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| The open planes of Yellowstone National Park |
Waking up with a light sprinkle of snow over the surrounding area was a refreshing way to start our packed day around Yellowstone National Park. We started the morning talking about the issues of the wildlife in the area and the impact it has on the greater Yellowstone area. Local farmers are against the wildlife being in the park because of how much it impacts their livestock and income. When elk leave the park grounds they can find there ways onto farmers land, and while this doesn’t seem like a big deal it can cost the farmers there entire herd of cattle. Elk carry a virus called brucellosis, if the farmer’s cattle are exposed at all to the elk they have to be exterminated. Other animals that cause the local communities alarm are buffalo, wolves, and bears. . Farmers are also concerned that buffalo will spread brucellosis to their livestock and try to contain the situation by shooting the buffalo once they are off the federal land. This creates a lot of controversy between farmers and environmentalists and park rangers. Wolves were extinct from the area after farmers hunted them to protect their livestock. The park reintroduced packs from Canada in an effort to rebuild the wolf population. The reintroduction worked, but just like before the farmers do not want the wolves there. Bears and wolves are also a concern for communities with younger kids. Other issues discussed during the day were issues around surrounding snowmobile access to the park, public usage of the grounds, and wildfire management techniques. After driving around all day and covering all the major issues surrounding Yellowstone we called it a night and made dinner in camp with snow gently falling form the sky.
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| Yellowstone's "Grand Canyon". |
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| Wild Elk grazing |
Things to Note:
- Whenever you can talk to anybody that works at any of the parks you go to, they are your best and most knowledgeable resources.
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