Three Active Fires

DOAN, BEACH, SLOUGH

Two Being Fought

-- There are three fires burning in Yellowstone National Park:

==> Doan Mountain,

==> Slough Creek,

==> Beach.

-- The Slough Creek and Beach fires are being actively fought. The Doan Mountain fire is smoldering and being monitored.

-- For complete information go to the InciWeb Yellowstone Page.

Odds & Ends

Burnt Trees

More Visitors

Armed Conflict

Bear Woes
Tom's In Town

.. The fire closure in the burned area of the Madison Arm Fire has been lifted.

Even though the lands within the closure area are now open under normal travel restrictions, the public is asked to use caution and watch for trees weakened by the fire that may fall during a wind storm. . . . Billings Gazette

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.. Visitor numbers continue to rise at Yellowstone.

Park officials reported an 11.8 percent jump in the number of recreational visitors to Yellowstone in August compared with last year. In all, 710,781 people came to the park last month. . . . Billings Gazette

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.. With the additional visitor crowding comes more strife. This is so common now that it does not even rate a press release or a note in the morning report, (although former employee arrests are noted.) Kind of like vagrancy on the National Mall.

During the initial stages of the standoff, the three men alternated between yelling obscenities and threats of violence and repeatedly entering and exiting their vehicles. One shouted that “someone is going to die tonight;” . . . Desert USA Blog

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.. With the increased Grizzly longevity and recent population growth, the trophic cascade has begun to push the black bears around. The resulting human bear conflicts have led to the euthanasia and/or relocation of several bears this year, (1,2.) This is happening all over the Northwestern United States - - look for it to continue.

Fortunately, there is a place for chubby bears outside of the Chicago offensive line or the Gay Pride parade. . . . Crosscut

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.. Growing awareness of the Y2Y concept is creeping into news sources and reports.

Nature knows no borders, and if humans want to preserve animal species that straddle two nations, they need to ensure that habitats are seamless. The wildlife-corridor concept addresses this challenge. . . . Crosscut

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.. There is a photo exhibit currently at the Burke Museum in Seattle that highlights the Y2Y concept. It's called "Freedom To Roam and will run until December 31, 2007. There is a spectacular photographic preview on the museum's web page.

The great Rocky Mountain landscapes are a treasure for the world. In them, I see what we in Europe have lost. I don't want that to happen here. — Florian Schulz, photographer

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.. Fishing with friends is newsman T. Brokaw.

The Sky Is Falling - Finally

WIDESPREAD RAINS DAMPEN FIRES

Can It Really Be September ?
winter use plans revealed

.. An article in New West by Mathew Frank details the current fires in Montana. The article also details a list of fire resources and updates for the western United States.
.. Yellowstone National Park has some fires still burning and uncontained, (see InciWeb 1 & 2,) and the park administration plans to start some more to keep company with the newly discovered backcountry fire. Illegal morel hunting should be good around Norris next year.

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.. A YNP press release lets us know that the Winter Use Planning Documents have been released. All current Winter Use Technical Documents are POSTED HERE.

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The new documents are:

-- Natural Soundscape Monitoring draft report (PDF),

"Although on average snowmobiles were audible for more time than snowcoaches, snowcoaches in general had higher sound levels, especially at higher speeds."

-- Final Air Quality Modeling Report (PDF)

"the earlier modeling scenarios only included in-bound traffic within Yellowstone and did not include traffic exiting the park (i.e., return trips were not “counted” by the previous modeling as traveling on road segments a second time). Since this potentially excluded a substantial amount of traffic, this was corrected in the update and the latest travel factor spreadsheets include both in-bound and out-bound trips for all alternatives."

.
-- Winter Air Quality Study from this past season (PDF),

"The winter of 2006-2007 had CO values that were nearly the same as the last few years. The maximum hourly CO at the West Entrance was slightly higher but the longer averages of 8-hours and for the season were down."

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.. A complete review of the air quality can also be found at the NPS site NATURE & SCIENCE.
-- Bison & Plowed Roads (PDF - 2005)

"Collaboration is necessary to define what is acceptable;
science is necessary to define what is possible;
organizing people to use knowledge to design and implement
management in the face of uncertainty is fundamental."

.. The battle of the electronic postcard is being won by opponents of snowmobiles! - reported by Scott McMillion in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Short Takes 01

GRIZZLIES & OTHERS

.. Griz visits Washington -

"Bears that are both conditioned to human foods and habituated to human presence often become dangerous to people. Removal was considered the best course of action in this case to prevent a possible human injury and further property damage."

.. Get a passport to visit Yellowstone? -

Jerry Gaumer, deputy director of communications for the National Park Service, said he’s not sure how Yellowstone, for example, or any other unit of the Park Service would handle the Real ID program.

.. Bison don't meet criteria for listing -

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded that a petition to list the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) bison herd as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) does not provide substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate listing may be warranted at this time.

.. Brief rains help firefighters -

Monday’s cooler temperatures and scattered rain gave firefighters the edge they need on several Montana fires, including the Jocko Lakes fire burning near Seeley Lake and the Black Cat fire burning northwest of Missoula.

