trending

Recent Posts

Wyoming public policy experts discuss collaboration in resolving natural resource disputes

By: |
Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Director John Turner, left, speaks Monday during a panel discussion in Cody that included, from left, former Environmental Protection Administration head William Ruckelshaus, former Sen. Alan Simpson and former Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

Managing high-profile public lands, especially national parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton, often means navigating a minefield of public passions over hot-button issues like snowmobiles, wolves, bison and grizzly bears, just to name a few. Inevitably, it seems, disagreements over such topics end up being settled not in planning sessions, public forums or at bargaining tables, but in the courts. Or worse still, even the courts appear unable to offer a final and workable solution for the most contested natural resource management issues, as has been the case for the past several years with snowmobiles, wolves, bison and grizzly bears. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, alan simpson, john turner, mike sullivan, nepa, policy, resource management, trending

Grand Teton rangers rescue imperiled climber from Teewinot Mountain area

By: |
A search and rescue helicopter lands at the Jenny Lake rescue cache near Lupine Meadows in Grand Teton National Park in this 2012 file photo, after completing a short-haul extraction of an imperiled climber from the Teewinot Mountain area.

With just minutes until the day's last rays of light faded Saturday, Grand Teton National Park rangers used a helicopter to transport an imperiled climber to a landing zone near Lupine Meadows. A search and rescue helicopter crew completes a short-haul extraction of an imperiled hiker Saturday from the Teewinot Mountain area to the Jenny Lake rescue cache near Lupine Meadows in Grand Teton National Park. (Yellowstone Gate/Ruffin Prevost - click to enlarge) Full details were not immediately available from park officials about the incident, but search and rescue personnel successfully completed a rescue operation at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The climber had been on or near 12,325-foot Teewinot Mountain, according to Ranger Chris Valdez, who briefed Yellowstone Gate on rescue operations at the Jenny Lake Rescue Cache. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, grand teton, rescue, teewinot mountain, trending

Former Yellowstone employee sentenced in embezzlement of entry fees

By: |
Yellowstone East Gate

A former Yellowstone National Park employee was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Maine to one year of probation and ordered to pay restitution and a fine for the embezzlement of cash from entry fee receipts paid by park visitors. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen ordered Danel Nickerson, 45, to repay $7,429 in cash that Nickerson embezzled from Yellowstone entry fees paid by visitors. She must also pay a $1,200 fine and a $100 court assessment. According to sentencing documents, the assessment and restitution have already been paid in full. Nickerson pleaded guilty in May to one count of embezzlement of government money. She was indicted in January in Casper, Wyo., but the case was transferred to her home state of Maine at Nickerson's request. Continue Reading →

Filed under: People, Yellowstone, crime, Danel Nickerson, embezzlement, trending, yellowstone

Photographer finds overlooked beauty in badlands east of Yellowstone Park

By: |
Photographer Rob Koelling works to capture the overlooked beauty of the badlands and forgotten places east of Yellowstone Park. (©Rob Koelling - click to enlarge)

While most photographers around the greater Yellowstone area work hard to capture an idealized image of a particularly famous and beautiful place, a Powell, Wyo. man has spent years focusing on the often overlooked beauty in the region's badlands and forgotten places. "I've often felt that Wyoming hides some of its most wonderful resources in plain site," said Rob Koelling, an English professor at Northwest College who has a passion for photographing what he jokingly calls "the ugly places" in the state. Continue Reading →

Filed under: People, Photos & Videos, energy, photography, rob koelling, trending, wildlife

Artists create original works in Grand Teton to benefit art, education

By: |
Artists Don Dernovich participates in a "quick draw" art show and sale during the first Plein Air for the Park event in Grand Teton National Park. (NPS photo - click to enlarge)

The rugged and majestic beauty of Grand Teton National Park attracts thousands of professional and amateur photographers each year who work to capture that perfect image worthy of the park's natural splendor. But a different kind of creative set has been working in the park over the first half of July to capture creative and visionary images of Grand Teton, and they did it one brushstroke at a time. A group of fine artists working in the open air around Grand Teton National Park helped raise thousands of dollars for art and education programs in the park, as the first Plein Air for the Park fine art exhibition and sale wrapped up last week. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, art, chairty, grand teton, painting, plain air painting, plein air, trending

