Native Fish Conservation

20 YEAR EFFORT

Comment Now

no whiners

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.. The NATIVE FISH CONSERVATION PLAN is designed as a major effort to respond to the diminished stocks of native fish in Yellowstone National Park.
.. The Environmental Assessment is now open for public comment.

.. Mark your calendars; only two public meetings are scheduled:

* Bozeman, Montana: January 5th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Comfort Inn, 1 370 North 7th Avenue
* Cody, Wyoming: January 6th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Holiday Inn, 1701 Sheridan Avenue.

.. Written comments may be submitted through the project web site, in person, by mail, or at either of the scheduled public meetings. Comments will not be accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail. All public comments must be received or postmarked by midnight, January 31, 2011.
..  Here are the important Links:
==> Project Home Page,
==> Project Plan Process,
==> Meeting Notices,
==> Project Links,
==> Document List,
==> Comment Form.

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.. The scoping meeting in West Yellowstone last April was poorly attended. No feather merchants were present, one local guide was present, and a handful of concerned fishers attended.
.. Input by these few interested parties helped shape the current document that is now open for review.
.. The EA addresses Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake, other invasive species throughout the rivers in the park, the effects of climate change on native species, and disease.
.. Conservation efforts addressed include: increased gill netting in Yellowstone Lake, establishing barriers and weirs, removing non native species, restoring native populations, and a host of other actions including poisoning fish populations.
.. The key concept is conservation. The actions taken to implement this can be extensive, varied, and vast.
.. It's important that input at this time be concise, reasoned and rational. It will help steer the project and will certainly affect the fishscape of the future.
.. Please understand that, at base, this addresses the question of "What Is The Purpose Of Yellowstone National Park." Several guides have remarked that it does no good to replace one trout with another. They are just concerned with catching any fish.

.. Many guides and fishers of the park will be voicing opinions that catching fish, (the more - the better,) is what the park should provide.
.. There are others that feel it's important to remove all invasive species such as Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout and Brook Trout to foster the recovery of native Cutthroat Trout & Grayling(?).
.. Many feather merchants feel that the role of Yellowstone National Park is to provide fishing opportunities for recreational fishing, (and an economic base for their enterprise.)
.. Some conservationists believe that the only way to enable preservation of native fish is to "restore" the park to "natural" conditions, including removal all planted stocks of fish, (which is a large segment of the current fishable populations.)
.. Definition of terms and concepts will be argued and explored at the public meetings and in the submitted comments. Many oxen could be gored by this project.

.. The subtext of comments will be interesting to observe, as will the rationale behind the proposed actions in those comments.
.. Some fishers of Yellowstone have opined that since Brown Trout have been in the rivers for over 100 years that they are "native."
.. Does that make Lake Trout native if they survive another 70 years?
.. In another 100 years what will the descendants of those fishers say about Rock Snot, New Zealand Mud Snails, and other yet unforeseen invasive species?

.. As the waters warm will we see Yellowstone become a trophy fishery for Carp and Chubs and Largemouth Bass?
.. What will happen if some fool decides to dump Northern Pike or Muskellunge or Lake Trout in Hebgen Reservoir, right at Yellowstone's door?
.. Your input is necessary for the decision making process. We're talking about the future and how history will view the legacy that we leave.
.. Make no mistake about it, this is a significant project. It will last for 20 years, (1/5 of the next 100 years.) It will significantly affect the definition of Yellowstone National Park and it's role in species conservation and recovery.
.. It will also determine who fishes where and for what in the park. It is an historic effort that demands you input and your concern for how Yellowstone is defined: a fun and profitable fishery for visitors seeking "non-native," invasive trout or a refuge for indigenous species - or both.

Dirk & The Dodo

THE RUBBER DODO COMES HOME TO ROOST

.. The Center for Biological Diversity has presented their first annual Rubber Dodo award to Dirk Kempthorne.

READ IT HERE

GRIST REPORTS IT HERE

TALK TO DIRK HERE

Mary Bomar Visits

NO NEW INSIGHTS

Sylvan Pass Under Scrutiny

.. Mary Bomar visited with us yesterday. That's it. She refused to comment on the winter closure proposed for the east entrance to Yellowstone. Read the report in the Casper Star Tribune.

