Questions over the legitimacy of fundraising for Defend Our Parks were raised on Twitter on Sunday.

Editor's note: This updates with comment from the attorney for Defend Our National Parks, who says AltYellowstoneNatPark is not part of that organization.

"Ominous Ann," who in the past has raised thousands of dollars purportedly in the name of research in Yellowstone National Park, is not directly connected to a new group organized to oppose the anti-parks caucus in Congress despite what she states on a $10,000 GoFundMe campaign, according to the attorney who filed the organizational paperwork for Defend Our Parks.

Jean Harrison said Monday that Ominous Ann, who claims to be the individual behind AltYellowstoneNatPark, is not one of the organizers of the Defend Our Parks LLC. Nor, she said during a phone call from her Nashville, Tenn., office, is Defend Our Parks a 501(c)(4). Both claims are contained on a GoFundMe campaign launched Sunday by Ominous Ann. 

"I do know the AltYello people, I have done work for them, I have given them advice on various and sundry things over the last year or so," said Ms. Harrison, who explained that her husband, a wildlife photographer, put her in touch with them. "My relationship is strictly professional. I don't know them on a personal level at all. ... The group that put together the Defend Our Parks stuff is not AltYello and the people associated with AltYello."

Ms. Harrison said that last week she filed paperwork in Delaware to establish Defend Our Parks as an LLC, and filed an application with the Federal Election Commission to create a related political action group. While the attorney said she thought that AltYello initially helped organize the group behind Defend Our Parks, "I can tell you conclusively that AltYello is not, nobody affiliated with the AltYello group is a member of the committee or a member or officer of Defend Our Parks, nor to they have any control over the finances."

The attorney said she had little knowledge of Ominous Ann's GoFundMe campaign for Defend Our Parks.

"This is largely a function of people who are more enthusiastic than they are knowledgeable," said Ms. Harrison. "I can tell you, if there is representation that AltYello is directing or has the funds with the group is not correct. ... I don't think they understand what they are saying."

She reiterated that any claims by AltYello to being a 501(c)(4) or reorganized as an LLC known as Defend Our Parks "that is completely incorrect." On the GoFundMe campaign page, Ominous Ann wrote that, "@AltyelloNatPark is now a LLC called "Defend Our Parks PAC" which is a registered Super PAC."

The attorney wouldn't say specifically that Ominous Ann was seeking donations under false pretenses, instead describing the campaign as a case of putting the cart in front of the horse.

"My understanding of what they were attempting to do, was in their enthusiasm they wanted to raise funds to donate to the (Defend Our Parks) PAC. The PAC is not finalized yet," she said. "I've asked everybody to cease and desist from doing anything. I don't think there's any ill intent."

Under GoFundMe guidelines, an individual can raise funds for a campaign and then let another withdraw them.

But other groups in the "alt" movement aren't so sure about AltYellowstoneNatPark's intent. On Sunday after the $10,000 GoFundMe campaign for Defend Our Parks was launched, it drew questions on Twitter from various "alt" groups skeptical about Ominous Ann's new efforts to raise money from the public.

"I don't know who they are. I know that they have, on multiple occasions posted misleading and/or incorrect information and seem to get hostile with anyone who questions what the money from their multiple fund raisers are being used for," wrote AltWASONPS, the alt Twitter handle for the National Park Service's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

Another Twitter account, OldTehanu, provided a quick rundown of Ominous Ann in reply to another who said they had "trusted her from the start":

Seasonal labor at Yellowstone. Minimal ability with tech. Wants to raise $$ for a snowmobile. Has gotten over 16$k donations. No other alt asks for donations... Paranoid about the exact accounts that helped him get set up. Fakes being a woman....--OldTehanu.

Another poster, Science Resists, pointed out that Ominous Ann raised money to support moose research but hasn't provided "financial reporting of where" or how the funds were used.

"Blocking people instead of calmly answering or providing specific bonafides like anonymized govt ID w current newspaper as time stamp is disconcerting," Science Resists added in another comment. "Think of it this way, if anyone can post a Park sign as 'proof' to get $20k, donors can get scammed & valid causes lose $$."

Others tweeted that Snopes had removed AltYellowstoneNatPark from its list of verified "Alt" organizations.

Defending AltYellowstoneNatPark on Twitter was a Jayne Bishop from Utah, who wrote that, "So much hate and snarky remarks. The sad thing is that we're all on the same side. Defend Our Parks is all volunteers, the money raised will be used to printing materials, and printed, radio and television advertising. We must stop the Anti Parks Caucus. They're evil incarnate!"

Ms. Harrison said Ms. Bishop was listed as the treasurer of Defend Our Parks, and that she would reach out to her to see if she would agree to an interview on the matter. She would not say who else was directly connected with the group, other than "people are involved who have jobs at the federal level and are understandably nervous with being exposed or being involved."

"What I see, is a group of very well intentioned people, who have actually some very strong abilities and disciplines that could be useful to this kind of endeavor," she said. "I do not see any kind of concerted effort to defraud anyone. If I did, I wouldn't be involved and I would withdraw."

Ominous Ann, when asked Sunday by the Traveler to provide evidence of their LCC filing, declined.

"Meh, it's not that big a deal. We are certainly going to have to provide that information to everyone soon enough. I bet I could convince our legal team to contact you but unlikely on a Sunday," they said. "Why don't I just put you in touch with our main lawyer, and she can handle your questions as she sees fit."

Ms. Harrison, who thought several people were involved with the AltYellowstoneNatPark account, was not familiar with past efforts by Ominous Ann, through AltYellowstoneNatPark, to raise money for alleged research projects in Yellowstone.

Last fall, AltYellowstoneNatPark used its social media accounts to seek funds allegedly for a research project in Yellowstone.

"Miles behind on winter supplies, we need pretty much everything in the way of winter gear, fuel, transportation & housing. It's a rough slog," he/she tweeted in late September. "Imagine the fuel bill to heat an old log cabin when it's -40 degrees outside."

Several days later they tweeted again, with a link to a GoFundMe page included.

"We've had some unforeseen expenses with the early onset of winter and another big storm rolling in," read the tweet. "Your continued support is essential to our efforts both in the resistance and in science."

And there were pleas for folks to buy cargo blankets from Amazon and ship them, requests for batteries for a digital camera, gators, even food. At one point in his/her GoFundMe campaign, Ominous Ann asked for funds to buy a snowmobile, saying, "We need you now more than ever as we can only conduct an abbreviated study without the B.A.T. snowmobile."

Ominous Ann told the Traveler at the time that all the funds raised through these efforts were to support research in the park.

"As you know, its (sic) pretty expensive to stay in the parks or the surrounding area so yeah. No one is raising money as some form of self enrichment scheme. Thats (sic) nuts, never happened," they wrote.

However, they also said they didn't have a formal grant proposal and no formal budget.

Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk has been suspicious of the individual's intentions, though couldn't verify whether they were conducting research in the park because they hadn't revealed their legal name. While the superintendent asked his law enforcement branch to look into Ominous Ann and AltYellowstoneNatPark, they came up empty.