Yellowstone right now
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from Weather Underground

January 2003
The Magic of Yellowstone front page

The Yellowstone Fact Guide
Links to maps, visitor information, 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 the discussion forum or email Jim at jsmacdonald@yellowstonemagic.com

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News from Activists:


News from the Newspapers:


Opinion Pieces: 

1/31/03 Fishing for a solution: Yellowstone National Park struggles to avert an ecological disaster (by Greater Yellowstone Coalition)--about program to remove Lake Trout, which is a non-native species, from Yellowstone Lake
1/30/03 Update from the field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)--Two bull bison sent to slaughter
1/29/03 Fund for Animals condemns U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for allowing extinction of U.S. breeding trumpeter swans (by The Fund for Animals)
1/29/03 Delaware North Parks Severices becomes Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts: New name reflects focus of world-class hospitality company (by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts)--Delaware North, whatever its precise name, is the concessionaire that is replacing Hamilton Stores this coming year
1/28/03 Nez Perce Pack found on National Elk Refuge at Jackson (by Ralph Maughan)
1/24/03 Protect bison habitat: Comments needed ASAP (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
1/23/03 Update from the field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
1/22/03 More on the missing Nez Perce Pack: Did the light winter provoke their move? (by Ralph Maughan)
1/19/03 Has Yellowstone Park's wolf population growth ended? (by Ralph Maughan)
1/18/03 Yellowstone's Nez Perce pack still missing! (by Ralph Maughan)
1/16/03 Update from the field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)--so far mild winter has kept bison within Park boundaries and safe
1/14/03 Thirteen YNP wolves radio-collared: Thin snow pack hinders efforts: Nez Perce Pack missing (by Ralph Maughan)
1/14/03 New list of America's ten most endangered National Parks highlights widespread problems: Air pollution, development, insufficient funding, administration policies threaten parks (by National Parks Conservation Association)
1/12/03 Two Teton Pack dispersers shot by Wildlife Services (by Ralph Maughan)
1/10/03 Grizzly bear zoo on Bozeman Pass?! Please help protect the area's natural and community values (by Greater Yellowstone Coalition)
1/9/03 Update from the field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
1/8/03 Elk don't need vaccinations! Just a home on the range: Deadline for comments is January 15th! (by Buffalo Field Campaign)--Several other groups are involved with this as well.
1/7/03 Members to receive 25% discount at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Old Faithful Snow Lodge Winter 2002/2003 (by Yellowstone Association)
1/7/03 Yellowstone Park hotels offer substantial discounts to Yellowstone Assocation Members! May 2003 (by Yellowstone Association)
1/7/03 Historical vehicle collection one of Yellowstone's hidden treasures! (by Yellowstone Association)
1/7/03 Federal judge hears lawsuit for American bald eagles and Yellowstone bison (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
1/7/03 Some of the Teton Pack in trouble (by Ralph Maughan)
1/3/03 Wolf 2M, last of the 1995 Yellowstone wolves, killed by other wolves (by Ralph Maughan)--end of an era
1/5/03 Endangered Species Act lawsuit to be heard for American bald eagles, Yellowstone bison (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
1/2/03 Update from the field (by Buffalo Field Campaign)
1/2/03 Some Molly's Pack and former Druids forming new pack? (by Ralph Maughan)
 
1/31/03 Yellowstone recruits for 2003 YCC program (by National Park Service)
1/31/03 Snowmobile report, kept secret, supports eventual ban in parks (by Katherine Q. Seelye New York Times in Seattle Post-Intelligencer)--oh boy
1/31/03 Snowmobile plan defies findings: Bush team allows wider use of machines despite Park Service analysis of environmental threat (by Julie Cart Los Angeles Times)--free registration required to view
1/31/03 Yellowstone snowmobile option criticized (by Mike Soraghan Washington Post in Denver Post)
1/31/03 Playing it safe on top: Continued snowpack instability means avalanche danger remains high in mountains around Cooke City, Bozeman, West Yellowstone (by Brett French Billings Gazette)
1/31/03 Wolf foes want state to call shots (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/31/03 Wildlife plan goes to Senate (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/30/03 Snowmobiles in Yellowstone: Then and now part 2 (by David Warner West Yellowstone News)
1/30/03 Avalanche danger high in region's backcountry (by West Yellowstone News)
1/30/03 Hebgen Lake District releases law enforcement report (by West Yellowstone News)
1/30/03 Federal protection denied to park swans (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/30/03 Tri-state swan flock rejected for protection (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/30/03 Avalanche warning continues (by Billings Gazette)
1/30/03 USFS plan to buy critical habitat near Yellowstone would halt subdivision plan (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/30/03 Jackson airport board seeks noise reduction (AP story in Billings Gazette)--5th article
1/30/03 Wolf classification meeting gets emotional (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/30/03 Wyoming says grizzly management is costly (AP story in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/29/03 Wolf pack found in refuge for elk (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/29/03 Only handful of park jobs to go private (by Jim Mann Daily Inter Lake--Kalispell, MT)
1/29/03 History of the fly: Author celebrates sung and unsung fly tyers (by Rob Thornberry Post Register--Idaho Falls, in Casper Star-Tribune)--2nd article
1/29/03 Resort districts bill gets panel's support (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/28/03 Scientists take new position in tracking 3 park wolves (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/28/03 Some park jobs studied for privatization (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/28/03 123 Yellowstone, Grand Teton jobs could be privatized (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)--I will be speaking about this issue soon.