Doane Denied

LANGFORD, WASHBURN, & WHO?
Cruel - Cruel - History
Kind - Kind - History
Winter's Gone; Snowmobiles Aren't

nps photo of historic reenactment in 1957

Cruel - Cruel - History

.. In January we posted two notes about Kim Allen Scott, (-1- -2-) and his book "Yellowstone Denied. For a brief review of the book, and some contemporary psychological analysis click on over to "The Magic Of Yellowstone" and see another view.

"I don't think we need heroes; they get in the way. They lead us to the severe judgments we make about other people. If you set yourself on a pedestal, then you will be rightfully taken down. Doane was never turned into a hero, was bitter about it, and now his biography is the story of a bitter, dead, white man and why he never got the glory he so hungrily lusted after. And, as cynical as it sounds, it is hard to deny that truth. The sadness is that because we live in a world where that kind of glory, where that kind of heroism is so adored, we aren't allowed to meet Cheyney Doane on his own terms, terms that are probably not a whole lot better or worse than the rest of us, or might not have been if we didn't live in a society that has such artificial metrics of value."

.. Well, so be it.

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Kind - Kind - History

.. On April 24, 1903 happenstance allowed "TEDDY" to be present at the laying of the cornerstone of the Gateway Arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone Park.
.. Because of this, it's now called the "Roosevelt Arch." Doane just was never that lucky.
.. To this day many people give Teddy credit for inventing, establishing, and preserving Yellowstone. Such are the whimsey's of history as we know it.
.. So be it.

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Snowmo's Still With Us

.. Even as Spring begins it's transition away from Winter & into Summer, snowmobiles remain on the minds of many.
.. It seems that a letter was sent to a lot of people about how bad snowmobiles are for the park. Zealousness got the better of the sender and he included Bob Barbee's signature without approval, and without Bob knowing about it.
.. If you're quick you can read about it at the Bozeman Chronicle site. If not, the note is reproduced below. This is the kind of zeal that replaces reason in heated arguments - too bad, we'd really like to know what Bob thinks.

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This was on the Bozeman Daily Chronicle web site on Friday, March 30, 2007 - for just one brief day. We reprint it here in the interest of access.
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Name of former YNP head inserted in letter by mistake

By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer
- Former Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Bob Barbee's name should not have been included among a list of former National Park Service brass opposed to snowmobiling in the park, said the man who distributed the list.
- "It was my mistake and my mistake alone," said Bill Wade, chairman of the executive council of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, a group critical of snowmobiling in the park.
- The foul-up came earlier this week, when several former Park Service directors sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne calling for the elimination of snowmobiling in Yellowstone.
- The letter included a facsimile of Barbee's signature.
- However, Barbee never signed the letter and didn't approve the use of his name, said Wade, who e-mailed copies of the letter to the media and others.
- Wade said his group created two versions of the letter and circulated them among potential signatories for approval. One letter included Barbee's "signature block" and one didn't.
- Wade said he didn't know if the facsimile of Barbee's signature was electronic or a photocopy.
- Barbee was out of the country and couldn't be reached for approval prior to the letter's release, Wade said, but the version of the letter with his signature was disseminated to some media outlets.
- "I just simply screwed up and sent out the wrong version to a few of you," Wade said Thursday.
- A Chronicle story about the letter ran Tuesday, and mentioned Barbee, who ran Yellowstone from 1983 to 1994, a time of rapid snowmobiling growth in the park. He is retired from the Park Service and lives in Bozeman. He could not be reached for comment this week.
.. Ray Grass of the DeseretNews.com believes that snowmobiles are the best way to see Yellowstone and is neither ashamed, nor shy about it.
.. The folks at EarthJustice, on the other hand feel that the current iteration of the Yellowstone winter use plan is a "Return to the 'Bad Ol' Days."
.. Brodie Farquhar, writing for the Casper Star Tribune, has a note about the in's -'n' - out's of the current plan.
.. National Parks Traveler has an extensive list of news sources on this topic - it must be important.
.. There seems to be no alternative to the BAN - NO BAN arguments. There is a third road that has been completely ignored in this polemic. Would people like snowmobiles if they were cleaner and quieter than the current coaches and vans? There are roads to this possibility. The Billings Gazette ran an article a while back, and A Step Apart has a similar post.
.. So be it.

