Bear Hair Is Tricky

MSU SCIENTISTS SEEK GRIZZLY INFORMATION

Inbreeding Concerns Voiced

Travis Wyman of the National Park Service collects bear hair.
Photo courtesy Mark Harroldson.

.. Grizzly bear hair stored at Montana State University for over 25 years at -77.8 degrees will soon be headed to Canada. The hair collected from the bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem will be used to determine the genetic diversity of the grizzly bear population.
.. According to an MSU press release:

The hair will head to Canada in a few months to be analyzed at Wildlife Genetics International in Nelson, British Columbia, said Chuck Schwartz, head of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team based at MSU. The team is monitoring the genetic diversity of the Yellowstone grizzlies over time and wants to know when new DNA appears. The team will also compare the Yellowstone bears with those in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem where a similar study has been done.

.. A major objective of the study is to determine if grizzly bears from the area around Glacier National Park migrate to Yellowstone National Park. The population of grizzly bears has doubled in the last 20 years to about 600 bears. This study will help determine the genetic diversity of the Yellowstone bears - and evaluate the general health of the gene pool.
.. The Canadian laboratory has analyzed bear hair from around the world, including Yosemite and Banff. According to Steven Kalinowski, a conservation geneticist at MSU:

Bear hair is tricky because the amount of DNA it contains is so small.

.. Jennifer Weldon, manager of the Canadian lab, said:

Dirty hair can challenge some researchers. So can hair that came from a dead animal and spent so much time in the elements that the DNA degraded.

.. After the DNA analysis the hair will be returned to MSU for additional study.

grizzly photo courtesy Mark Harroldson

The Fords Are Ready

XANTERRA DELIVERS
Looks Old - Is New
there were others
some are real

.. The reproduction White Motors Convertible Touring Sedans are ready for business. They are staged, for the moment at Mammoth, and ready for service as tour buses for park visitors.
.. At a reported cost of $250,000 each, Xanterra Parks and Resorts has fulfilled one of their contract obligations by teaming up with Ford Motor company to bring this fleet of 11 (8 were recently purchased by the park concessionaire,) coaches back into service.
.. The reproductions are modeled after the 1936 White Motors Convertible Limousine and are a creditable rendition of the originals.
.. The power train, running gear, and front sheet metal are reproduced, and the dashboard and gauges and steering wheel are all modern. They look old and run new.
.. There are some original 1936 White Limousine's still in service and in private hands. The West Yellowstone Historic Center has a restored original that it uses to give tours in the Summertime. The Museum's vehicle, (#437,) has undergone a complete restoration - where necessary- and still sports it's original upholstery and other components, including the original grill badge and gauges.
.. The interesting aspect of these vehicles is that the custom-built coach was the important part; not the sheet metal on the front. Many of the coaches were updated in the 1950's with 'modern' Ford engines and sheet metal back then. These 1950's conversions are rare but are known to exist, and are shown here.

----------------

.. Brief History: of all the Cleveland-based auto manufacturers, the longest-lived company was White Motor, which got its start with steam-powered cars, but became one of the main truck manufacturers in America.
.. The White Motor company was started by Thomas White but this 100+ year old company did not start by building automobiles. In 1876 Thomas White moved from Massachusetts to Cleveland where new markets were opening up for sewing machines. By the 1890s, the company was a national distributor of ‘sewing machines.’
.. In 1890 the bicycle craze swept the nation and White hopped right on. White thought he was on the cutting edge of transportation until the automobile popped up. This new horseless carriage fascinated Thomas White's sons Windsor and Rollin and they convinced their father that automobiles were something to invest in and create.
.. Rollin was an excellent engineer and after studying various automobiles he redesigned the boiler used on steam-powered cars which were quite popular in the early days. He developed a flash boiler that was safer than existing boilers and allowed the automobile's engine to produce steam faster than a traditional steam engine.
.. It was not difficult for the production lines at the White plant to produce the components necessary for automobiles and they began building steam powered automobiles. In 1899, the brothers introduced their first steam-powered automobile, followed by a small delivery truck. The company quickly acquired a reputation for crafting quality vehicles and the Automobile Department was split off as The White Motor Car Company.
.. White Sewing Machine continued to focus on its product line, and the new car company moved out, building a factory on Cleveland's eastern edge. Soon the steam-powered car was replaced with the gasoline-powered car, as White quickly adapted, continuing to build expensive, high-quality cars and light trucks. During World War One the White Motor Co. fashioned trucks for the United States military and abroad.
.. Czar Nicholas of Imperial Russia purchased an entire fleet of White-built trucks, making White an international name. In the 1930’s the White Motor Co. entered the great depression in a bad way. After a series of major setbacks Robert Black was appointed the new president of the White Motor Co. in 1935 and the White 'Touring Sedans' and 'Touring Limousines' were born.
.. The National Park Service worked up a program for production of canvas-topped 'touring sedans' to provide a special 'multi-sensory experience' for visitors sightseeing in the National Parks.The White Motor Company designed and built 500 of these 25-foot-long touring sedans. That was a fairly large production run of a unique vehicle and most of the buses were retired from service in the 1950s.
.. These vehicles were used in various western national parks including Bryce Canyon, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Mt. Rainier, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks. While the canvas-topped tour sedans were replaced elsewhere, the fleet of (red) sedans at Glacier National Park was maintained in continuous service. These sedans were ideal for trips across the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The open-air tour sedan afforded visitors a unique experience as they rolled across the Continental Divide.
.. You Can read the straight news story in the Casper Star Tribune.