1/28/03 Michigan snowmobiler killed in avalanche (AP story in Billings Gazette)--1st article
1/28/03 Avalanche danger grows in Gallatin forest (by Billings Gazette)
1/27/03 Snowmobiling: That was then, this is now (by David Warner West Yellowstone News)
1/27/03 BFC leader gives opinion of brucellosis issues (by Barbara Shesky West Yellowstone News)
1/27/03 FWP to decide on closed Gallatin area (by David Warner West Yellowstone News)
1/27/03 Teachers get close-up look at wolf issue (by Alison Pride Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/27/03 3 donations made to Jackson trust (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/27/03 Wyoming Game and Fish rejects 60-day comment periods (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/26/03 70% of jobs in the Park Service marked ripe for privatizing: The administration says managers and rangers would stay, but a variety of workers, including scientists, could be replaced (by Julie Cart Los Angeles Times)--free registration required to view article. Thanks for the news tip on this. It's a big story.
1/26/03 Yellowstone bison survive, but success breeds peril (by Katharine Q. Seelye New York Times)--free registration required to view article. Finally, a national article about this situation, and in fact, this article is turning up all over the world, though not as much as the flap over Metamucil.
1/26/03 Montana delays wolf plan (by Jim Mann The Daily Inter Lake--Kalispell, MT)
1/26/03 Fremont County resolution declares wolves predators (AP story in Billings Gazette)--Last year, Fremont County tried to ban grizzly bears
1/25/03 U.S. officials sidestep logging ban (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/24/03 Status of gray wolf recovery, weeks of 1/17, 2002 - 1/24, 2003 (by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
1/24/03 Snowmobiler dies in avalanche (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/24/03 Pisek man dies in Montana avalanche (by Stephen J. Lee Grand Forks Herald--ND)
1/24/03 North Dakota man killed in avalanche near Cooke City (AP story in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/24/03 Lazative ad raises stink in park (AP story in Billings Gazette)--wide national circulation
1/23/03 "Under the Big Sky Greening Conference" announced (by National Park Service)
1/23/03 Lost snowmobilers survived cold night (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/23/03 Commission reviews wolf plan (by Jeff Gearino Casper Star-Tribune)
1/23/03 Commission stays with wolf timeline (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)
1/23/03 Elk refuge study called a sham (by Brodie Farquhar Casper Star-Tribune)
1/23/03 Refuge study called a sham (AP story in Billings Gazette)--6th article
1/22/03 Four bison captured and tested (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/22/03 Tourism survey reveals Yellowstone most popular (by Jo Dee Black Great Falls Tribune)
1/22/03 Searchers get snowmobilers to safety (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/22/03 Missing snowmobilers found near Cooke City (by Billings Gazette)
1/22/03 Thriving gray wolf may come off U.S. endangered list (by William Campbell National Geographic)
1/22/03 Conservation groups appeal timber sale (AP story in Billings Gazette)--2nd article
1/21/03 Wolf pack again eludes researchers (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/21/03 Thermopolis lawmaker introduces wolf bill (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/21/03 Summer job: Tate County native spends her summers as a national park ranger (by LaJuan Tallo The Democrat--Senatobia, MS)
1/21/03 Summer class to offer exploration of national parks (by Hoi Sin Lai Western Herald--Western Michigan University)
1/20/03 How Bush gets his way on the environment: With the nation distracted by terrorism and the economy, the President has quietly maneuvered to challenge limits on drilling, mining, logging and power generation (by Terry McCarthy Time)--Maybe, if the major press reported these issues more often, the public wouldn't be so distracted
1/20/03 Moose habitat closed for winter (AP story in Billings Gazette)--1st article
1/20/03 State snowpack totals holding steady (AP story in Billings Gazette)--4th article
1/20/03 Northern elk herd population drops (by Jeff Gearino Casper Star-Tribune)
1/20/03 On the go--with few detours: Though business has rebounded, publishers, retailers and travelers are still somewhat cautious (by Natalie Danford Publishers Weekly)--a forthcoming guide to Yellowstone mentioned
