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February 2002
The Magic of Yellowstone front page

The Yellowstone Fact Guide
Links to maps, visitor information, educational resources on wildlife, thermal features, and much more. 
Yellowstone Newspaper
founded January 15, 1999

I don't have reporters, and so you won't find stories here that aren't elsewhere on the internet.  What you will find here is Yellowstone news that I have compiled from news gathering and activist sources.  What I want is for this page to be a resource for those looking for or needing to do research on current events in Yellowstone.  For further factual research, go to The Magic of Yellowstone Fact Guide or History Guide.

Help report.  If you have a news tip or know of an online news resource, either post in our new and improved discussion forum or email Jim at jsmacdonald@yellowstonemagic.com

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News from Activists:


News from the Newspapers:


Opinion Pieces: 

2/28/02 Is the growth of the Northern Rockies wolf population nearing an end? (by National Wildlife Federation)
2/28/02 Updates from the Field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
2/25/02 Memorandum of understanding forged with the Forest Service (by BlueRibbon Coalition)
2/25/02 Servicewide memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and the BlueRibbon Coalition, Inc.  (by BlueRibbon Coalition)
2/24/02 Montana DOL and Fish, Wildlife, and Parks violate Gallatin Forest Plan in capture of 9 Bison near Yellowstone (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
2/23/02 GRAY WOLF RECOVERY WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT: Status of Gray Wolf Recover, Weeks of 2/15 - 2/22, 2002 (by Ralph Maughan)
2/21/02 The final comment period begins for the future of snowmobiling in Yellowstone!  Your comments will make a difference! (by BlueRibbon Coalition)
2/21/02 Updates from the Field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
2/19/02 Parks group backs snowmobile ban: Alternative rules would damage Yellowstone (by National Parks Conservation Association)
2/17/02 GRAY WOLF RECOVERY WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT: Status of Gray Wolf Recover, Weeks of 2/08 - 2/15, 2002 (by Ralph Maughan)
2/15/02 Snowmobiling abuses in Yellowstone continue despite costly new mitigation efforts: Park records reveal hundreds of violations while park employees continue to suffer health problems from snowmobile exhaust (by Greater Yellowstone Coalition)
2/15/02 Get story straight on NPS Yellowstone "study" (by Ed Klim President International Snowmobile Manufacturer's Association as reported by BlueRibbon Coalition)
2/14/02 Study shows snow coach emissions six times higher than new snowmobiles (by Wyoming Depatment of State Parks and Cultural Resources)--Wyoming has been an ally of the pro-snowmobile lobby, and this story is an interesting wrinkle in the debate.  Of course, pollution is but one aspect of it.
2/14/02 Updates from the Field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
2/13/02 Snowmobile poker ride supports continued snowmobiling in Yellowstone (by Jack Welch President BlueRibbon Coalition)
2/11/02 More Yellowstone wolves radio-collared. Average Druid Peak Pack wolf is small(by Ralph Maughan)
2/9/02 GRAY WOLF RECOVERY WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT: Status of Gray Wolf Recover, Weeks of 2/01 - 2/08, 2002 (by Ralph Maughan)
2/7/02 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young rock for the buffalo! (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
2/7/02 Montana Department of Livestock and National Park Service squander tax dollars to slaughter two "low risk" bull near Yellowstone National Park (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
2/7/02 Updates from the Field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)--
TWO MORE BISON SLAUGHTERED
2/6/02 Two of three bison test positive for brucellosis (by Montana Department of Livestock)
2/5/02 Conservation groups reach agreement with Forest Service on helicopter skiing critical wildlife habitat protected, but legal action will continue (by Greater Yellowstone Coalition)
2/4/02 Interior's Parks budget inches forward, falls short of need (by Ron Tipton National Parks Conservation Association)
2/4/02 Gros Ventre Pack shows up near Pinedale, Wyoming (by Ralph Maughan)
2/2/02 GRAY WOLF RECOVERY WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT: Status of Gray Wolf Recover, Weeks of 1/25 - 2/01, 2002 (by Ralph Maughan)
 
