Yellowstone News

Yellowstone moves signThe 45th Parallel is an imaginary line circling the Earth exactly midway between the North Pole and the Equator, and it has never moved. But try telling that to tourists in Yellowstone National Park who for years have had their pictures taken next to a sign marking the 45th Parallel.

Twenty years ago, Bob Ekey couldn't believe what he was seeing on television. Just outside his room at the Three Bears Lodge in West Yellowstone, a CNN reporter was broadcasting live that ash from fires burning in Yellowstone National Park was falling as he spoke. It was snow. “I wanted to go out and tackle the guy,” said Ekey, a Billings Gazette reporter covering the 1988 fires. “He sensationalized an already sensational story.”

If you still haven’t decided on a vacation destination, let me suggest a location that will be an adventure for the entire family. If you and your family enjoy the outdoors, consider a trip to Yellowstone. Airfare is expensive, but once there, many of the activities don’t involve extra expense. Wildlife photography, fishing, rafting, scenic hikes, camping, and many other activities are available.

If your idea of a wilderness adventure is kicking back in a cushioned Adirondack chair by a roaring fire while wildlife does its thing safely outside the window, you may find staying in an old-school National Park lodge to be the perfect mix of nature vs. nurture. Especially in the West, some of the wildest park environments are softened by some of the most beautifully constructed and comfortable lodgings this side of paradise (Paradise Inn, in Mount Rainier National Park, that is).

Known for its majestic mountains, “Big Skies” and the hospitality of its people, Montana is full of natural treasures and rich landscapes. The mountains, spectacular national parks and archeological sites provide tourists with varied recreation and sightseeing adventures. During the spring and summer travelers can enjoy such activities as hiking, mountain biking, rafting and rock climbing. While in Montana, visiting Yellowstone National Park is a must. This America’s largest park lures travelers with steaming geysers, amazing waterfalls and crystalline lakes.

Tony Saunders stalked his prey for 35 miles by snowmobile through western Wyoming's Hoback Basin, finally reaching a clearing where he took out a .270-caliber rifle and shot the wolf twice from 30 yards away.Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies have been taken off the endangered species list and are being hunted freely for the first time since they were placed on that list three decades ago, and nowhere is that hunting easier than Wyoming.

More than half of Yellowstone National Park's bison herd has died since last fall, forcing the government to suspend its annual slaughter program.More than 700 of the iconic animals starved or otherwise died on the mountainsides during an unusually harsh winter, and more than 1,600 were shot by hunters or sent to slaughterhouses in a disease-control effort, according to National Park Service figures.As a result, the park estimates its bison herd has dropped from 4,700 in November to about 2,300 today, prompting the government to halt the culling program early.

This year has been a wet Spring at Yellowstone National Park, with the most snow in a dozen years hitting the ground. The conditions are pretty similar to how it was at the park 20 years ago, just before the biggest fires in its history. That's not to suggest we're due for a repeat of the fires of 1988, but it does show just how fast we can go from wet to tinder dry. "The pattern of wetting and drying is what drives fires" explains ASU Fire Researcher Steve Payne. "So we go through an annual cycle inv the West, then we have droughts on top of that."

The National Park Service needs to investigate whether a subspecies of bison might still roam Yellowstone National Park, a former park ranger said.Bob Jackson, a critic of the Park Service and a former Yellowstone ranger, said mountain bison lived on the high-elevation Mirror Plateau south of Lamar Valley for thousands of years before the plains bison were reintroduced to the park.

Yellowstone National Park officials said Thursday that making Sylvan Pass safe for avalanche crews could cost almost $4 million n money the park doesn’t have.The Wyoming pass marks the sole eastern gateway to Yellowstone and is subject to frequent avalanches.Park officials last year said they intended to stop avalanche control needed to keep the route open during winter unless safety issues for park employees were addressed.

Visitors to Yellowstone National Park will be able to drive through the north and west entrances to Norris, Madison, Canyon and Old Faithful this weekend. Despite equipment breakdowns due to the heaviest snowfall in a decade, some park roads are set to reopen to car and RV traffic as scheduled at 8 a.m. Friday. Park crews have to clear 198 miles of main road, 124 miles of secondary roads and 125 acres of parking lots inside the park, as well as 31 miles of the Beartooth Highway outside the park's northeast entrance each spring.