OIL DRILLING IN IDAHO ?

.. This Quote from MidCurrent says it all:
"After the U.S. Congress loosened controls on oil and gas drilling on public lands in 2005, the price of oil encouraged the Forest Service to open more national forests to exploration -- meaning more roads and test wells in areas previously considered unsuitable for drilling. "The U.S. Forest Service is drafting a plan to lease areas of the Caribou National Forest and Curlew National Grassland along Idaho's southeastern border for oil and gas exploration." Jesse Harlan Alderman of the Associated Press."
.. The Daily Herald article gives us the details. The energy crush is bringing exploration closer to Yellowstone National Park all the time.

vi$it yellow$tone

HAPPY NEW YEAR

(PHOTOS OF THINGS THE 'GUIDES' DON'T SHOW YOU)

.. The cost to visit Yellowstone for a day is now $120.oo, (more or less depending on how much you have to pay the required "guide.")
.. You can only visit "one attraction" per day.
.. Go to Old Faithful = $120.oo
.. Go to Canyon = $120.oo
.. Go to Lake = $120.00
.. Should you happen to believe that there is more to Yellowstone in the winter than a six hour ride with a National Park Service mandated tour; you're out of luck. All motorized tours in Yellowstone National Park require a "guide." These "guides" know just what you want to see, and they know just how long you want to see it.
.. You must go into Yellowstone National Park with a 'group' of visitors. The groups are made-up by the Park approved concessionaires; at their convenience and to fill their buses, vans, and whatever.
..Of course, if you want just your family of four to have a family experience in Yellowstone National Park, you can charter a snow bus, or a snow van, or a snow coach, or a snow whatever for about $650.oo per day, plus entrance fees.
.. That's about $125.oo/hr. ("Days" are short on the concessionaire's clock.)
.. Maybe you just want to book a "tour." For $1,900.oo each, you can ride snowmobiles in a group for a week. Well, one day is a travel day, and meals aren't included and it's just 1/2 days.
.. So, do you really want to see Yellowstone? Do you really believe that it would be good to see the Hoodoos, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Mammoth Hot Springs, Fountain Geyser, Great Fountain Geyser, Mud Volcano, West Thumb Geyser Basin, the Hayden Valley, Natural Bridge, and maybe Isa Lake. (Or Lewis Falls, and Upper Falls, and Washburn Hot Springs, Lone Star Geyser, and Artist's Paint Pots too.)
..Bring your check book. Those things can be done but not on commercial tours. Be ready to spend the $2,400.oo required to charter your own van or bus or coach. It'll take that much and probably more.
.. Plus lodging, meals, gratuities, etc. OOPS- what about wolves and the Lamar Valley? Better switch hotels and rent a car.
..At least there is no guide fee required to drive your own car on the plowed road between Gardiner and Silver Gate.
.. The National Park Service is missing a bet here. They could let the snow pile up on the road to Cooke City, groom the road, and subsidise commercial interests in the northern part of the park too.
.. With a little luck, a family of four can see Yellowstone National Park in winter for just under $6,000.oo for a week. Or, about 1/4 of your annual salary, unless you happen to be inordinately wealthy.
.. This is "windshield-time" at it's finest. The elements are removed from the equation. Wildlife is seen through tinted windows, the vapor of thermal features is a pretty blueish-gray, and you only need leave the heated comfort of the bus to dash to Old Faithful and to the Snow Lodge for lunch. With a little luck you won't even get snow on your $400.oo parka.
.. The WildeBeat has just produced a program about some new park passes. Much has been said about increased fees and commercialization

.. This news travels the American West in fits and starts but it is always close to the top of the list of conversational topics - even in McMinnnville, Oregon. Yet it seems that there is no similar outcry about the Yellowstone National Park hold-up. The park has become a retreat of the privileged rich, and the NPS likes it that way.
.. For those of you that believe that five hours in a steamy van to and from Old Faithful is enjoying Yellowstone in winter: bless your heart - the NPS wants to keep you from touching it's park.
.. Of course, you probably won't be touched by Yellowstone either! Of course the NPS wants more windshield time. "It reduces the visitor experience to knowing what we want them to know." For details on how successful the NPS is in confining visitors to heated and insulated vehicles see the NewWest summary.

