern part of Yellowstone. I ask the annual question, "as the ten thousand or so elk migrate south into Jackson Hole for the winter, will any of these yearlings follow them?" Click here to go to Ralph Maughan's Yellowstone Wolf Report website. |
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AWARENESS WEEK by Enviromental News Network ENN -- This week has been designated as National Wolf Awareness Week by Defenders of Wildlife. More than a dozen states are participating and related activities are slated in a number of them. "National Wolf Awareness Week highlights our fierce determination to restore and protect wolves in Yellowstone and other places," according to Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen. "This year, 1998 has seen both battles and celebrations related to wolf restoration. We oppose those who want to undermine the future of the wolf in America, and we will proudly tell our children and grandchildren about the legacy we are leaving them." |
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 COLLEGE GUIDE TO A
SUMMER JOB IN YELLOWSTONEby Clint Wilkes This column is based on my interactions with people who have worked in Yellowstone (or who want to work in the Park). Some of these stories will be the "behind the scenes" story of why I wrote a particular story in my book. If you have a story to contribute to this column, email me. For more information about my book, College Guide to a Summer Job in Yellowstone, click here. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- Starting this week, I will be contributing only one weekly column, my People and Places column, to the Yellowstone Net Newspaper. If you are seeking information on summer jobs in Yellowstone National Park, please visit our Jobs page by clicking here. |
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YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- The latest Yellowstone wolf tracking flight got good visual
observations of three of the largest packs. Dr. Doug Smith told me that they saw twenty of
the Rose Creek Pack together in Slough Creek. It is possible the pack has
even a few more members. If every pup survived the summer (unlikely), this huge pack would
be even larger -- 24 wolves. The pack seems to be moving down into its winter range.