1/19/03 Metamucil ad featuring Old Faithful causes a stir (by Katharine Q. Seelye New York Times)--free registration required to view article
1/19/03 Yellowstone to Yukon: A proposed 3,400-km wildlife corridor stirs up passions--for and against (by Brian Bergman Macleans.Ca--Canada)
1/19/03 Yellowstone to Yukon: A proposed 3,400-km wildlife corridor stirs up passions--for and against (by Seth Bornstein Knight-Ridder in The Miami Herald)
1/18/03 Montana considering hunt on Yellowstone-area preserve (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/18/03 Wyoming leads nation in avalanche deaths (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/17/03 Snowmobiles cause concern in Yellowstone (by David Mattingly and interviewed by Paula Zahn CNN)
1/17/03 Status of gray wolf recovery, weeks of 1/6, 2002 - 1/17, 2003 (by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
1/17/03 State wildlife officials preparing for inevitable arrival of CWD (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/17/03 Governor questions timber lawsuit (AP story in Billings Gazette)--Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Dem., is the new governor of Wyoming.
1/17/03 Proposed grizzly zoo controversial (by Brett French Billings Gazette)
1/16/03 Yellowstone officials discuss new snowmobile policy for Park (by West Yellowstone News)
1/16/03 Acclaimed author disses 'Snowmobile Capital' image (by West Yellowstone News)
1/16/03 Northern Yellowstone elk herd's numbers drop again (by Scott McMillion Bozeman Daily Chronicle)--Is it wolves, or is it drought?
1/16/03 Elk decline blamed on varied factors (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/16/03 Seven groups appeal Targhee land swap (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/16/03 Roundup in forest thinning project (by Jim Gransbery Billings Gazette)--so are several sites near Tetons
1/16/03 Special hair keeps elk warm (by Mark Henckel Billings Gazette)
1/15/03 2002-2003 Yellowstone Park winter season update--Mammoth to Norris Road reopens (by National Park Service)
1/15/03 Agency says Roundup power plant won't pollute Yellowstone air (by Clair Johnson Billings Gazette)
1/15/03 Yellowstone visitation up 5.7% (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/15/03 Yellowstone National Park on group's 'endangered' list (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/15/03 Yellowstone on endangered list, again (by Brodie Farquhar Casper Star-Tribune)
1/15/03 Well-known parks put on 'endangered' list (by Eric Pianin Washington Post)
1/15/03 Proposed rules bring contemplation of quieter life in nation's snowmobile capital (AP story in The Times--Picayune, LA)--similar story appears in 1/13 The Salt Lake Tribune, but this is somewhat different and received wide circulation
1/15/03 Feds eye elk contraceptive: Ongoing studies are aimed at finding right role for birth control (by Rebecca Huntington Jackson Hole News & Guide)
1/14/03 Yellowstone among 10 most 'endangered' parks (AP story in Billings Gazette)--yet again
1/14/03 Canyon Club alters original plan (AP story in Billings Gazette)--3rd article
1/14/03 Two dozen rookie legislators ease into new roles (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)--one of the new Wyoming legislators believes wolves that wander out of Yellowstone should be classified as predators
1/14/03 FWP told more study needed on grizzly zoo (by Joan Haines Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/13/03 2002-2003 Yellowstone Park winter season update--Mammoth to Norris Road closed (by National Park Service)
1/13/03 Yellowstone National Park winter activities available (by National Park Service)
1/13/03 Snowmobile rules changing (AP story in The Salt Lake Tribune)
1/12/03 Shots for bison year away (by Michael Jamison Missoulian in Billings Gazette)
1/12/03 The trumpeter's swan song? Experts are baffled by the majestic waterfowl's dwindling numbers in the Yellowstone Park area: Feds may consider listing it as threatened (by Tom Gorman Los Angeles Times)--free registration required to view
1/12/03 Public comment sought for grizzly zoo (by Joan Haines Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/11/03 Wyoming lawmaker proposes Yellowstone tax to pay for wolf management (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)--Fine, but I suspect most visitors don't want to pay for a tax that manages wolves in the way Wyoming's current plan does.