Blessed & Unexpected Weather

WIDESPREAD SHOWERS BLESS YELLOWSTONE

.. Gentle showers and thunderstorms are aligned with the northern wildfires in Yellowstone National Park. The fortuitous arrangement has made a significant difference in the prognosis for these fires and their duration.
.. Forecast for the southern part of the park is encouraging over the next week. Cooling is also anticipated by mid week.

Briefs:
- Old Faithful webcam
- National Weather Service Radar
- Star Tribune Precis
- TOPIX National Parks News

Heat & Fires Force Creative Adaptations

FROM MAINE TO YELLOWSTONE

IT'S HOT

.. Via: Cute Overload

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.. There's fires too:

..
.. Via: INCIWEB (1) (2) (3)
.. The East Entrance To Yellowstone Remains Closed
.. Evacuations near park possible

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Briefs:
.. Crash kills at Old Faithful
.. Grizzly Man in action
.. Lease your own geyser?
.. $2,259 Lodging & Learning offered in Yellowstone by Xanterra
.. Lynx Ruling challenged

It's Not Over Yet

MONTANA DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

Wildfires Gain Ground

many states on fire

.. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer declared a state of emergency yesterday and ordered additional homes evacuated in the area of the Jocko Fire west of Seely Lake near Missoula.
.. Wildfires from Philadelphia to Oregon have the fire crews of our nation working hard to contain and extinguish the fires.
.. Evacuation shelters for the Jocko fire have been established at the Bonner Elementary School and the Condon Work Center.
The GACC detailed Situation Report shows the myriad fires and their status for the Northern Rockies. The national report can be found HERE.
.. The Owl Fire on Yellowstone's northern boundary is nearly contained and management will be turned over to the park today. Check the daily updates at YNP News, and at the YNP Owl Fire Fact Sheet.

Three Blessed Days

HEAVY AFTERNOON SHOWERS

Fire Camp Shrinking

burn area still "restricted access"

.. The last three days have provided afternoon relief from the blistering heat. During the showers there is as much as a 25 degree drop in temperature.
.. The fire camp north of town is getting smaller as crews are moved to more critical fires, and the helicopter crews are down to just one.
.. The fire danger is still high to very high but the extreme conditions have ameliorated during the last week and have been aided by the area-wide afternoon showers.
.. Almost all roads in the area of the Madison Arm Fire are open. Hiking trails and unimproved motor trails are still closed.
.. Camping at the untouched Madison Arm Resort, Baker's Hole Campground, and Rainbow Point is available for quick access to Hebgen Lake, the Madison River, and Yellowstone National Park.
.. Stage 2 fire restrictions are still in effect for the Gallatin National Forest, and fire restrictions are also implemented for Yellowstone.

Earth, Wind, Fire, Water

THE ELEMENTS IN ACTION

Computer Glitch Overcome

Yellowstone News Releases

.. We've temporarily overcome the dead computer. Posts will resume at the normal irregular pace.
.. There have been numerous news releases about the fires in Yellowstone during our absence. You can find the latest YNP Press Releases HERE.
.. The east Entrance road has re-opened after a mud slide Wednesday.
.. Science Daily reports the discovery of a Light-Harvesting Bacterium from Yellowstone. The chlorophyll-producing bacterium is so unique that a new bacterium phylum has been added to the list of these bits of life.

Madison Arm Fire

FIRST BIG FIRE

Coordinated by USFS
the elk are happy

.. The news wires and the blogs are all atwitter with the news of the Madison Arm Fire. Rightly so, if you are a wildfire fan. The fire is currently about 10% controlled. You can follow the progress at the Incident Information System Web Portal (InciWeb.) Updates are posted as the incident commander sees fit; usually every four hours or so, depending on the situation.
.. There are maps and other details about this and other incidents throughout the nation, (including prescribed burns.) The site is an excellent resource for those folks in areas where wildfires are a regular occurrence - we use it frequently.
.. The fire has been ascribed to "probable human activity." That makes sense since there has been no rain or thunder for a week or so. The investigators are on scene.
.. One thing not reported in the media has been the relationship between the aggressive stance of the Gallatin National Forest in closing forest roads and the problems of early access to small fires. The West Yellowstone town meeting produced a heated exchange between some community members and the fire officials.
.. There is still some confusion about what constitutes "official notification" of a fire, the exact time of the notification, and the response made to the notification. Some community members have opined that they reported the fire as early as 9:30 or 10:00 AM. The "official report of a fire" is listed at 1:00 PM.
.. All involved parties acknowledge the difficulties of "finding the fire" and gaining motorized access. You can bet that this will become more of an issue if the fire reaches into Yellowstone National Park.

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.. Current incident map:

.. Google Map:

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.. One notable thing that happens when a mature lodgepole forest burns is the production of forage and habitat for species that could not live in a forest.
.. After the 1988 fires in Yellowstone a curious feeding behavior was noticed in the Madison Elk Herd (PDF.) Charcoal from the burned bark was being consumed by the elk in quantities never before observed. It's an interesting story.
.. Of course the additional light also lets grasses and forbs proliferate. This makes the elk even happier: - elk hunters too, since the burned area is in the out migration route for part of the Madison Herd.
.. Additionally, the Three Toed Woodpecker is happy. So are voles, squirrels, wildflower photographers, and salvage timber operators. We look forward to seeing how this affects the attitudes of those folks that weren't here in the aftermath of the 1988 fires.