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HELP WANTED

.. Do you want to help write the revisionist history of Yellowstone National Park? Would you like to help justify commercialisation of our nation's resources? Can you spew 'parkspeak' with the best of them? Do you believe that a single person can make a difference? If so, you can! Get the new job just opened up at Yellowstone: "Editorial Assistant, Yellowstone National Park." To apply: <CLICK HERE>
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IT'S HIT THE FAN

IF YOU CARE IT'S GOING TO COST YOU
Time, Effort, & Computer Paper
it's not as simple as just snowmobiles

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.. Well the continuing debate is heating up. Yellowstone National Park has just released the Draft Winter Use Environmental Impact Statement. And it would seem that, (on first blush,) the snowmobile is the way to go. However, it's not that simple. If you intend to address this debate there is a wealth of information to digest before you jump into the fray. And it's not just about snowmobiles.
.. It's about the visitor experience. It's about the bison. It's about "BAT" (Best Available Technology.) And, it's about the future of the resource preservation in Yellowstone.
.. Unless you let others speak for you, (usually a very bad idea,) you will need the following for minimal information.

DEBATE RESOURCES:
Draft EIS,
Ecology Of Bison Movements.
Winter Use Technical Documents,
Winter Air Quality Summary,
The Yellowstone Geoecosystem.

.. These will get you started. There are facts and figures and results that are seldom discussed and paint a far more complex picture than the simple minded debate about snowmobiles only. There are going to be public meetings that require your attendance. There will be comments to be made. and, there are letters to be written.
.. It is important to understand the complete process and the available facts before you begin to participate. One of the crucial elements of evaluating public comments is if they are specific and address the known facts. Just the simple concern about pollution is not enough. Just the simple complaint against snowmobiles is not enough.
.. This is why the public sentiment and many comments are not viewed as a vote. They are usually ill informed and express emotional sentiments instead of reasoned arguments. We should have learned, as children, that we don't usually get our own way by just crying. And despite their own feelings, the NPS staff must confront the data and not just the crying.
.. Here are some things to keep in mind as you join the battle to save the multiple resources that comprise the wonderland of Yellowstone.
---- "Winter monitoring data from two locations in the park show that under the current Winter Use Plan, air quality has improved; concentrations of both carbon monoxide and particulate matter have decreased considerably."(LINK)
---- "The reduction in snowmobile traffic is the primary reason for improvements in air quality, but the cleaner 4-stroke engines that are now required and weather have also played a role."(LINK)
---- "As snowmobiles have gotten cleaner, the emissions from the snowcoaches have come under closer scrutiny. Direct measurements of snowcoach emissions by the University of Denver have shown that on a per-passenger basis the average emissions from snowcoaches are about the same as the cleaner 4-stroke engine snowmobiles."(LINK)
---- "There have been no studies done on the effects of vehicle noise on the passengers of snow coaches. -- Not the vans, not the Bombardiers, not the buses."
---- "In one study, samples taken from the on-road snowpack near West Yellowstone, the most heavily traveled snowmobile route into the park, contained several varieties of PAHs and VOCs known to be major ingredients in two-stroke engine lubricants. Samples taken in Gallatin Canyon where there is car traffic but no snowmobiles did not contain these compounds."(LINK)
---- "Although the park proposes a total of 720 snowmobile/day be granted entrance, it should be noted that seldom does the number reach 300/day." (260/day is the average)
---- "At the present time, there are two relatively separate subpopulations [of bison], one on the Northern Range and the other on the Central Range. Some exchange occurs via the Mirror Plateau. In recent years, there have been major migrations from the Central Range to Gardiner basin via the road allowance between Madison Junction and Swan Lake Flats. This migratory pattern would not likely have developed in the absence of the groomed road through the Gibbon Canyon."(LINK)
.."Ultimately, the fundamental question is this: Is the park a place which is meant to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein,” as stated in the Organic Act of 1916, or is it “a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people," as stated in the 1872 dedication of Yellowstone as the world's first national park?"(LINK)

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Much Ado About Something

SNOWMOBILES - THE ONLY PROBLEM?