1/11/03 Road work causes delays (AP story in Billings Gazette)--3rd article
1/11/03 Conservationists: Sheep grazing could harm bighorns (AP story in Casper Star-Tribune)
1/10/03 Death of prolific wolf a common one: Biologist says (by Patrick Kulmatycki Calgary Herald)
1/10/03 Visitors avoid injury in accident (by West Yellowstone News)
1/9/03 New suit challenges air rules in parks (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/9/03 Avalanche report (by Billings Gazette)
1/9/03 Canadian alpha male dies in Yellowstone fight (by Robert Remington National Post--Canada)
1/9/03 Tough conditions for foot hunters at Gardiner (by Mark Henckel Billings Gazette)
1/8/03 OSHA sees success in Yellowstone (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/8/03 11 ticketed for illegal snowmobiling (AP story in Billings Gazette)--2nd article. In Teton Wilderness.
1/8/03 Jackson Hole Land Trust easement grows (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/8/03 Yellowstone wolf '2M' was last of the first: At the ripe age of 8, last wolf reintroduced in 1995 is killed by members of a competing pack (by Rebecca Huntington Jackson Hole News & Guide)
1/7/03 Judged urged to halt practice of using helicopters to drive wandering bison pack back into Yellowstone Park (AP story in NJ.com)--amazingly little coverage in the regional press, but decent pickup nationally
1/7/03 Yellowstone National Park welcomes new chief of maintenance (by National Park Service)
1/7/03 Wolves kill dethroned, founding park wolf (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/7/03 Elderhostel for children?!? Affordable, interesting learning vacations for grandparents and their grandchildren (by Pauline Frommer Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel in MSNBC)--one vacation is to Yellowstone
1/7/03 Rulemaking shifts away from the Hill (by Cindy Skrzycki Washington Post)--including, as we all know, rules related to Yellowstone
1/6/03 Update on OSHA agreement (by National Park Service)
1/6/03 Park road opens to snowmobiles (AP story in Billings Gazette)--2nd article
1/6/03 Mountain lion attacks small dog (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/5/03 2002-2003 Yellowstone Park winter season update: Mammoth to Norris road to open (by National Park Service)
1/5/03 Swans in peril: Encounters with injured trumpters spur action (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/4/03 Yellowstone's grizzly bears not ready for delisting, expert says (by Chris Hunt Idaho State Journal)
1/4/03 Expert assails U.S. policy on grizzlies (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/4/03 Bear biologist bristles at claims by environmentalists (by Sherry Devlin Missoulian)
1/3/03 Status of gray wolf recovery, week of 12/30, 2002 - 1/3, 2003 (by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
1/2/03 Fungus helps park grass survive high temperatures (by Mike Stark Billings Gazette)
1/2/03 Drought 2003: Not ending for some states (AP story in The Weather Channel)--snowpack in Yellowstone is 69% of normal
1/1/03 Avalanche survivor says he thought he would die (AP story in Billings Gazette)
1/1/03 The wolf as story, both old and new (by Mark N. Trahant The Salt Lake Tribune)
1/1/03 Evidence of bacteria on Europa? (by Leslie Mullen Astrobiology Magazine)--comparison of infrared signatures on Europa's ice similar to those same signatures in Yellowstone where microorganisms live, but evidence inconclusive
  (comment in the discussion forum
1/31/03 'Report card' story gets lower grade than administration (by Terry Anderson, Politcal Economy Research Center, in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/30/03 Old humorless (by The Times-Picayune--New Orleans)
1/30/03 We should have progressed beyond the roadside zoo (by Joyce E. Andrews in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/27/03 Should humans help Kathy the grizzly bear? (by Todd Wilkinson in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)--about the Glacier grizzly bear that was shot, but the issues raised certainly relate to Yellowstone management
