Yellowstone

Satellite Image Captures 747 Above Yellowstone National Park

Someone has found a satellite photo of a 747 flying over Yellowstone National Park using Google maps. Not much of a story here, I just thought the photo/technology is kind of cool. 'Read more' to see the full resolution image and map.

NPS Snowmobile Plan for Yellowstone, Grand Teton Bucks Science, the Public, and Itself

Yellowstone National Park planners seem to have shunted aside science, the public, even their own management guidelines, in their desire to see more snowmobiles in the park by backing a final Environmental Impact Statement on snowmobile use that favors more of the machines in the park than have been in use in recent years. Yet to be seen is whether Park Service Director Mary Bomar will override Yellowstone officials.

Is There Any Better Time to Visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton Than Fall?

Fall is one of my favorite times to head to Grand Teton and Yellowstone. The aspen glades are igniting in gold, maples add a splash of rouge, the conifers a dense green background, and the sky overhead often is clear and blue. Animals are on the move as well, with the elk moving into their rut, bison heading to river bottoms, bears foraging to bulk up, and wolves following the bison and elk.

Fire Continues to Keep Yellowstone's East Entrance Closed

For those planning a Yellowstone vacation in the immediate future, know that the East Entrance to the park currently is closed due to forest fires burning in the area.

Are Yellowstone's Geysers At Risk From BLM's Leasing Proposals?

The geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park were largely responsible for its designation as the world's first national park in 1872. These features are a global treasure. Nowhere else in the world can you find the array or number of geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles found in Yellowstone. More than 75 percent of the world's geysers, including the world's largest are in Yellowstone’s seven major basins.

Y2Y On Display in Seattle

Seattle-area residents who've heard about the Yellowstone to Yukon initiative but want to learn more have a golden opportunity from now through the end of the year. A collection of Florian Schulz's photographs that captures the heart and soul of Y2K are on display at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle.

Evening Light on Old Faithful

Zion Fire Complex Nearing 10,000 Acres, Yellowstone Fire Grows

Continued dry, windy conditions have allowed the Dakota Complex of fires in Zion National Park to grow to nearly 10,000 acres in the park's backcountry. Fire bosses say they've contained just 10 percent of the fires, and the current weather conditions, the rugged terrain the fires are located within, and the possibility of thunderstorms are compounding efforts to get better control over the blazes.

Top 10 Most Visited National Parks

Ever wonder what the most visited parks in the system are? How about least visited? The NPS office of statistics answers this question once a year with an ordered, ranked table cataloging recreation visits to each of the NPS managed units across the USA. So, what is the most visited park? Read on for the answer.

Fishing Restrictions Going Into Place in Yellowstone

This hot and dry summer is taking a toll on fisheries around the West, and in Yellowstone things are getting so dire that officials are implementing restrictions on when you can fish the park's streams. Beginning tomorrow, July 21, a number of streams will be closed to fishing between 2 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the foreseeable future.

Visitation Trends Up In Yosemite, Glacier and Yellowstone

It's only a snapshot, but I'm told that visitation in Yosemite, Glacier, and Yellowstone national parks is on the upswing this year. Exactly why, as usual, is a good question.

West Yellowstone: A Gateway Town Worth Hanging Around

Of Yellowstone's five gateway towns, West Yellowstone is my favorite. It's the closest to the park, as Yellowstone's West Entrance is at the end of Yellowstone Avenue, and it has this wonderfully funky vibe flowing through it.

Swimming In Yellowstone's Rivers On the Rise

Swimming in Yellowstone rivers, aside from in a small stretch of the Firehole River, along the Gardner River outside of Mammoth Hot Springs, and in the Bechler region, is prohibited. Yet rangers don't seem to be enforcing that rule very stringently.

Fire Danger Rating In Yellowstone, Grand Teton "Very High" and "Extreme"

Precipitation in the Rockies has been below normal, temperatures have been above normal. Those two conditions alone are creating very dangerous fire conditions in the national parks. In Yellowstone and Grand Teton, for example, officials have rated the fire danger at "extreme."