DOANE AGAIN

KIM READS
Commercialism Creeps
old faithful steams

<<-- Kim Allen Scott will read from his book on Doane, “Yellowstone Denied,” at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Pioneer Museum in Bozeman. As previously noted, Gustavus Cheyney Doane was a soldier, inventor, author and explorer who felt he should be famous for "discovering" Yellowstone National Park and wealthy from one of his inventions.
.. Montana State University has finally issued a news release about this fascinating saga of the man and his obscurity - aided, interestingly, by a selfish, (or preoccupied historian.) The book is an interesting compilation, the story is even better.
.. The book is getting the good play that it deserves, including another note in the Helena Independent Record. If you're in Bozeman this Saturday stop at the museum and give a listen.

________________

.. Montana State University has a couple of employees who will be evaluating the "Windows Into Wonderland" series about Yellowstone National Park. The award winning series of electronic field trips has attracted millions of visitors and details a wide range of Yellowstone's various features and attractions.

________________

.. We noticed an interesting essay about commercialization, American values, and our national parks in Jim's Eclectic World. One point in the essay is very apparent in Yellowstone National Park -- CREEPING COMMERCIALISM.
.. As we've noted before, (here & here & here,) there are major corporations spending a lot of money to get their name associated with Yellowstone. The "Windows Into Wonderland" series mentioned is just one of them.
.. Via The Yellowstone Newspaper we were directed to a not so playful spoof of the future of Yellowstone in A Step Apart.
.. A pair of notes serve to illustrate the way this is working. WebWire has a note about how Canon is persistently pushing itself into Yellowstone. And the CSRWire has a note about how Toyota is doing the same thing.
.. This should not be too surprising in that the very origin of Yellowstone was fostered by the commercial interests of the Northern Pacific Railroad. An excellent review of Berringer's book "Selling Of Yellowstone: Capitalism & The Construction Of Nature" can be found HERE.

_______________

.. There are two articles addressing the declining attendance at our national parks. The site Inside Bay Area.com lets us know that Yosemite is busy competing with Play Station & X Box. And over at Hotel Online, a similar note suggests that the decline is not all bad.

________________

.. The Voice Of America reports that one of the alternative energy sources we should be utilizing is geothermal power. So to does ARS Technica. No mention was made of the Iceland fiasco that destroyed much of the beauty of their geyser fields for steam heat.

Yellowstone's Bears, Bison, Wolves, & Rich People

BEARS POPULATION EXPLODING
BISON HAVE RICH FRIENDS
Yellowstone can be bought - Yosemite can't
WOLVES EAT BEEF
Yellowstone is now 100% commercialized in winter!

.. Just because Yellowstone slammed shut it's doors to prepare for 100% commercial tours in the winter, doesn't mean there's no news.

.. Wolves kill elk on steps of Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.
.. 108 luxury cabins planned for Yosemite stifled by judge.
.. Wolves solidifying gained ground - disperse slowly.
.. Tester vs. Burns - Stay tuned!
.. Grizzlies off threatened list?
.. The joys of shoulder seasons past and present.
.. Tourism gaining ground.
.. Kobuck the bear - trash can tester.
.. Wolf conservation vs. wolf control.
.. Patagonia Loves Bison Billboards.

__________________

..

OF RLIGION & WEB CAMS

Get Married In A Park

Giant & Old Faithful Caught Together

.. Two of the most lucrative aspects of profiteering in the National Parks are: 1) the wedding business and, 2) the "FREE" use of park facilities for religious services. You won't hear about this from conventional news sources. You won't hear about it from members of congress. You won't hear about it from the National Park Service. You won't hear about it from the gateway communities.

<-nps photo
.. Weddings and wedding tours start in the neighborhood of $2,500 and go up from there. These take place in Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, Arches, Grand Tetons, etc. They are often run by the same concessionaires that peddle you around the park in exhaust spewing luxury vans, and buses, and limousines. Some use helicopters or horses or rafts. What a kick. (Arches has a $50 wedding permit fee.)
.. Glacier Park, Inc. promotes it's weddings and charges for the services. They even include a 2.75% utility surcharge for staying in any of the five properties in the park.
.. Even more surprising is that the permit to hold religious services in Yellowstone is free - although if it's a wedding, the commercial photographer must pay a fee. This includes the chapel at Yellowstone.
.. Scheduling is a problem because there are already established special interests that have tied up most dates. There must be some kind of exclusive access that allows the perpetuation of "established" ministries to continue year after year. Of course free-will offerings and collections are allowed!
.. We wonder why the whiners who decry the commercialization of our parks ignore this aspect of filthy lucre? We refuse to speculate.
..We do know that maintenance, heating, & electricity in park facilities are expenses that could be offset by fees. We also know that the National Park Service was not created to subsidise weddings or religion. And, we doubt that these functions - IN ANY WAY - protect or preserve the resources. So; what gives? We've received no answers to our inquiries.
.. The Deseret News just ran an article under religion and ethics about this very situation. The piece includes many glowing remarks from religious entrepreneurs & praises for the parks. Although The NPS is charged with oversight for the public structures at Yellowstone; General Ranger Daven Hafey is quoted as saying that ". . .he doesn't know how many people attend because the Park Service doesn't get involved."

________________
WEB CAM COMES THROUGH

.. The Old Faithful Web Cam has just caught another wonderful "double." On screen is Friday's simultaneous eruption of Old Faithful & Giant Geysers. Giant, you may recall, has been surprisingly active throughout the Summer, and now that Fall weather and moisture have returned to the region there is hope that this behavior will continue.

..

.nps web cam photo.

______________

..