national parks – Page 16 – Syndication Server

Yellowstone: Limited reopening ‘highly possible’ next week

Yellowstone National Park, which closed on June 13 because of a historic flooding event, is expected to reopen on a limited basis next week.

Yellowstone National Park, which closed Monday because of historic flooding, is expected to reopen on a limited basis as early as next week.

The park stated Friday in a news release that the West, South, and East entrances are slated for reopening next week, and described the likelihood as “highly possible.” A date was not specified.

The two northern entrances, where road washouts and slides were most prevalent, remain closed indefinitely.

Employee housing near the Yellowstone River. Photo: NPS

The park became inundated starting June 12, when unprecedented rainfall and melting snow caused mudslides, rockslides, and severe flooding.

Segments of roads washed out. Water and wastewater systems, power lines, and other critical infrastructure were severely damaged.

ALSO: Yellowstone bison uses boardwalk as headrest and, yes, it’s a scene

Rivers are still high, but water levels have dropped and weather conditions are favorable for a reopening that would allow access to the South Loop.

The park is researching a possible reservation system and other “appropriate visitor management” options to prevent overcrowding.

The National Park Service, meanwhile is researching what other portions of the park might reopen later in the season.

The NPS, over the past 96 hours, has worked with more than 1,000 partners in Yellowstone gateway communities, as well as counties and states, to assess damage and discuss strategies.

The park is asking visitors with trips planned for this season to continue to check the park website and social-media pages for updates. They should also check with local chambers of commerce, if appropriate.

Lonely Yellowstone wolf cries out during rare close encounter

A Yellowstone National Park tourist enjoyed a rare encounter last week involving a lone wolf that paused on the road to howl as he drove past the animal.

A Yellowstone National Park tourist enjoyed a rare encounter last week involving a wolf that howled plaintively from the road as he drove past the iconic predator.

Justin Byerly’s footage, posted below, shows the dark-colored gray wolf trotting in the same direction on the other side of the road, and pausing to issue a skyward howl.

Byerly, of Woodlife Photography, told For The Win Outdoors that he encountered the wolf between Norris and Mammoth at about 2:30 p.m. That in itself is somewhat rare, given that wolves are most active at dawn and dusk.

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Byerly did not see other wolves. “However, I believe it was calling to his other pack members to give his location,” he said.

The wolf is collared so it’s known to park biologists. Byerly believes the wolf belongs to the Wapiti Lake Pack.

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He said he drove past the wolf to a pullout so he could watch it catch up as he was parked (see accompanying images). Byerly then left to explore the park.

A friend later told him that the wolf stayed on the road until a caravan of about 10 vehicles followed, then it vanished into the woods.

Yellowstone’s wolves are most commonly spotted in Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley, and sightings typically involve distant animals. Close encounters involving lone wolves crying out for company are extremely rare.

Last Christmas Day, a different photographer captured footage showing a solo wolf howling into a snowy wilderness during a dawn encounter. That wolf also was said to belong to the Wapiti Lake Pack.

In December 2021, Yellowstone estimated the number of wolves living inside the park at 95 individuals – a 23% decline from 2020. The decline was due largely to relaxed hunting regulations outside the park, primarily in Montana. (Yellowstone wolves can be legally shot by hunters if they venture beyond park boundaries.)

In February 2022, toward the end of hunting season, the park estimated the number of Yellowstone wolves to number 90 individuals.

Grand Teton park motorist clocked at 132 mph during pursuit

An Idaho man was arrested Sunday after a pursuit in which he was clocked at 132 mph in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

Police radar clocked the motorist at 108 mph near the Teton Point Turnout, according to the Jackson Hole News and Guide. Police followed with lights flashing and sirens blaring, hoping the man would pull over.

But the motorist stepped on the gas and attained a speed of 132 mph while southbound near Moose Junction. (The maximum daytime speed limit on Highway 89/26/191 is 55 mph.)

Park spokesman CJ Adams told the News and Guide that the motorist got stuck in traffic at the Gros Ventre Roundabout and pulled over with other motorists who had pulled over to make way for police.

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If that was an attempt to blend in and evade capture, it didn’t work.

The man, who was driving a Dodge truck, was arrested and cited for multiple offenses, including driving while under the influence, open container, driving with a suspended license, and trying to escape officers.

The man was due to appear in court Tuesday, Adams said.

Rare Yellowstone cougar encounter caught on video

An ecotour company that operates in Yellowstone National Park has captured extremely rare footage of an active cougar.

“Low quality video but a high quality sighting!” Yellowstone Wolf Tracker boasted Sunday via Instagram. “Today many of us were graced with a rare sighting of a very elusive predator; the mountain lion!”

The footage, captured from a distance, briefly shows a large cougar, or mountain lion, gazing in one direction before walking lazily out of the frame.

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The park estimates the cougar population at between 34 and 42 animals, mostly in the northern range. Other cougars may enter the park seasonally. (Yellowstone National Park encompasses nearly 3,500 square miles.)

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The animals are considered phantom-like because they’re so rarely encountered.