2/28/02 Wildlife official use new test for buffalo brucellosis (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/28/02 Wyoming preparing for grizzlies (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
2/28/02 Wolf class: Yellowstone Institute provides an incredible classroom (by Kayley Mendenhall Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/28/02 Wilderness group pushing for more nonmotorized access to winter forests (by Brett French Billings Gazette)
2/27/02 Nine bison captured, five slaughtered
(by Bob Furu West Yellowstone News)
2/27/02 Federal maps could be leading flood plain development astray(by Nick Gevock Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/27/02 Forest Service, motorized recreation group sign pact
(by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/26/02 First female bison of the winter caught
(by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)--5 Sent to slaughter
2/25/02 State considers changes to bison regulations (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)
2/25/02 Research Roundup: Buffalo Roam (by Montana State University Research Office Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/24/02 Winter wanderings: Sleigh is the way to see the majestic herd of elk in Wyoming refuge(by Carolyn Moreau The Hartford Courant in Chicago Tribune)
2/23/02 Losses from snowmobile ban studied (by Brett French Billings Gazette)
2/23/02 Wolf kills feed many other animals: ‘Nothing is wasted’ (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
2/22/02 Park Service finally unveils ban plans
(by David Warner West Yellowstone News)
2/22/02 Mystery banner pronounces West ‘Bison Capital of the World’(by David Warner West Yellowstone News)
2/22/02 Health officials jolted by speed of West Nile (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
2/21/02 Winter use issue re-opened: Supplemental Draft EIS presents four alternatives, two of which would allow snowmobiling to continue in parks (by Shelli Johnson Yellowstone Journal)
2/21/02 Welcome mat won't be put out for U.S. cattle (by Barbara Duckworth The Western Producer--Saskatoon, Sask., Canada)
2/21/02 Montana sets avalanche death record at 8; nationally, 18 dead (AP story in  AZCentral.com)
2/21/02 Thomas says sleds will remain in parks: In Yellowstone, rangers don gas masks for busy Presidents' Day weekend as a new draft study is released (by Whitney Royster Jackson Hole News)--Sen. Thomas represents Wyoming
2/21/02 Wyoming studies partridges’ effect on grouse, habitat (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
2/20/02 National Park Service proposes banning or limiting snowmobiles in Yellowstone, Grand Teton (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)
2/20/02 Interior reviews Yellowstone snowmobiles - againt (ENS)--4th article
2/20/02 U.S. weighs lifting ban on snowmobiles at Yellowstone (by Judith Graham and Michael Kilian Chicago Tribune)
2/20/02 Road work tops Teton’s projects list (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/19/02 Winter Use Plans: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway (National Park Service)--Comment period ends 5/29/02
2/19/02 Internet version of Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for winter use in Yellowstone National Park (National Park Service)--press release of above report
2/19/02 Feds to revisit snowmobiles in National Parks (by Jim Burns CNSNews.com)
2/19/02 Park employees wearing respirators (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/19/02 Enthusiasts keep tabs on gray wolf's comeback (AP story in The Salt Lake Tribune)
2/19/02 Biologist: Martian life unlikely (by Michael Smith UPI)
2/19/02 Rare landscape art on show (by BBC)
2/18/02 Grizzlies and wolves challenge Idaho: Legislature begins debate on assuming management of protected predators (by Rocky Barber The Idaho Statesman)
2/18/02 2 county residents killed in avalanche (by James Hagengruber Billings Gazette)
2/17/02 Two die in snowmobile accident (by Alison Pride Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/17/02 Two snomobilers killed in avalanche near Cooke City, third escaped (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/17/02 Grand Teton explores housing (AP story in Billings Gazette)--2nd story
2/17/02 Cooke City the end of road in winter
(Vince Devlin The Missoulian in Billings Gazette)
2/16/02 Yellowstone snowmobile report delayed again (AP story in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/16/02 Yellowstone workers issued respirators for snowmobile pollution (AP story in Detroit News)--many other newspapers across the country picked up this story
2/15/02 Snowmobilers could shift into park again

