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Yellowstone Park’s first tourists in 1871 seek ‘first blood’

Hunters were among the early visitors to the area that is now Yellowstone National Park. (Yellowstone Park Digital Slide File)

When the Washburn expedition returned from exploring the upper Yellowstone in 1870, they confirmed the rumors of the wonders there. Interest in the area that is now Yellowstone National Park surged when people learned it really did contain a grand canyon, a giant lake, geysers and petrified forests. Washburn and his companions returned to civilization in late summer—too late to mount another expedition to the Yellowstone plateau where blizzards could trap travelers in September. But in 1871—a year before the national park was created—a small group of men set off “to see Wonderland.” Continue Reading →

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Killing of high-profile wolves outside Yellowstone Park prompts Montana hunt changes

A male wolf from the Canyon Pack stands in shallow water in Yellowstone National Park.

Wolf trapping and hunting in Montana has been suspended in a buffer area close to Yellowstone National Park. Montana's wolf trapping season is set to begin Dec. 15, and widespread public debate of the shooting of collared wolves prompted the changes in how the state manages that process during a vote Monday by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission. Citing the unusual circumstances of several collared wolves that frequent Yellowstone being shot in areas near the park this fall, the commissioners voted 4-1 to prohibit further hunting or trapping for the rest of the season in areas closest to the park. Continue Reading →

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Elk poached in remote corner of Yellowstone Park

An elk in Yellowstone National Park munches on the last of summer's green grass as fall brings cooler temperatures. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

Authorities in Yellowstone National Park are seeking information that would help identify the individual or persons responsible for illegally retrieving a bull elk carcass from inside the park last month. Park rangers determined the bull was shot sometime between Sept. 11 and Sept. 21, inside the park’s southern boundary behind the Wyoming Game and Fish Department patrol cabin along Thorofare Creek, according to a statement released by the park's public affairs office. Continue Reading →

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Annual elk hunt begins Saturday in Grand Teton National Park

An elk cow from a herd in southern Yellowstone National Park relaxes in high grass. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

Although hunting is banned in most national parks, an annual elk hunt aimed at controlling unnaturally high herd sizes will begin Saturday in limited areas within Grand Teton National Park. Wildlife managers have used federally mandated hunts to help cull the burgeoning elk herds around Grand Teton since the 1950s, and while there is widespread local public support for elk hunts in the park, the practice has been criticized by some. Continue Reading →

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Environmental groups announce intent to challenge Wyoming wolf plan in court

A male wolf from the Canyon pack in Yellowstone National Park watches for bison.

In a move that comes as no surprise in the long-running dispute over management of gray wolves in the greater Yellowstone area, a number of environmental groups announced on Monday their intent to sue to block Wyoming's wolf management plan. WildEarth Guardians and other groups have notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of their intent to sue the agency over its decision last month to remove wolves in Wyoming from the endangered species list, according to a statement released by WildEarth Guardians. Continue Reading →

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Praise, concern follows move by feds to pass control of wolves to Wyoming

A male wolf from the Canyon Pack stands in shallow water in Yellowstone National Park.

Over objections from some environmental groups and with the praise of many sportsmen and ranchers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday announced the removal of wolves in Wyoming from the endangered species list. The move returns management control over gray wolves in the state to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department after a series of long-running disagreements and legal challenges over the state's dual approach to treating wolves as regulated trophy game in the greater Yellowstone area and as a predator with no protections across most of the state. Continue Reading →

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Colonel Pickett gets a bear in Yellowstone in 1877

After word spread about the magnificent big game in Yellowstone Park, hunters from the eastern United States and Europe began coming to bag a trophy. Even if they were skilled hunters where they came from, they needed someone to guide them in the rugged West. Jack Bean had the perfect credentials for the job. Before hiring out as a guide, Bean had been a trapper, hunter and Indian fighter. In the summer of 1877, the U.S. Army hired Bean to look for Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce Indians along the Madison River and in Yellowstone Park. He returned to Bozeman after locating the Indians and telling the Army they were headed into Yellowstone Park. Bean discovered that a Colonel Pickett wanted to hire him as a hunting guide. In his memoir, Bean tells this tale about the intrepid colonel. Continue Reading →

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Teddy Roosevelt knew what an elk smelled like

Theodore Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman and enthusiastic big game hunter. (click to enlarge)

How many present-day elected officials have been elk hunting? If you're asking the question of politicians around the greater Yellowstone area, the answer is probably "quite a few." Hunting is a part of the local culture around Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. But not so much in much of America's urban areas today. It's no secret that Theodore Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman and enthusiastic big game hunter. But in a great excerpt unearthed by author and historian M. Mark Miller, Roosevelt describes catching a whiff of an elk while on the hunt in 1891. (Roosevelt even offers an account of the animal's differing aroma while in rut.) Continue Reading →

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