Images sought for Yellowstone Winter Photo Festival

Shutterbugs of all skill levels are invited to share their favorite regional winter images at the third annual Yellowstone Winter Photo Festival, scheduled to take place March 9 at Yellowstone National Park.

Photographers are asked to bring digital photos taken in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on a thumb drive or photo CD so they can display and narrate their photos. 

Sponsored by the National Park Service and the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, the festival presentation is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center and is open to the public.

With no judging or prizes, the evening should be very casual and reminiscent of family slide shows, except everyone attending will be there because they want to be.

Those interested in participating should contact Rich Jehle at (307) 344-2840 or by e-mail for more information and to register. The registration deadline is March 7.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. Credit: National Park Service

 

Yellowstone National Park sets new annual visitation record

For the second year in a row, and for the third time in the last four years, Yellowstone National Park has set a new annual visitation record.

During the calendar year, more than 3.64 million people visited the national park. Recreation visits in 2010 were 10.5% higher than recorded in 2009 -- which itself was a record year -- when almost 3.3 million people visited. 

The park also set monthly visitation records in June, July, August, September and October. 

All park entrances recorded annual visitation increases compared to 2009 levels, with the West Entrance continuing to be the park’s busiest, hosting nearly 1.5 million recreational visitors in 2010.

Park managers say they believe the record visitation was due in part to the public’s recognition that visits to national parks represent a good value for their travel dollar. Aggressive promotion by state tourism offices, stable gasoline prices and 2009’s public television series on the national parks are also believed to have contributed.

Detailed park visitation information is available online at www.nature.nps.gov/stats/.

Yellowstone National Park annual recreational visitors:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Visitors watch as the Old Faithful geyser erupts at Yellowstone National Park. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Chart credit: Yellowstone/NPS

 
 

National Parks 2011 fee-free days announced

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Wednesday that the National Park Service would waive admission fees on 17 selected dates throughout 2011 and encouraged Americans to visit a national park this year.

"Many people have made resolutions to spend more quality time with loved ones and to get outdoors and unplug in 2011," Secretary Salazar said in a press release. "There's no better place than a national park to help keep those resolutions. Parks offer superb recreational opportunities, making them perfect places to enjoy our beautiful land, history and culture, and nurture a healthy lifestyle."

The 2011 fee-free dates will be the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15-17); National Park Week (April 16-24); the first day of summer (June 21); National Public Lands Day (Sept. 24); and the weekend of Veterans Day (Nov. 11-13).

Salazar noted that, with 394 national parks throughout the country, most Americans live within a few hours of a park, making them ideal locales for convenient and affordable vacations.

"In these tough economic times, our fee-free days will give families many opportunities to enjoy our nation's heritage and natural beauty in meaningful and affordable ways," he said.

Many national park concessions will also offer discounts on the fee-free dates, saving visitors on the cost of food, lodging, tours, and souvenirs. More information is available at http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Panoramic view of the Grand Canyon. Credit: National Park Service

Yellowstone will open for winter season on Wednesday

The interior roads of Yellowstone National Park are being packed and groomed in order to open Wednesday to commercially guided snowmobile and snow coach travel.

The roads that link West Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs and the park’s South Entrance with Old Faithful and Canyon are set to open at 8 a.m. Travel on the East Entrance road and Sylvan Pass is scheduled to begin a week later, Dec. 22, at 8 a.m.

The same limited-use plan as last winter will be in effect, allowing up to 318 commercially guided snowmobiles and 78 commercially guided snow coaches into the park daily.

The park’s list of permitted snowmobile and snow coach operators is available online at http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/wintbusn.htm. No commercial operator submitted a proposal to provide snow coach tours from the park’s East entrance this season.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: The geothermal pools of Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces in Yellowstone National Park send clouds of steam into the frigid winter air. Credit: National Park Service

 

Entries welcome for Yellowstone Fall Photo Festival

Shutterbugs of all types are invited to submit photos taken for the annual Yellowstone Fall Photo Festival, taking place Sept. 22 at Yellowstone National Park.

