[…] the nation. The underlying problem with the fee program is heavy-handed internal controls that agency administrators have imposed on local park staff. In 1996, the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park closed the popular Norris Campground to reduce costs. Visitor fees generated more than enough to operate the site, but the park wasn’t allowed to keep the […]
[…] reflects the core idea behind the Park Service’s current fee program. In fact, the agency’s modern fee authority originated in mid-1990s in response to the closure of Yellowstone’s popular Norris campground due to fiscal constraints—despite the fact that the campground generated more revenue than it cost to operate it. Under the Fee Demonstration Program, […]
[…] prides of lions to Mozambique’s Marromeu Ecosystem. If successful, they will increase the range of the African lion by more than 2.4 million acres—an area larger than Yellowstone National Park—improving the health of not only the species but of a landscape long battered by civil war. The project has its roots in the work […]
[…] financial investments. For the most part, they are not here to harvest trees, graze cattle, or mine for minerals. They come for the anchor public lands like Yellowstone National Park and nearby national forests and wild and scenic rivers. A consequence is more real estate development, which can consume land, splinter wildlife habitats, put […]
[…] in Tanzania, she is one of the most recognized and beloved environmental advocates on earth. Goodall, who holds a special place in her heart for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, is also famously outspoken in her opposition to killing animals for sport. So last summer after the 84-year-old entered her name into a special lottery […]
[…] the Cabela Family Foundation, Ivan Carter Wildlife Foundation, and Zambezi Delta Safaris, a commercial hunting outfitter. Two prides were released into a wildland roughly the size of Yellowstone National Park and have now begun to breed. The hope is that the lions, which will not be hunted, will help keep the region’s abundant big-game […]
[…] to their health. Throughout the year, these species will “surf the green wave,” following the greenest grasses from lowland riparian areas to high elevations. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem alone, roughly 20,000 elk are split among nine migratory herds. But in moving between public and private lands, wildlife do not read “no trespassing” signs. […]
[…] Since 1975, the species has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. At that time, there were only about 136 grizzlies left in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Fortunately, things have dramatically improved since then. In 2016, the Obama administration proposed delisting the Yellowstone population, which now numbers 700. The grizzly would become only the […]
Grizzly bear tipping up dead tree near Obsidian Creek. © Jim Peaco; April 24, 2009. Last month, a federal court ordered the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem population of grizzly bears put back on the endangered species list. Some environmentalists cheered the decision because it stopped a planned hunt. But the decision should also give people pause. If the […]
[…] course. Many of America’s most popular national parks face similar overcrowding issues as the nation’s appetite for outdoor recreation surges. In his recent farewell address, the outgoing superintendent of Yellowstone National Park cited overcrowding as one of the most important challenges facing the park. And, despite their popularity, many of the parks face a huge and chronic maintenance […]