Cougars prey mostly on deer and young elk, but also small mammals such as marmots.

According to the park’s website, bears and wolves sometimes displace cougars from their kills, and wolves sometimes kill adult cougars and cougar kittens.

The park states that “very few documented confrontations between cougars and humans have occurred in Yellowstone.”

–Cougar image is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Watch: Moose sighting brings Grand Teton tourist to tears

Footage has surfaced showing a woman crying tears of joy after spotting her first wild moose in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

Who else becomes emotional after seeing their favorite critter for the first time in a national park?

The accompanying footage shows Caitlyn Sheamus crying tears of joy after spotting her first wild moose in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

“It was on my bucket list,” she explained to FTW Outdoors.

The footage, shared Friday by National Parks Guide, was captured last May as Sheamus and her boyfriend drove from their campground toward Jackson. (Below is the original footage.)

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“What did you see?” her boyfriend asks while documenting her reaction.

“I saw a moose,” she answers between sobs.

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Some viewers observed a bit of themselves in the footage.

“When he sees a bison and when I see an eagle,” reads one comment, in reference to that couple’s reactions produced by those iconic critters.

“Bears,” reads another.

“I love this so much,” reads yet another.

Sheamus said she and her boyfriend, Steve, had driven from Michigan to explore Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park for the first time.

Both parks teem with wild animals, large and small, and visitors often keep mental checklists of critters they hope to see.

While it might be rare to cry after spotting a precious animal, it’s quite common for iconic critter sightings to stir emotions.

Lonely Yellowstone wolf cries out in surreal dawn encounter

A Yellowstone National Park visitor spent Christmas morning following a lone wolf as it howled plaintively into the snowy wilderness.

A Yellowstone National Park visitor spent Christmas morning following a lone wolf as the animal howled plaintively into the snowy wilderness.

“I don’t know if he’s a pack member or an outside male looking for love,” Deby Dixon, who captured the accompanying footage, told FTW Outdoors. “Judging from the size of his tracks, I feel certain it was a male.”

Dixon, a nature photographer sho specializes in Yellowstone wildlife, described the surreal encounter as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Surprisingly, the wolf did not abandon the road as Dixon followed from a safe distance; the animal seemed to care only about receiving a response from other wolves.

The wolf might have become separated from the Wapiti Lake Pack, which was observed in the same area a day earlier.

Wolf sightings are not uncommon in Yellowstone, especially during the winter when the distant animals are easy to spot as they travel across snow. But close encounters involving lone wolves crying out for others are extraordinary.

Dixon said she was pleased that two groups behind her also enjoyed the experience.

“The roads were tough and I had passed a tour van and a truck before spotting some fresh wolf tracks on the other side of the road,” Dixon recalled. “I followed them for two or three miles before spotting the wolf.

“The folks in the truck were from Georgia and they said that they let me pass thinking I might lead them to wolves. They were excited. While following slowly behind the wolf, I was aware of trying not to ruin the sighting for them, especially the tour bus, while not disturbing the wolf.

“In this situation, I was excited to be sharing the experience with others but also aware that they couldn’t see him as well as I could and my staying well back wasn’t helping that. So, when the wolf turned and went past us [at the end of the video], it was just the icing on the experience.”

Visitors try to furnish a national park – and officials are furious

The enormous sofa set afforded a wonderful ocean view, but to the National Park Service the furniture placed prominently within a vast Southern California wilderness area represented a blight on the landscape.

The large sofa set afforded a wonderful ocean view, but to the National Park Service the furniture staged inside a vast Southern California wilderness area represented a blight on the landscape.

“To the folks who left the six-piece sectional sofa set up with a view overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Deer Creek: This land IS your land (but it’s not your living room)! It’s a living space for all wildlife and visiting people,” reads a statement by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

“It took some human muscle, hand carts, and two trucks for five federal employees to haul the furniture from National Park Service property. The cigarette butts, beer cans and bottles that were strewn around were enough to fill two garbage bags, too.”

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The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is one of the world’s largest urban national parks, encompassing five area codes and 26 zip codes. The mountains extend east-to-west 40 miles from the Los Angeles community of Hollywood Hills to Pt. Mugu in Ventura County.

Littering and graffiti are problematic issues, but for the most part visitors are respectful of the natural wonders within a wilderness that’s representative of what Southern California looked like before urban development.

A Facebook post about the sofa set inspired more than 250 comments, including expressions of gratitude toward the Park Service.

https://www.facebook.com/santamonicamtns/posts/10158386383313660

“Thank you for taking that eyesore out,” one comment reads. “The cleanup you had to do was unfortunate… and cigarette butts… with the devastating fires we’ve had: WHY people, WHY?”

Another comment: “Thanks for cleaning this up, it is a constant problem at Tahoe. Trash, graffiti, using masks for TP and leaving for someone else to clean up. Very inconsiderate, very irresponsible. Sad it is happening in the Santa Monica mountains, too.”