(by Dennis McAuliffe Jr. Washington Post)
2/15/02 Air quality concerns prompt Yellowstone to offer workers respirators (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/14/02 Group wants to identify all living things within 25 years (AP story in Journal Star--Lincoln, NE)
2/13/02
Park Web sites back up (Billings Gazette)
2/12/02 Reid: Keep snowmobiles out of Yellowstone (by Environmental News Service)--2nd article; Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada is the Majority Whip in U.S. Senate
2/12/02 Yellowstone River study examines its role in lives (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/11/02 Yellowstone is proud of employees' Participation in 2002 Olympics (National Park Service)
2/11/02 Beartooth Highway work planned (by Carole Cloudwalker Cody Enterprise)
2/11/02 Plan would preserve gateway (AP story in Billings Gazette)--1st article
2/11/02 Landmark store, Yellowstone Drug now up for sale (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/11/02 Two snowboarders walk away from avalanche only slightly hurt (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)
2/11/02 Plan to boost affordable housing tabled (AP story in Billings Gazette)--3rd article
2/10/02 Snowcoach research money never materialized (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/10/02 Cooke City conserves water (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/8/02 Park County promises to keep bears out (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/8/02 Cooke City’s water supply tapped out (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/7/02 Biologists say elk numbers aren't declining where wolves mulitplying (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/7/02 Agency rejects snowmobile study (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/6/02 Park snowmobile phase-out delayed: Yellowstone anticipates record crowds (by Kit Miniclier Denver Post)
2/6/02 Lawmakers fear wolves harming elk population (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/6/02 Environmentalists, Forest Service agree on skiing (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/6/02 More homeless pack Billings shelters beyond capacity (by James Hagengruber Billings Gazette)--not directly about Yellowstone, but too often is for people who lose their job in the Park as the story points out
2/5/02 Is Bush plan good for national parks? (AP story in Montana Forum)
2/5/02 Timber sale nixed by summer blaze (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/5/02 YNP nixes Hamilton, picks New York firm 

(by Carole Cloudwalker Cody Enterprise)
2/5/02 Teton County planners recommend golf course proposal (AP story in Billings Gazette)--3rd story
2/5/02 Jackson Hole Land Trust sets preservation record (AP story in Billings Gazette)--4th story
2/3/02 Comment sought on park proposal (by Billings Gazette)
2/3/02 Wolf watchers get front-row seat to gray wolf’s comeback (AP story by Becky Bohrer in Billings Gazette)
2/3/02 With a vulnerable computer system, Interior is cut off from internet (by Stephen Barr

Washington Post)
2/3/02 Olympic training ground: Biathletes converge on West Yellowstone (by Kayley Mendenhall Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/2/02 Review doesn't back overturning snowmobile ban (by Tom Kenworthy USA Today)
2/2/02 NPS vet remains at Yellowstone (by Billings Gazette)
2/2/02 Groups eye suit to block heli-skiing (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/2/02 Delaware North lands $25 million contract at Yellowstone (by Buffalo Business First)
2/2/02 Fugitive enters guilty plea in theft case (AP story in St. Paul Pioneer Planet)
2/1/02 Yellowstone National Park welcomes news Assistant Superintendent (National Park Service)
2/1/02 Free programs at Grizzly Discovery Center (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/1/02 Yellowstone stores to keep familiar faces 

(by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)--Encouraging, but we'll see
2/1/02 Yellowstone concession contract bid details secret  (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/1/02 Park Service delays report on snowmobiling (by Billings Gazette)
2/1/02 Small quake concerns geologists (AP story in Billings Gazette)
2/1/02 Permitting house on floodplain a ‘balancing act,’ official says (by Clair Johnson Billings Gazette)
2/1/02 Mistitled article on coalbed methane extraction (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/1/02 Art of the West (by Kelton Hatch Idaho State Journal)
2/1/02 Virginia man dies in skiing accident near Jackson (by Kelton Hatch Idaho State Journal)
2/1/02 New charges for 2 arrested in park (AP story in Billings Gazette)
  (comment in discussion forum)
2/28/02 Park service rangers getting gassed by snowmobiles (by Laura Scott Kansas City Star)
2/27/02 The time is coming when we must brace for change at any level (by Bob Furu West Yellowstone News)
2/27/02 Observations from 6,666 feet
(by Bob Furu West Yellowstone News)
2/27/02 Leave the elk counting to the pros (by Barry Christianson in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/27/02 Wolf population must be controlled
(by Robert T. Fanning Jr. in Billings Gazette)--4th opinion
2/26/02 Agencies put their own bias into studies

