Yellowstone National Park

Elk, Bison Populations in Yellowstone National Park Said To Be Stable

Late-winter surveys of elk and bison herds in Yellowstone National Park show the animals are maintaining relatively stable populations compared to recent years, according to park biologists.

Want To Save 20 Percent on Lodging in Yellowstone National Park? Here's How

How would you like to save 20 percent on your lodging bill the next time you visit Yellowstone National Park? It's really quite easy, and you can earn a tax deduction in the process.

Is The American Pika Really On The Road To Extinction Due to Climate Change?

Less than a month after a conservation group expressed its displeasure with the Obama administration for not providing Endangered Species Act protection to the American pika due to the plight it might face due to climate change, a new study suggests the tiny mammals are more widespread than thought and seem to thrive in a temperature range greater than long thought possible.

Spring Plowing Coming to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

With winter easing its grip on the Northern Rockies, work is under way in Yellowstone National Park, and soon will be under way in neighboring Grand Teton National Park, to clear snow from the roads.

Time Running Out To Suggest How Yellowstone National Park Should Approach Winter-Use-Plan

Just a few more weeks remain for you to suggest areas that Yellowstone National Park planners should consider in preparing a plan for winter-use in the park.

Yellowstone, Cutthroats and Me: A Fishing Guide’s Autobiography

I remember clearly hurrying to the Yellowstone River after finishing a shift as a seasonal ranger with fly rod in hand. I would rent a rowboat from the Fishing Bridge boat dock and row downstream a bit to clear the lines of the people fishing from the bridge. And then I would begin to cast — not too skillfully I might add — and catch a cutthroat on every second or third cast. It was absolutely the best fishing in the world.

Reader Participation Day: Where Are the Best Waterfalls In the National Park System?

Two of the most incredible waterfalls in the National Park System can be found in Yellowstone National Park. But it certainly doesn't have a monopoly on waterworks. Olympic National Park boasts the beautifully secluded Marymere Falls, Glacier National Park the towering Bird Woman Falls, and Great Smoky Mountain National Park the comparatively small but gorgeous-just-the-same Abrams Falls. What other waterfalls in the park system deserve to be singled out for their beauty?

Group Forms to Urge Plowing Of Roads In Yellowstone National Park

With Yellowstone National Park managers back at work on producing a winter-use plan pertaining to getting around the park, at least one group has mounted a campaign to see some of the park's roads plowed in winter.

Bears Starting to Emerge In Yellowstone National Park

If you're heading to Yellowstone National Park soon to view wolves, you might get a bonus: bears are beginning to emerge from their slumber and are roaming for food.

Some Biologists Envision Wolves Controlling Elk in More National Parks, Others Say That's Impractical

There was a paper that zoomed around cyberspace a couple weeks ago, one that roamed far and wide, not unlike a young wolf seeking a territory of its own. It gathered speed as it was flicked around the Twittersphere because it focused on two subjects that captivate more than a few people -- national parks, and wolves.

Recruiting Under Way For 2010 Youth Conservation Corps at Yellowstone National Park

Had I only known years ago that I could have spent my high school summers in Yellowstone National Park I would have been there in a heartbeat. But I didn't know. But here's the word that your kids have an opportunity now to sign up for the Youth Conservation Corps program in Yellowstone this summer.

NRDC Sues To Have Fish and Wildlife Service Consider Whitebark Pine For Endangered Species Act Protection

It was more than a year ago when the Natural Resources Defense Council asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to see if the whitebark pine, a "stone" pine that grows in the very highest reaches of Yellowstone, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, was eligible for Endangered Species Act protection. Inaction by the agency has prompted the conservation group to sue it to act on the request.

Doug Smith Discusses 15 Years of Yellowstone National Park's Wolf Recovery Program

Media Type:

Audio

Media Path (Audio/Video):

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/rmnpodcast/nptp-020-2010-02-08.mp3

Abstract:

Fifteen years ago, back in 1995, a dream of seeing wolves running wild in Yellowstone National Park came to life, as the first of a handful or two of Canadian wolves were set free into the park. It was the culmination of a long-fought effort to see Yellowstone's ecosystem become whole once again with its complete prey and predator base. Doug Smith, who leads the park's Wolf Project, recently discussed the health of the program and what researchers have learned.

Fifteen years ago, back in 1995, a dream of seeing wolves running wild in Yellowstone National Park came to life, as the first of a handful or two of Canadian wolves were set free into the park. It was the culmination of a long-fought effort to see Yellowstone's ecosystem become whole once again with its complete prey and predator base.

Primary Photo:

Photo Caption:

Doug Smith, leader of Yellowstone National Park's Wolf Project, captured in February 2009 with 472F, a member of the park's Agate Pack. NPS photo.

