The Yellowstone
Net Newspaper Wednesday November 5, 1997 Vol. 1 No. 12 |
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MORE NEWS The Yellowstone Net Newspaper is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays ARCHIVES DISCUSSION FORUMS Go to Yellowstone Net Home Page Note: In-house stories are signified by the abbreviation YNET. Otherwise, the stories herein are from outside sources, to which proper credit is given.
Publisher / Editor Staff Writers |
The campaign has already signed up more than 230 Yellowstone-area businesses as supporters in seeking a resolution to the bison problem. The five principles which define the Bison Belong campaign are: 1) A recognition of the bison "as a symbol of the American West." 2) The understanding that a "healthy and wild Yellowstone bison herd" is essential to the essence of Yellowstone and therefore is important to the Montana business community. 3) Opposition to the "unneccessary killing of wild bison" and insistence on a quick answer to the problem. 4) The belief that "suitable winter range" outside the park must be established for the Yellowstone bison herd. 5) A call for state and federal officials to find a solution before this winter. Thus far, with the winter season fast approaching, the buffalo and brucellosis issue has not yet been solved. State and federal officials are struggling to work out a solution as the American public watches and waits to see what will happen to the bison herd this winter. The Yellowstone Net Newspaper will closely monitor the bison issue as the winter unfolds. We also invite you to voice your opinions in our Bison Forum. |
A Weekly Column Every Wednesday Clint Wilkes will offer a story of interest to everyone who loves Yellowstone and the surrounding area. Some stories will be humorous, others will illustrate a point. You the reader are invited to respond by email to these stories. YNET -- Although Yellowstone Park is my favorite place in the world, there are many other wonderful places in the Rocky Mountain region. One of these is Glacier National Park, six hours north of Yellowstone, and my second favorite national park. Although I had spent many summers in Yellowstone previously, my first trip to Glacier was at the end of the summer season of 1994. I had spent the summer writing my book about college students working in the park, and had driven up to Glacier for a few days of vacation before heading down to Texas for the final editing process of the book.I had already written a paragraph in my book relating how on many occassions I had taken hikes in Yellowstone alone. However, when the book was later published, it contained a warning about hiking alone in the wilderness. This was a lesson I had to go to Glacier to learn. I arrived at Glacier and camped at the East Glacier campground. I spotted a trail on Blackfeet Indian land behind the Glacier Hotel. This looked like my kind of trail, as its name did not include the words "Peak," "Canyon" or "Mount." (On the other hand, my partner goes out of his way to find steep and tortuous nountain trails!) The trail behind the Hotel appeared to be rarely used, but was open to hikers, meandering through open areas, woods and brush. I wound up hiking the three mile trail -- twice -- jingling the bells on my walking stick constantly. Later on on that same trip, I hiked the trail a third time -- a time I shall never forget. I was a mile or so down the trail and deep in thought, having forgotten to jingle the bells on my walking stick. The trail was narrow, with thick underbrush on both sides. My footsteps were muffled, as the leaves were damp and silent from a rain the previous night. Suddenly, from the corner of my eye I saw movement. I turned and found myself facing a huge black animal just a few feet away and partially hidden by the underbrush. At that instant our eyes locked, and terror racked my body as I dropped my walking stick and froze for the briefest of moments before I involuntarily jumped back. As I jumped backwards, the startled animal also jumped ... ... and I watched as the big, black heifer cow crashed away through the underbrush. The unfortunate cow had been as startled as I. Fortunately for me, it was only a cow. In the Yellowstone and Glacier region, it could as easily have been a grizzly. I had learned my lesson. When I go hiking in the wilderness now, I no longer go alone.
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- This summer, the