(by Cheryl McLean in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/26/02 Snowmobile makers trying to upgrade for park (by Joy Beer in Billings Gazette)--5th opinion
2/26/02 How many sunsets can you take?: There's plenty of power and glory on display in American Sublime. But it's the quiet moments that matter (by Adam Searle The Guardian--UK)
2/25/02 No joke; national parks lack fresh air, repair dollars (by Peoria StarJournal)
2/25/02 Yellowstone still no place for snowmobiles (by Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
2/24/02 Snowmobile War Redux (by Los Angeles Times)
2/24/02 Origins of the agenda to lock us out of our public lands explored (by Kerry White BlueRibbon Coalition in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/24/02 Taxpayers pay for floodplain disasters (by Karl Christians Montana Floodplain Program Manager in Billings Gazette)
2/22/02 People must not be misled by incomplete statistics
(by Bob Furu West Yellowstone News)
2/22/02 Wolves are a fact of life, now and into the future (by Joel Peterson Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/22/02 Yellowstone: Get snowmobiles out of that Park (by Rush Holt U.S. Representative, D-NJ, and Michael Scott Greater Yellowstone Coaltion in Washington Post)
2/22/02 Cons outweigh pros for state-control of federal lands (by Carl D. Esbjornson in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/21/02 Why your Yellowstone SEIS should support Alternative 2 (by BlueRibbon Coalition)
2/21/02 Grizzly dilemma (by Charles Rousseaux Washington Times)
2/21/02 There is science behind push to delist wolves now (by Robert T. Fanning of Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/20/02 Base wolf decisions on science rather than politics (by Fred Peipelman in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/19/02 Offer made to help lawmakers with wolf plan (by Mike Phillips of Turner Endangered Species Fund in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/19/02 Take responsibility for a share of the wolf problem (by Kay Van Norman in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/18/02 Continue the phase-out; it's time to move onto new issues (by Kate Burnaby Wright in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/17/02 The racket is back (by Denver Post)
2/17/02 Many rescuers helped save snowmobiler’s life (by Barbara, Larry, Darryl and Jennifer Olson in Billings Gazette)--14th letter
2/17/02 Chickadee count indicative of alarming population rise (by Steve Forrest in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/16/02 New thoughts on wolf recovery in the West (by Mike Phillips of Turner Endangered Species Fund in Billings Gazette)
2/15/02 Yellowstone is a special place that deserves special care (by Phyllis Wolfe in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/15/02 Biased claims of lawmakers don’t deserve ink (by Scott Powell in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/14/02 Same song, second verse
(by Idaho Falls Post-Register)
2/14/02 Phase-out of snowmobiles looking better and better (by Sandy Dodge in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/14/02 Lawmakers should let the professionals do their jobs (by Louis Regnerus in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/13/02 Snowmobile ban in Yellowstone will cost 900 jobs and will cost over $36 million!(by Jack Welch President BlueRibbon Coalition)
2/13/02 Lawmakers working with too little data (by Barbara Forrest in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/13/02 Personal attacks need not be part of elk debate (by State Rep. Dan Fuchs in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/12/02 Wolves not the real threat to elk populations (by Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/11/02 Here come the wolves (by Joseph Farah WorldNetDaily)
2/11/02 Elk have survived wolves for thousands of years (by Matt Becker in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/10/02 Sometimes Crying "Wolf!" is a Good Thing (by MT State Rep. Joe Balyeat in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/10/02 Effort to get wolves delisted should be focused elsewhere (by Mike Phillips of Turner Endangered Species Fund in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/10/02 Floodplains should be a planning priority (by Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/9/02 Bureaucrats slaughter Yellowstone bison (by Peter Leusch Buffalo Field Campaign in Billings Gazette)--1st letter
2/8/02 Park will still be there (by Don Pickering in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/7/02 Catching up on repairs (by Jeff Gibson Montana Standard)
2/6/02 It was, after all, a Small Business Committee hearing (by Jack Clarkson in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/6/02 Ranchers lose out to wildlife predation (by West Donohoe in Billings Gazette)--1st letter
2/5/02 Wildlife enthusiasts are fed up: Problems inherent in Fish and Game must be dealt with (by Idaho State Journal)


2/4/02 Objective of West Yellowstone, hearing was not objectivity (by Robert C. Haraden in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/3/02 Bear-proof dumpster bill belongs in Big Sky (by Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
2/3/02 Wildlife official wrong about elk (by John J. Wantulok in Billings Gazette)--2nd letter (This letter is absurd.  He claims he has never seen an elk in Wyoming killed by a car.  I've known people who killed an elk in Wyoming with their car!)
2/3/02 Bush should implement forest roadless rule (by Margaret Webster in Billings Gazette)--1st letter
2/1/02 Bottom line should be integrity of river corridor (by Joan Ryshavy in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

Copyright 1999, 2002 James S. Macdonald Jr.