15 Years Into Yellowstone National Park's Wolf Recovery Program

Deep in Yellowstone National Park's backcountry, our sleep and the predawn darkness was startled by a sound that long had been alien to the park. But on that mid-September day in 2008 the sound was unmistakable. A lone wolf had raised its muzzle to the sky and released a rich, baritone howl that pierced the inky stillness. A long-missing aspect of the park's wildness had very much returned.

Obama Administration Draws Criticism for Declining ESA Protection To Pikas

A diminutive creature that struggles with warmer temperatures brought on by climate change will not receive Endangered Species Act protection for its predicament, the Obama administration has decided in a move that brought quick condemnation from some corners.

U.S. Highway 89, The Scenic Route to Seven Western National Parks

U.S. 89 is a relatively narrow thread of pavement that wends its way 1,600 miles from Glacier National Park in northern Montana to Tumacacori National Historical Park in southern Arizona. Along the way, it passes through five states, past seven units of the National Park System, and through thousands of years of human experience. Ann Torrence captures this sliver of history in words and photographs in a story that is decided off the racetrack known as the interstate highway system.

Yellowstone National Park Heads Down the Winter-Use Plan Road...Again

If, after reading the above headline the movie "Groundhog Day" popped into your mind, you're forgiven. This topic has been poked and prodded more times and ways than the approach to health-care reform. And yet, Yellowstone National Park planners are going to take another swing at it.

Tectonic Plates Thought Responsible for Swarm of Yellowstone National Park Earthquakes

The recent swarm of earthquakes noted at Yellowstone National Park were most likely caused by shifts in tectonic plates, not pressures in the magma chamber beneath the park, according to geologists.

Looking To Gain A Little Structured Education On Your National Park Trip?

Can you tell by looking at a wildflower in Yellowstone National Park what the underlying geology is? Or, while hiking through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, can you identify a bird simply by its song? Do you want to get relatively up close to the elephant seals at Point Reyes National Seashore? Here's how you can do all those things and more.

Trails I've Hiked: Yellowstone National Park's Observation Point Trail

Often over-looked, perhaps because of its short distance or the many other opportunities to be found in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, the Observation Point Trail offers a quick, low-effort hike that rewards you with a grand view of the Old Faithful Geyser.

Another Swarm of Earthquakes Noticed at Yellowstone National Park

It was just more than a year ago when a series of earthquakes shook and rattled Yellowstone National Park for enough days to raise volcanologists' eyebrows. Well, there's another swarm of quakes shaking the park, but so far the scientists say there's nothing unusual going on.

Updated: Is Big Brother Heading for Yellowstone National Park's Backcountry?

What would you think if your travels in Yellowstone National Park's backcountry were being watched by rangers via a remote webcam? It's not out of the realm of possibility under a Wireless Communications Services Plan that the park adopted last spring.

Wintering In Yellowstone National Park: The Logistics

A mid-winter's visit to Yellowstone National Park is a trip you're not likely to forget for the rest of your life. But how do you pull it off? Here's a primer on the logistics you'll need to tackle.

A Father Starts To Heal Watching Yellowstone National Park's Wolves

A tall stoic man stood at the back of his pack, consumed by his own thoughts. He had been listening to an instructor from the Yellowstone Association. For a couple of days, he squinted into roadside spotting scopes and absorbed eloquent discourses on natural history. He was there with family members who arrived to watch wolves together in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park.

Stepping Into the Icebox: A January Visit To Yellowstone National Park

Rocky Mountain air starts out dry, and then the sub-zero cold of its winters pulls out just about all of whatever atmospheric moisture remains. The result is not just a crystal clear sky, but one that seemingly is magnified. Looking at the constellations above Craig Pass in Yellowstone National Park, it sure seemed possible to reach up and pluck a star out of the night.

Yellowstone Association Institute Opening New Campus Just Outside Yellowstone National Park

For years the Buffalo Ranch in Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley has been the field headquarters for the Yellowstone Association Institute. Well, the association is expanding with the opening later this year of an 80-acre campus north of the park near Gardiner, Montana.

Rangers Investigating Utah Man Who Skied Into Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park rangers are looking into the story of a Utah man who cross-country skied into the park in November, allegedly armed with a Glock 9mm. The man appears to have camped alongside the Madison River outside of designated campgrounds. He also found some time to enjoy the warm waters of hot springs near Madison Junction, something that also is against park regs.

Ready For Takeoff

Where In the National Park System Will You Venture in 2010?

Winter is a great time for planning national park vacations. These suggestions will help you get started in the right direction, whether your interests are mainstream or nontraditional.

Repairing Paradise: The Restoration Of Nature in America's National Parks

"Repairing Paradise." That's a somewhat inauspicious title for a book that examines how to restore natural settings in the national parks. But in light of many scenarios that are playing out across the National Park System -- from parks being overrun by elk, deer, and even people to ecosystem subterfuge -- repairs are exactly what need to be made.