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Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks show off wide range of fall colors

The East Gate of Yellowstone National Park is surrounded by colorful fall leaves.

Autumn comes earlier to the high country around Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks than in most other places around the country. By early October this year, many trees around the region are displaying dramatic blazes of fall color, while some trees have already shed their leaves altogether. Fall is a quieter time in the parks, with the summer throngs long gone and cooler weather taking hold. For those who haven't had the opportunity to tour the parks and surrounding areas, we've put together a photo gallery showing off some of nature's glory as seen during the first week of October. Continue Reading →

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Underwater War: Killing lake trout to save cutthroat in Yellowstone Park

The Yellowstone Park Foundation funds a range of programs and projects, including a long-term effort to reduce lake trout populations in Yellowstone National Park.

Attempts to save Yellowstone cutthroat began when they were first discovered in Yellowstone Lake in 1994. Work reached a crescendo this year with organizations helping fund work and research on Yellowstone Lake where lake trout have particularly overwhelmed the world’s largest natural cutthroat population. A combination of sci-fi like technology and experiments coupled with good old fashioned fishing could help shrink the lake trout population and in turn allow the cutthroat to thrive. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone Park road projects see mixed progress as winter closures approach

Traffic in 2012 moves along a single lane of the then-damaged road between Sylvan Pass and Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone National Park.

With just under six weeks until most roads in Yellowstone National Park close to autos for winter, a section of road near Tower Junction is being rebuilt for the first time in decades, while a damaged stretch of road east of Fishing Bridge will not be repaired this fall, as had been planned. The road from Tower Junction to a barricade just north of the Chittenden Road turnoff on Dunraven Pass has been closed for the season to allow for a major reconstruction project, according to a statement released by the Yellowstone public affairs office. Continue Reading →

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Researchers resume grizzly bear trapping in Yellowstone Park

Wildlife officials have proposed ending federal protections for Yellowstone area grizzly bears.

Wildlife biologists will be conducting grizzly bear research, including trapping operations, in Yellowstone National Park from Sept. 11 - Oct. 31 as part of ongoing bear studies across the greater Yellowstone area. Members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team will bait and trap bears at several remote sites within Yellowstone Park, according to a statement released by the park's public affairs office. Specific locations were not disclosed. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone’s Mirror Plateau: A world away from the boardwalks

At an elevation of about 9,000 feet and 3.5 miles from an established trail, Mirror Lake on Yellowstone’s Mirror Plateau is one of the park’s more remote destinations. (Bradly J. Boner/WyoFile — click to enlarge)

There are so many things in Yellowstone National Park that can make you feel physically small — the roaring waterfalls, geysers spraying more than 100 feet in the air and bison as big as a small car. But it is in the backcountry that you not only feel small, but also insignificant, a speck in a world that seems to expand into an immeasurable vastness. I’d never heard of the Mirror Plateau until I read about it in an outdoor magazine last winter. I was intrigued by the idea of the isolation within a place that draws millions of visitors each year. It isn’t just rugged; it’s trail-less. It isn’t just obscure; it’s unknown to most people. It isn’t just untrammeled; overnight travel is limited to only several weeks in the summer and 14 total permits. 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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Yellowstone bear biologist debunks myth that menstruating women attract bears

There is no evidence linking menstruation to any of the nine attacks on women in Yellowstone National Park since 1980. (USFWS photo - click to enlarge)

A report by a Yellowstone National Park bear specialist allaying misplaced concerns that menstruating women might be at greater risk of bear attack has been drawing headlines this month, perhaps as much for its unusual subject matter as for its findings. The report states that "there is no evidence that grizzly and black bears are overly attracted to menstrual odors more than any other odor." Continue Reading →

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Basic info and tips on camping in Yellowstone Park

Camping is one of the most fun and affordable ways to experience Yellowstone National Park, and a little planning can help make your camping trip more enjoyable. But many first-time Yellowstone visitors are often surprised to learn upon arriving in the park that campgrounds are full and no sites area available. That's not how you want to start your Yellowstone vacation, especially if you don't roll into the park until dinner time, or close to sunset. A couple of key tips are to either reserve a campsite in advance or show up before mid-day at one of the first-come-first-served campgrounds. Continue Reading →

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Former Yellowstone employee sentenced in embezzlement of entry fees

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 →

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