All submissions, vacation snapshots or pro photos, are welcome as long as they were taken in the Greater Yellowstone area.

Photographers may bring up to 25 digital images on a thumb drive or a photo CD and are asked to spend no more than five minutes narrating the story behind their photos.

The festival presentation will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Community Room of the West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center and is open to the public.

With no judging or prizes, the evening will be very casual and reminiscent of family slide shows, except everyone attending will be there because they want to be.

Those interested in participating should contact Rich Jehle at (307) 344-2840 or by e-mail for more information and to register. Registration deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: The sun sets by Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Yellowstone reports record number of summer visitors

It has been a record-breaking summer for Yellowstone National Park, with visitation figures released for June, July, and August shattering previous records.

Visitation for the three summer months combined topped 2.5 million, with Yellowstone hosting a record 854,837 tourists in August -- the first time August visitation has surpassed the 800,000 mark -- and is up more than 81,000 from the previous August record of 773,307 visitors set in 1995.

So far this year, the park has had almost 2.87 million come through its gates, putting it on track to break the 2009 yearly record when Yellowstone hosted nearly 3.3 million people.

Numbers were up at all five park entrances, with the West entrance remaining the busiest with more than 345,000 park guests using that route in August. The North entrance had the greatest percentage increase in visitors, up 20% from the same month in 2009.

July is typically the park’s peak visitation month -- and this year was no different, with 957,785 visitors -- usually followed by August, June, September, and May.

Detailed park visitation information is available online at http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: The Roosevelt Arch sits at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Yellowstone National Park officials remind hunters that hunting within park boundaries is prohibited

With the opening of hunting season in many areas surrounding Yellowstone National Park, park officials are reminding hunters of restrictions barring hunting within Yellowstone boundaries. This includes animals legally shot outside Yellowstone which then cross into and die within the park.

Though most of Yellowstone's boundaries are well marked, it is the responsibility of the hunters to ensure they do not hunt in the park.

The Lacey Act and the Code of Federal Regulations strictly prohibit the killing or removal of any animal, living or dead, from inside Yellowstone. Violators are subject to penalties including fines and restitution, and the possible forfeiture of vehicles, equipment and personal property associated with the violations.

Taking and removing any animal parts, including shed antlers, is also prohibited.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: A bull elk in Yellowstone National Park. Hunters in areas near the park will need to be aware of boundaries so that they are not hunting within Yellowstone. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Bears confirmed as those involved in fatal campground rampage near Yellowstone; female adult euthanized, cubs to be sent to zoo

A grizzly bear and her three cubs captured  have been confirmed as those responsible for killing one person and injuring two after rampaging through a campground near Yellowstone National Park early Wednesday morning.

Bear hair, saliva and tissue samples collected by investigators and tested by a DNA identification lab in Laramie, Wyo., confirmed that the captured adult bear was responsible for the attack. Additional forensic evidence supported this conclusion.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials said Friday the female grizzly was euthanized, but the bear’s yearling cubs will be sent to a zoo as soon as possible.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks supervisor Pat Flowers, in Bozeman, said based on the circumstances of the three separate attacks on sleeping campers, and following discussions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the adult bear was euthanized.

Under Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Guidelines, an agreement among eight state and federal agencies, it is advised that grizzly bears that display unprovoked aggressive behavior toward humans, or that cause substantial human injury, including loss of human life, be removed from the population.

An autopsy will be performed on the bear, to see if it can be determined what caused the animal attack.

"We want to find out if the unusual predatory behavior of this bear on humans is related to any physical condition or ailment," said Chris Servheen, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's grizzly bear recovery coordinator. "We will perform an autopsy on this bear because this is the only way to determine this."

