The News from Yellowstone

Toyota Helps Yellowstone National Park Create Sustainable Connections Between Visitors and Natu

Today in Yellowstone National Park, Toyota presented a check totaling more than $800,000 and five vehicles to the Yellowstone Park Foundation -- the official fundraising partner of Yellowstone National Park -- in support of instilling a preservation ethic and promoting environmental stewardship among visitors. Through Toyota's donation, Yellowstone National Park will enhance the curriculum and accessibility of its educational programs to inspire future Yellowstone leaders as part of its No Child Left Inside initiative.

Yellowstone National Park recovers from 1988 fires

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — If there is a place where heaven and hell meet, it's here. Twenty years ago this summer, a series of wildfires burned 36 percent of America's first national park, scorching huge swaths of pristine forest and killing scores of wild animals.

Today, there is new life at Yellowstone National Park, as trees have taken root among the burnt logs that still litter the earth.

Calmer weather slows wildfire

CODY -- Cooler temperatures and lighter winds Wednesday slowed a wildfire burning mostly in a wilderness area east of Yellowstone National Park.

Fire spokeswoman Laura McConnell said there were no reports of major activity associated with the Gunbarrel Fire on Wednesday. It was the first time in several days that conditions weren't hot and windy enough to warrant a red flag warning.

The fire was burning about six miles east of Yellowstone and 40 miles west of Cody. It had burned about 32,600 acres, or about 51 square miles, in the Shoshone National Forest.

Destination: Yellowstone National Park

GET AWAY: The vast Yellowstone Park boasts the lower 48's largest concentration of free-roaming wildlife, bison and wolves included, plus waterfalls, canyons, mountains and, of course, geysers. The world's first national park, established in 1872, covers 3,400 square miles and lies mainly in Wyoming, jutting into Montana and Idaho, too. Miles of hiking, car and bike trails afford almost countless ways to view Yellowstone's natural beauty. The park's many lodging options book quickly, so plan now for a summer 2009 visit. Cold-weather visits are also an option; several of the park's lodges offer winter packages.

Yellowstone National Park fire burns 600 acres

The LeHardy Fire, which is burning In Yellowstone National Park, is holding steady at around 600 acres burned.

Lighter winds and additional firefighters resulted in a day of significant progress on Thursday.

The blaze is north of Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone National Park, and officials tell us it was started by a power line which runs in a utility corridor west of the Grand Loop Road between Fishing Bridge and Canyon.

Funds used to restore Yellowstone hiking trails

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Crews at Yellowstone National Park are improving four hiking trails this summer as part of a long-term project to rehabilitate the most heavily used hiking trails in the park.

The Yellowstone Park Foundation recently received $100,000 from the National Park Foundation to help pay for the project.

The nonprofit Yellowstone foundation last year completed a drive to raise $2 million for trail restoration in the park.

To date, 16 trails covering more than 70 miles of trails have been rehabilitated.

Second bear killed in Yellowstone in recent weeks

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Rangers in Yellowstone National Park have killed a black bear that became accustomed to eating human food.

Park officials say the 130-pound male bear was getting food from hikers' backpacks in northern Yellowstone. Repeated attempts to trap the bear failed.

On Wednesday, the bear was caught ripping into the packs of a large group of backcountry hikers. Rangers cleared the area of visitors and shot the bear.

Wyoming Will Be First with Yellowstone Commemorative Quarter

For a mere 25 cents, the nation will know in a couple of years that Wyoming is home to the world's first national park.

Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872, will grace the first of 50 quarters in a new series of the coins, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Wednesday.

Yellowstone Moves Sign

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.

Yellowstone Fires 20 Years Later: National Attention Brought Sensational Coverage

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.”

Yellowstone Makes for a Great Vacation

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.

Best National Park Lodges

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).

David Scott, with his wife Kay, wrote the book on park lodges: "The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges." "The National Parks are special places," he says, "and staying in these lodges gives you a chance to actually live in the park and feel that you're a part of it. The settings are spectacular, they're close to activities and attractions, and many have great histories themselves."

Summer in Montana’s Spectacular National Parks

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.

Yellowstone as well as other Montana destinations such as Bozeman and Glacier National Park have a lot to offer as far as accommodations go. Travelers heading to Montana this season should consider staying at a vacation rental house. Numerous privately owned vacation rentals in Montana can be found on Rentalo.com, a premier lodging marketplace specializing in linking travelers with vacation rental owners.

Off endangered list, wolves face new pressure from hunters

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.

Most of the state with the exception of the Yellowstone National Park area has been designated a ''predator zone,'' where wolves can be shot at will.

Where the buffalo roam -- and die

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.