Product Testing in West Yellowstone

You'll have to excuse the somewhat reduced rate of posts for the next few days. Not only is it a holiday weekend, of sorts, but I'm off product testing in Yellowstone.

Who is Gen-Y and Should the Park Service Care?

Computer animations can bring 18th-century cannon fire to life, but can they bring Gen-Yers to the national parks? Can an audiocast leading teens across a battlefield entice them enough to set foot in Saratoga National Historical Park? Can tracing a hike in Glacier National Park from the comforts of their homes convince this generation to beg their parents to visit Glacier on their next vacation? Those are questions that have more and more park managers searching for answers.

Senate Appropriations Committee Backs Snowmobiles in Yellowstone

What do the National Park Service hierarchy and members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee know about snowmobiles and their impacts that Yellowstone's scientists, the Environmental Protection Agency, and seven former NPS directors don't know?

Repairing Rainier: A Question of Values

While park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga wants to rebuild a section of the road, the storm redesigned the Carbon River, in some places sculpting deep pools valuable to bull trout, a species protected by the Endangered Species Act.

EPA Takes Issue With Yellowstone's Winter Use DEIS

The EPA in its formal comments to the Yellowstone snomobile DEIS says the parks' preference to allow as many as 720 snowmobiles in Yellowstone on a daily basis in winter "may not ensure adequate resource protection" and would result in much more pollution than the snowcoach-only alternative.

Secretary Kempthorne Won't Oversee Snowmobile Decision

Apparently Mr. Kempthorne won't get involved. You see, it turns out that the Interior secretary has recused himself from taking any action on the snowmobile plan because of his former role as governor of Idaho, which holds a stake, albeit small, in the outcome of this issue, which leaves the door open for Lynn Scarlett to step in.

Disaster in Russia Boosts Prominence of Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park long has been recognized as being home to the world's greatest collection of geysers and thermal features. Now a natural disaster on the other size of the globe has heightened the significance of Yellowstone's hot water works.

Bison to be Moved Back to Yellowstone Today

The great bison shuttle is scheduled to be pulled off today as Montana officials round up wayward bison that have decided the grass is indeed greener outside of Yellowstone.

Lawsuit Filed to Stop Delisting of Yellowstone Grizzlies

Just as promised earlier this year, a coalition of conservation groups has filed a lawsuit in a bid to stop the federal government from removing grizzly bears from Endangered Species Act protection.

Yellowstone's Winter Use Plan: Comment Now

Time is running out to comment on Yellowstone's winter-use management plan. The deadline is midnight, local time, tomorrow night. You can comment online at this site. For what it's worth, here's what I had to say:

Yellowstone Bison Gain Reprieve

If you haven't heard by now, a temporary solution has been reached between the state of Montana and Yellowstone National Park officials over some 300 bison that have moved west of the park.

Yellowstone's Snowmobile Public Meetings

While most of the attention on national parks has been focused this week on the roll-out of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's report on the Centennial Initiative, there was other news involving parks.

The Essential Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park

Backcountry Bear Basics

One of the most direct books I've read on avoiding bears in the backcountry is Dave Smith's Backcountry Bear Basics, which just came out in its second edition.

Top Trails: Yellowstone & Grand Teton

You'll find all sorts of charts that let you know whether a particular hike is one-way or roundtrip, steep or level, good for mountain bikers or equestrians, child friendly, and on and on. In fact, the charts and their symbols are so plentiful that the book actually takes a section to explain how to use this information.

The Last Season

I'm so impressed with Eric Blehm's "The Last Season," an accounting of the disappearance of Randy Morgenson, a backcountry ranger who spent 28 seasons in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks before vanishing into a void. It's a mystery that perhaps will appeal largely only to parkies, but it's one masterfully told.