.................

.. Well it seems that it didn't take long for the snowmobile issue to hit the news and the blogs. Once the snow flies, the discussion, (argument?) continues. We notice that the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees has jumped into the lead on reviewing the latest reports to come from the National Park Service.
.. The National Parks Traveler has an excellent synopsis of the goings-on, as does the CNPSR Air Quality Press Release.
.. The air quality reports that are causing the stir are available at the Yellowstone Winter Use Documents page. It's worth requesting the large data files for the air quality modeling report.
.. The reports show a mixed bag of results that the combatants can point to with grins. However we discovered a blog that suggests that much of the wailing and screaming is just a cover-up for additional commercialization of Yellowstone.
.. We noted a few posts back that the distaff blog, A Step Apart was commenting on things Yellowstone. One thing that she notes is that all arguments stem from the, (not necessarily valid,) assumption that riding over the snow is necessary to a Yellowstone Winter experience.
.. Her blog has a series of posts that look not just at snowmobiles as a problem, but also at the rampant commercialization that Yellowstone is experiencing in the winter. Some of the posts have provocative titles, (e.g. The Testosterone Blogger, and The Sins Of Snowmobiles,) others are rather mundane. The series seems to be without end - stay tuned.

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.. A couple of suspected outlaws have been caught and are awaiting trial for poaching an elk on Yellowstone's northern range.
.. The skimpy Yellowstone Park News Release gives little to go on for the moment. Nothing has been released since the pair's arraignment.
.. Every year poaching is a problem. It includes collecting antlers, and skeletal remains as well as killing animals.

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.. We are pleased to report that the YELLOWSTONE NEWSPAPER is back in action. The revised format provides an excellent source for all things Yellowstone. The energy of this site is greatly appreciated. There is also a forum - it's in it's early stages; post your comments there. Thanks, Jim.

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Bison & Snowmobiles In The News

RANGERS PASS BISON IN YELLOWSTONE

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.. With the advent of winter in Yellowstone Country there is one guarantee: news stories of Bison and Snowmobiles will appear as rapidly as acorns dropping from a tree. The droppings have started early this year.
.. The Montana Bison Hunt opens on Wednesday. Although the state has issued 140 tags, the hunt will not, (even if all 140 are filled,) significantly affect the herd. The bison have returned from last years thinning and control efforts to the point where there are more now than the year before.
.. Recent figures show that snowmobile visitation in Yellowstone is down. With a cap of 720 sleds/day - the park is seeing only about 250/day. There is no clear explanation for the drop as noted in an article in the Star Tribune. This was also mentioned in New West.
.. The debate about snowmobiles started early this year. Several blogs and op-ed pieces have already hit the electronic media. Look for CNN to jump on the band wagon soon.
--- Yellowstone Newspaper has a synopsis of the stories,
--- So does Yellowstone Newspaper Briefs,
--- Several opinion pieces have appeared in "A Step Apart," a West Yellowstone Blog:
Honesty in Snowmobile Debate, The Testosterone Bloggers, YELLOWSTONE - A Commercial Wonderland, I Whine Therefore I'm Right. The pictures painted by the author of this blog are not pretty in terms of the long-term visitor experience.
--- The recent changes in Washington, D.C. have been commented on by Jim Macdonald in his blog "Jim's Eclectic World." Check the post entitled "No Radical New Wind In Yellowstone."

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IT'S BUSY IN YELLOWSTONE

What about the wolves?

ARE THEY DECIMATING ELK? . . . Find out HERE.
ARE THEY DESTROYING RANCHES? . . . Find out HERE.
ARE THEY SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE? . . . Find out HERE.

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IS THERE A LAND BOOM AROUND YELLOWSTONE?

.. Are ranches becoming weekend retreats?
.. Can you fish where your dad did?
.. Too many fences?
.. Where are the cattle?
.. Is a scenic ranch good for the environment?
.. Find out HERE. Or, get more scary news HERE.

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YELLOWSTONE WILDLIFE

.. Want to Kill an elk? Try this site.
.. Want to know about wildlife disease in Yellowstone? Try this one.

