Yellowstone News

Tough economic times may have had an impact on the number of people who visited Yellowstone National Park this winter.Preliminary figures show the total number of visitors to the park for December 2008 through March 2009 was 86,793, down 13.2 percent from the 99,975 visitors recorded for the previous winter season.

After a year when hunting, management actions and a harsh winter wiped out nearly 50 percent of Yellowstone’s bison herd, officials say the park’s iconic species has fared well so far this winter.

As the snow melts and spring begins to emerge, so do bears from their dens. Tracks from an undetermined species of bear were spotted March first on Specimen Ridge, and tracks from a grizzly were spotted on March third along the Tower Fall Ski trail. Soon after emerging from their dens, bears begin looking for food. Bears are attracted to elk and bison that have died over the winter. Elk and bison are such a prized source of food that bears will aggressively defend these carcasses. Anyone disturbing a bear feeding on a carcass puts themselves at serious risk for injury.

Yellowstone National Park is a place of changing, but never-ending, beauty. From the delicate flowers that bloom in spring to the saturated colors of autumn and even to the barren sublimity of winter, its picturesque landscape has made it a world icon. Ironically, one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world has one of the harshest environments, making life a constant struggle for the wildlife that roam its mountains, grasslands, rivers and valleys.

A recent story in the Casper Star-Tribune outlined the many ways Wyoming’s national parks are becoming more environmentally friendly.

A new approach to buffalo management that would restore wild buffalo as "valued, native wildlife in the state of Montana" rather than as diseased pests is making its way through the state legislative process. 

This summer Montana's Historic Firehole Ranch is hosting its second annual "Women's Week," August 2-6, 2008, for discriminating fly fishing enthusiasts of all abilities. Located just outside of Yellowstone National Park, the Orvis endorsed Firehole Ranch offers an unmatched variety of blue ribbon trout waters. Fabled rivers like the Madison, Yellowstone, Henry's Fork, and Gallatin will be the setting for clinics, classes and guided trips. 

We were expecting to see plenty of wildlife on a winter outing to Yellowstone National Park, but -- silly us -- we thought we might have to get through the entrance first.

Yellowstone National Park will receive $1 million for research that could find new life in and around the hydrothermal vents of Yellowstone Lake. 

 Montana wildlife officials have killed a pair of elk north of Yellowstone National Park near Gardiner after they tested positive for exposure to the disease brucellosis. 

Snowfall is welcome at Yellowstone Park this time of year; it is a much needed element to ensure winter season recreation activities for tourists, but, visitation is down so far this year. 

If you’ve ever thought of visiting Yellowstone, the world’s first national park and the template for conservation efforts everywhere, this winter is the perfect time. Winter in Yellowstone is an entirely different ballgame than the summer months when hoards of tourists drive their doublewides through the park, clogging up the roads as traffic jams form with the sight of every elk, bison or coyote that wanders within eyeshot of their air conditioned cabs.<

Recent earthquake activity in Yellowstone National Park has raised concern that the quakes are a sign that the supervolcano located there is ready to erupt; bringing catastrophic damage and triggering a severe change in weather. 

As the Interior Department announces it will again take wolves from the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone officials report the number of wolves declined last year in the park by 27 percent. 

After a month of frequent and unexplained earthquakes, Yellowstone National Park is experiencing dangerous avalanche conditions like much of the American West.