A backcountry bike ride to Yellowstone Park’s Lone Star Geyser

By: |

A day trip to Lone Star Geyser in Yellowstone National Park is a short and pleasant day hike or a fun bike ride, and a great way to spend some time off the beaten path. The path to Lone Star Geyser follows the Firehole River for the five-mile round trip, passing through green meadows and wildflowers that line the trail, an old road now closed to vehicles. Lone Star Geyser erupts about every three hours, with a few smaller, minor eruptions occurring before the major eruption. The major burst can last for up to 3o minutes, and ends in a strong steam phase. When you arrive at the geyser, check the log book to see if anyone recorded any recent eruptions so you'll know when it's likely to blow again, and feel free to enter details about what you see to help other visitors. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Geology, Science & Nature, Yellowstone, geysers, hike, hiking, lone star geyser, trending

Yellowstone’s Kite Hill Cemetery at Mammoth is home to mysterious graves

By: |

The Kite Hill Cemetery is not to be confused with a separate military cemetery in Mammoth near horse corrals. Kite Hill is a civilian cemetery for early park workers and non-military residents. It has 14 graves, but only one monument still stands, marking two graves. The identities of at least three people buried remain a mystery. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Yellowstone, cemetery, kite hill, trending, yellowstone

Wyoming photographer draws fans with compelling Yellowstone wildlife images

By: |
Two wolves from the Canyon Pack squabble over an elk carcass near Alum Creek in Yellowstone National Park. (©Sandy Sisti - click to enlarge)

A Wyoming photographer whose work captures both the majesty and the savagery of wildlife in Yellowstone National Park says she is drawn by the irresistible lure of the park's animals, and though she loves photographing bears and wolves, she is "always rooting for the elk calf." "I understand the food chain," said Wapiti, Wyo. wildlife and nature photographer Sandy Sisti. "But I still don't like to see anything suffer." Continue Reading →

Filed under: People, Photos & Videos, bears, bison, photographers, photography, sandy sisti, trending

Grand Teton Indian Arts Museum upgraded in Colter Bay renovation

By: |
New interpretive displays for the David T. Vernon Collection are part of a renovation of the Colter Bay Visitor Center in Grand Teton National Park.(Yellowstone Gate/Ruffin Prevost - click to enlarge)

About three dozen items from the most extensive and significant collection of Native American artifacts in the National Park Service are on display a newly upgraded showcase this summer as part of a renovation of the Colter Bay Visitor Center. The David T. Vernon Collection contains more than 1,400 items, and was donated by Laurence S. Rockefeller to the Park Service for display in Grand Teton National Park. But only a fraction of the items have been displayed in the Indian Arts Museum at any one time since it was added onto the Colter Bay Visitor Center in 1972. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, colter bay, colter bay visitor center, David T. Vernon Collection, grand teton, grand teton national park, Indian Arts Museum, trending

Gardiner entrepreneur builds business showcasing ‘jobs in great places’

By: |
Bill Berg speaks during the Gardiner Gateway Project launch in Gardiner, Mont., sharing the stage with Daniel Bierschwale, President, Gardiner Chamber of Commerce and Clara Conner, Division Engineer, Western Federal Lands Highway Division. (Yellowstone Gate/Ruffin Prevost - click to enlarge)

Bill Berg first came to Yellowstone National Park in 1972 to take a summer job pumping gas. You'll still find him at Yellowstone's doorstep, and he's still all about finding jobs in the park. But four decades later, Berg has become the king of "jobs in great places," matching workers with employers in some of the most beautiful and inspiring spots in America. Berg owns and operates CoolWorks.com, an online job placement portal and social media hub that specializes in finding seasonal and year-round workers to toil at national parks, dude ranches, ski areas and other similar venues. Continue Reading →

Filed under: People, bill berg, coolworks, employment, gardiner, gardiner gateway project, jobs, trending