Yellowstone's Quagmire

nps photo

WHAT'S IMPORTANT ANYWAY ??

-The National Park Service, in general, and Yellowstone National Park, in particular, have failed in one of their most important missions: EDUCATION. Specifically education about the parks and their origins, and their reasons for existence.
- Popular, idiomatic speech, has clouded their thinking. Bribes from 'do-gooding' rich folks have twisted their priorities. Management by litigation has destroyed their perspective.
- The very vocabulary of the popular press, (Newspapers, TV, Weblogs, etc.) includes such words as tragedy, disaster, rampage, etc. when referring to the natural processes that are, (and have been,) responsible for the very parks that we call wonders.
- Fires, Floods, Glaciations, Erosion, Earthquakes, and the whole complement of natural processes that produce the parks are decried as terrible occurrences by the public - and sadly by the NPS & Yellowstone, as well.
- The tragedy is that the public believes that Roads, Fancy Hotels, Visitor Centers, Trinket Shops, RV Parks, Yacht Marinas, and the rest of the built environment is what the parks are about - and - these things are perceived as equally important as the natural features of the parks.
- It seems impossible, (in the popular mind,) to separate a stay at the Old Faithful Inn from a perfect visit to Yellowstone. The same can be said for other parks such as Yosemite. Yet, truth be told, these ephemeral structures will be long gone while the wonders of these places continue to change and evolve.
- Education of the public is mandatory if the NPS is going to get it's house in order. Money is tight and promises to get tighter. Visitation is down and promises to fall even more. Infrastructure is rotting and crumbling - so much the better; get rid of it.
.. The parks are not about weekend revels in a $70,000.oo motor home. They are not about the sumptuous meals at a given dining room. They are not about palatial surroundings in historic buildings. They are about the way that the natural world has conspired to produce beauty and majesty.
- The blinders worn by do-gooders allow them to believe that edifices are somehow comparable to the surroundings - get real. Fire must be suppressed, (or it might destroy a fancy old building,) rivers must be returned to their beds, (or they might destroy roads,) hot spring run-off must be diverted, (or it'll cover up a structure built in the 50's.) This attitude is called NIMP - Not In My Park. It's endemic in the popular mind, and growing in the NPS. Let nature take it's course elsewhere but - NIMP!
- Fires, Floods, Glaciations, Wind, Rain, Sun, Run-Off, Explosions, Poison Gas, etc. should be celebrated. There is no way to curtail these forces and in the same breath call the parks "wilderness," "natural," or "wild." The corollary attitude is that since we protect the elk and bison to the point of danger, we should also protect every tree.
- The public wants Disney World! The NPS, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN; and the rest of the popular press want to deliver it.
- If the political system that governs our country is valid, then soon the populist perception will become the policy of the NPS. So be it; but do not, then, decry in the same breath, the vanishing 'wilderness' experience. Unless, of course, the public becomes educated - and still wants Disney World.
- Read carefully the news presentations and commentaries for the subtle tyranny that words work on the concept of our parks. Development is viewed by the NPS as vital. They are busy transforming the interior of the parks into the same kind of tourist slums that are represented by the 'gateway' villages.
- They are terrified of refusing millions of dollars - lest they offend Conoco, or Westinghouse, or Casio. So buildings are built that stress the skinny budgets. This is called improvement - not impact, or it's 'acceptable impact." Maybe Conoco needs educating too.
- We want it both ways. Drive to the park, call the roads access not impacts. Call the hotels accommodations not impacts. Call the sewage treatment plants infrastructure not impacts. Call the parking lots necessary not impacts. The first rule of access is impact. No cute rationalization removes it. It can be large or small; terrible or benign, but it is impact.
- Now we have the interesting phrase of "Acceptable Impact." Of course the acceptability of any impact is culturally determined. If the culture continues to want their parks served up with a dose of cute hotels, fancy parking spots, developed campsites, etc. the range of "Acceptable Impacts" will grow.
- Climb in your Sabru, drive to a park, sleep in a fancy hotel, eat a gourmet meal, flush the meal, visit an air conditioned visitor center, watch a movie about the park, decry the fires of '88, and call yourself environmentally friendly. After all you just "DID YELLOWSTONE." And the NPS helped.