The Soda Butte campground, and nearby Chief Joseph and Colter campgrounds, also in the Gallatin National Forest, remain closed.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: The captured grizzly sow responsible for the mauling death of one camper and injuries to two others near Yellowstone National Park in Montana. DNA tests confirmed the bear was the one responsible for the attacks and it was euthanized. Credit: Associated Press / Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Related:

Grizzly bear and cubs captured after fatal campground attack near Yellowstone

One person killed, two injured after bear rampages through campground near Yellowstone

Grizzly bear and cubs captured after fatal campground attack near Yellowstone

A mother grizzly believed responsible for killing one person and injuring two after rampaging through a campground near Yellowstone National Park has been captured, along with two of her three cubs.

Associated Press reports that the sow, estimated to weigh 300 to 400 pounds, was lured into a trap fashioned from culvert pipe covered by the dead victims' tent. The bear tore down the tent again and was caught in the trap, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim.

By Thursday morning, two of the bear's year-old cubs had also been caught and the third could be heard nearby, calling out to its mother.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Capt. Sam Sheppard said he was confident they had captured the attacking bear because it came back to the same site where the man was killed early Wednesday at Soda Butte Campground in the Gallatin National Forest.

Montana wildlife officials have identified the man killed as Kevin Kammer, 48, of Grand Rapids, Mich. The bear pulled Kammer out his tent and dragged him 25 feet to where his body was found, Aasheim said.

The other victims, Deb Freele of London, Canada, who suffered severe lacerations and crushed bones from bites on her arm, and an unidentified male survivor, who suffered puncture wounds on his calf, remain hospitalized in Cody, Wyo.

Freele said that she awoke just before the bear bit her on the arm, and instinctively played dead so the animal would leave her alone.

One person killed, two injured after bear rampages through campground near Yellowstone

One person was killed and two injured when at least one bear rampaged through a campground near Yellowstone National Park early Wednesday morning.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials are investigating the attacks, believed to have occurred about 2 a.m., at Soda Butte Campground in the Gallatin National Forest which left one man dead, a woman suffering severe lacerations from bites on her arms, and another man bitten on his calf. The identities and ages of the victims have not been released.  

Officials are still trying to sort out how many bears were involved, and what may have caused the attack.

"The campsites are being combed for evidence," said Fish, Wildlife & Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim. "We’re not certain if it was one bear or more than one, and we haven’t determined if it was a grizzly or black bear. We’ve extracted DNA samples from evidence found on site. This will help us identify the bear or bears involved, once captured.”

"This is not typical bear behavior. It’s odd. It’s not normal," Aasheim continued.

Grizzly bear kills hiker near Yellowstone

A man hiking near Yellowstone National Park on Thursday was killed by a grizzly bear, the same animal that researchers had tranquilized, captured and released earlier in the day.

Erwin Frank Evert, 70, of Park Ridge, Ill., was reported missing by his wife, Yolanda, to a member of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, which had been conducting research in the Kitty Creek drainage, about seven miles east of Yellowstone.

The Everts own a cabin in the area, where Erwin, a botanist, often hiked to research the region’s plants and animals.

When her husband didn't return from an afternoon hike, Yolanda went looking for him and met one of the bear researchers returning from the capture site. The study team member returned to the site, where Evert's body was discovered.

According to the Park County, Wyo., sheriff's office, which was called to the location, Evert was not armed or carrying bear spray.

Nine injured in lightning strike at Old Faithful

Nine visitors to Yellowstone National Park were injured Tuesday afternoon when lightning struck near Old Faithful.

According to a park news release, all were on the boardwalk or on walkways near the geyser when a small thunderstorm cell produced a single lightning bolt.

Park staff immediately converged on the scene and began to triage the injured.

Bystanders had started CPR on a 57-year-old man, who was conscious and breathing when rangers arrived.  He was taken to the Old Faithful Clinic  in the Visitor Center, and then transported by rescue helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.  His current condition is unknown.

Seven others with minor injuries had various complaints of shortness of breath, tingling or numbness.  All were transported to the Old Faithful Clinic, treated and released. 

A ninth individual walked into the Old Faithful Ranger Station and reported being struck by lightning, but did did not seek medical attention.

Hundreds of visitors witnessed the incident, as they were awaiting the next eruption of the famous geyser.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: Old Faithful geyser in the winter. Credit: National Park Service

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