1/26/03 What Katharine Seelye did not write about the Yellowstone bison (by Ralph Maughan)
1/26/03 Wolf reintroduction has had positive impacts, too (by Ken Sinay, Yellowstone Safari Company, in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/26/03 There is a plan (by Norman A. Bishop, International Wolf Center, in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/22/03 Can't she take a joke? (by Arlene Wells in The Arizona Republic)
1/21/03 Wolves and the eco-terrorists (by Sheriff Michael E. Cook in The Sierra Times--Pahrump, NV)
1/21/03 Back Fuchs plan for wolf management (by Dick Shockley in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)--also in 1/25 Billings Gazette
1/21/03 Geyser medicine (by Rocky Mountain News)--2nd opinion
1/20/03 Wolf recovery in Oregon (by Reginald R. LeQuieu in The Oregonian)--offers interpretation of reason for elk decline in Yellowstone
1/20/03 One man's crusade to speak truth on wolves (by Todd Wilkinson in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)--about Ralph Maughan
1/19/03 Not only does Metamucil help you go to the toilet, it also keeps geysers regular! Except that's offensive (by Nick Morons.org)--with responses attached. People don't realize that a lot of tourists don't understand that Old Faithful isn't turned on and off, and so there's an interesting psychological reason why they get abnormally strained by the joke.
1/16/03 Don't blame the skiers (by Marc Sheppard, West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation, and Mike Scott in West Yellowstone News)
1/16/03 Gallatin Closed area should remain just that (by David C. Klatt in West Yellowstone News)
1/15/03 Resolve to travel in 2003: 10 vacation ideas to get you going (by Gerry Volgenau Knight-Ridder in New York Daily News)--Yellowstone one of suggested travel ideas
1/12/03 People want to ride snowmobiles in park (by William Goodman in Billings Gazette)
1/8/03 We can do right by the Yellowstone (by Scott Bischke in Billings Gazette)
1/6/03 Gallatin Canyon (by Thomas McGuane The New Yorker)--not so much opinion as fiction, but interesting nonetheless
1/6/03 Wolves are best value (by Craig Axford, Utah Environmental Congress, in The Salt Lake Tribune)--amazing how one Lamar Valley wolf has caused such a stir in Utah
1/5/03 A message to the lobo-loco: Just chill out (by Skip Knowles The Salt Lake Tribune)
1/5/03 No to Western wolves (by Richard N. Gilbert in The Salt Lake Tribune)--about Utah, but a broad opinion about wolf reintroduction in general
1/4/03 Snowmobile pollution should be kept out of park (by Hope Sieck in Billings Gazette)
1/4/03 Snowmobiles are people's choice for Yellowstone (by Dave Skinner in Billings Gazette)
1/3/03 Wolves kill to survive, not for the fun of it (by Cher Downs, Wolfkeep Wildlife Sanctuary, in Billings Gazette)
1/3/03 Environmental concern drowned out by noise (by Tony Chamberlain Boston Globe)
1/3/03 Sun Ranch easement a cause for celebration (by Bozeman Daily Chronicle)--a look through the headlines shows the growing story of conservation easements in the region
1/2/03 An 'eco-wacko' figures out a few things in Bozeman (by Alan Kesselheim in Billings Gazette)
1/2/03 New wolf issues aren't new; they're old as the hills (by Norman A. Bishop, International Wolf Center, in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/2/03 Don't be fooled: More space won't mean more bears (by Ron Burgess in Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
1/2/03 Should the Forest Service have money to burn? (by Randall O'Toole, Thoreau Institute, in Billings Gazette)
1/2/03 Total commercialization awareness: Salon's top 10 business and technology predictions for 2003 (by Katharine Mieszkowski and Farhad Manjoo Salon.com)--Yellowstone renamed in prediction 10

Copyright 1999, 2002-2003 James S. Macdonald Jr. Only spam robots should go here.