The Facebook post, signed by the “The park rangers of the Santa Monica Mountains,” concludes with a plea aimed at future visitors: “Please consider your actions and don’t litter! This was a waste of resources and time.”

–Images courtesy of NPS/Denise Foerster and Preston DeCorte

SUV collides with Yellowstone bison, night driving at issue

A recent collision involving a bison and a large SUV in Yellowstone National Park should serve as a reminder to park visitors to drive extra carefully at night.

The top image, captured two weeks ago by Dianna Borgmier, shows extensive damage to a Nissan Armada hours after it struck a bison near Yellowstone Lake at about 10:30 p.m.

The bison, Borgmier explained, did not survive.

“This is why you don’t need to drive after dark,” she wrote on the Yellowstone Visitor Facebook page. “Bison hit, killed, I know of four bison in the last few days. Way to many! The road is theirs.”

Yellowstone bison crosses road during the day. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Borgmier told For The Win Outdoors that the vehicle was towed to a repair shop run by her husband at the Fishing Bridge service area. “He has a lot of pictures from the last four years of bison hits in the park,” Borgmier said.

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Borgmier did not know if anyone inside the vehicle suffered injuries.

A park spokesman had not, at the time of this post, provided details about the incident or answered a request for an estimate of how many bison are struck by vehicles annually inside the park.

More than 100 comments accompany the Yellowstone Visitor Facebook page, some pertaining to close calls tourists have experienced, and others suggesting that too many motorists speed through the uncrowded park at night.

“At night it is near impossible to see a bison on the road,” one comment reads.

Yellowstone is home to more than 4,500 bison. It’s the only location in the lower 48 states that has had a free-ranging bison population since prehistoric times.

The iconic critters are revered by visitors, in part, because of their omnipresence. But also because of their colossal appearance and casual, sometimes goofy demeanor as they roam the landscape.

They are the heaviest land animals in North America and can weigh 2,000 pounds, but they’re no match for a fast-moving, 5,000-pound SUV.

The animals are easy to spot during the day, but night drivers sometimes do not see them until the animals are illuminated in their headlamps.

Night driving, while not recommended, is fairly common as motorists sometimes use the park as a thoroughfare, or simply get caught after dark while exploring.

The maximum speed limit in Yellowstone National Park is 45 mph.

Yellowstone records first grizzly bear sighting of 2021

Yellowstone National Park has logged its first grizzly bear sighting of 2021, indicating that the end of the hibernation season is near.

Yellowstone National Park has logged its first grizzly bear sighting of 2021, indicating that the hibernation season is nearly over.

The bear, which was interacting with wolves at a large animal carcass, was spotted Saturday by a pilot conducting wildlife studies, according to a news release issued Tuesday.

Male grizzly bears typically begin to emerge from their dens in early March. Female grizzly bears with cubs emerge in April and early May.

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The bears will immediately try to fatten up on elk and bison that perished during the harsh winter.

“When bears first emerge from hibernation, they look for carcasses at lower elevations and spring vegetation in thermal meadows and south-facing slopes for nourishment,” said Kerry Gunther, a Yellowstone bear management biologist.

The park stated that bears “will react aggressively” toward intruders while feeding and urged visitors to stay at least 100 yards from the animals.

Visitors also should carry bear spray in case of surprise encounters.

–Grizzly bear image is courtesy of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone bear ferociously guards kill as tourists watch

A grizzly bear that killed a bull elk in a Yellowstone National Park river battle last Friday has become a major tourist attraction.

That’s because the male grizzly has partially buried the elk on the bank of the Yellowstone River, across from a paved road, and is taking his time consuming the carcass.

“Wolves tried to come in yesterday, but this bear won’t even allow ravens to share, which is unusual,” Deby Dixon of Deby’s Wild World Photography, told For The Win Outdoors.

“This bear is methodical and does not appear to be concerned about anything taking away his food. Most bears stuff themselves in a hurry, for fear of losing it to another.”

Dixon on Tuesday captured a remarkable image showing the bear in a ferocious defensive posture alongside the half-buried elk. (See full image below.)

“I don’t want to run into this guy in the forest!” Dixon wrote on Facebook.

(Graphic video showing the bear attacking the elk can be viewed here.)

Grizzly bears do not typically attack full-grown elk, but this elk appeared to have previously suffered a broken leg, which made the animal vulnerable.

“A healthy elk would have gotten across the water before the bear even got to the river,” said Dixon, who specializes in Yellowstone wildlife photography.

After drowning the elk, the bear carved a large section of bank and covered most of the carcass to keep it fresh and prevent its scent from attracting predators.

News of this incredible display spread across social media and wildlife enthusiasts are driving into the park daily to witness the feeding event. (The grizzly bear is known to the park, cataloged as 791.)

Dixon said park staff is doing a good job of keeping tourists from blocking the road, but people are parking farther away and walking back to watch or photograph the bear.

A park spokeswoman told For The Win Outdoors that rangers may not always be present and that tourists “have a responsibility to behave in a way that doesn’t put people, or the bear, at risk.”

–Images courtesy of Deby Dixon/Deby’s Wild World