Yellowstone Country Safety * A Caldera full of Conservationists *

The Island Park Caldera has over 300 volunteer conservationists. The residents are some of the best stewards of the environment that I have ever met!

Yellowstone Country Safety * False Snow Forecast *

My iPhone weather report indicated that were supposed to get snow every day last week. That was the most pitiful week of forecasted snow that I have seen!

Too Good To Be True

I moved to Pocatello, Idaho in 1977. It was my first summer in Idaho and I decided to try my hand at fishing. I hadn’t done any scouting but I knew of the American Falls dam and decided to fish below it. Armed with my trusty rod and a half dozen spinners, I headed for the Snake River.

I crossed the dam and headed down the North side of the Snake. Noticing a couple of inviting ponds, I decided to give them a try. Parking on the road and hopping a small fence, I walked into the ponds. With my first cast I had a strike and reeled in a 2 foot trout. I put it on a stringer and cast again. Wham, I scored a second strike and another nice trout. I was more than suspicious. I am neither that lucky nor that good of a fisherman. I released both fish unharmed and hiked out along the river.

It didn’t take long to come upon a sign notifying the public that I was in a State of Idaho fish hatchery.

I didn’t study the area before I began scouting and I made a horrible mistake.  Fortunately I did no damage before recognizing my blunder and I learned an important lesson.

Fast forward to a recent incident at Mack’s Inn. An out-of-state hunter spotted a magnificent bull moose in the headwaters of the Henry’s Fork. He possesses a moose tag and this one is just standing there, so close to the road. He is surprised that moose hunting in Idaho is so easy. It is his lucky day. He takes the shot and drops the moose. Unfortunately, there is no hunting of moose between North and South Big Springs Loop according to the regulations.

Residents and visitors alike have enjoyed seeing that bull wading in the river. I had admiringly posted video of that bull (Big Moose, No Tag) on my YouTube channel over one year ago. While I would love to fill a moose tag with such a bull, I was glad that the bull stayed within the safe zone where he could be enjoyed by so many.

The area was not safe from someone who didn’t bother to study the regulations however. A concerned resident called Fish and Game and the hunter was apprehended. The hunter has a court date, but that doesn’t help much. 

Yellowstone Country Safety * Campfire Safety *

The winds are increasing and the grass is drying out. Do not leave campfires unattended, even in established fire rings. Have a bucket of water on hand at all times and use it to put out the fire rather than let it burn out.

Possible Rules for the Island Park National Monument

1.          No Hunting (especially wolves).

2.          No cutting of firewood (burning wood creates global warming).

3.          No building on private land without a federal permit.

4.          No ATVs

5.          Guided group snowmobile trips only.

6.          Maximum of 8 boats allowed on any river at one time. (You are upsetting the fish!).

7.          Camping permitted in designated campsites only.

8.          In the event of a sequester, Island Park will be temporarily closed (sorry).

9.          Park pass purchase is required to vacation in Island Park.

 More rules and regulations to follow …… Have Fun!

Living Inside a National Monument?

During the later stages of the Bush 43 administration, Jim Caswell served as Bureau of Land Management Director under Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. Mr. Caswell was the Targhee National Forest supervisor in the 1990s.  During his tenure as BLM director he developed a proposal to create a national monument out of the entire Island Park Caldera.

I began searching for the rationale behind such a move other than allowing a politician or interest group to establish a legacy. The best one I could find deals with geothermal energy. Energy companies have previously expressed interest in tapping into the Yellowstone’s geothermal system by drilling from the Island Park Caldera.

In Kamchatka (former Soviet Union), a geothermal electric plant was constructed in the middle of an active fumarole/mud pot area in 1966. The underground energy was directed into the plant and the various geothermal features became inactive. 

That documented case has been cited when arguing against any substantial harvesting of geothermal energy from the Island Park side of the Yellowstone caldera. I am sure that if someone constructed a power plant next to Old Faithful Inn there would be a severe damage to the geyser basin features. While I am not sure that anyone knows what would happen if geothermal power was tapped from Island Park, the potential damage to Yellowstone’s geysers does not seem worth the risk. I wouldn’t bet on power plant construction. The area is under the supervision of the Forest Service. It would make no sense for the USFS to say yes to a power plant while they are currently eliminating trails for 4 wheelers because of the potential eco-damage. A few large private property owners “could” allow construction of such a facility on their land but that should require Forest Service approval (if not, make it so).

The other reason for such a designation is more about limiting access and activities. There are always competing interests when it comes to the use of public lands. Example: The cross country skiers and snow shoe hikers disliked the snowmobiles’ noise and President Clinton’s administration severely limited their access. That worked out really well for West Yellowstone!

The question is who wants to limit what? I don’t have any idea. Once the national monument designation is made, the initial reason doesn’t matter. There is the rule of unintended consequences.

There is always some bustard who is indignant that you can harvest firewood, hunt, operate ATVs, or build an addition on your cabin (remember that you would be living within the boundaries of a national monument). What are the chances that an attorney and sympathetic court will decide that his feelings are more important than your lifestyle.

The Forest Service has some great employees in Island Park and the residents have proven to be great stewards of this wonderful area. Unless someone can demonstrate what is broken, what are they trying to fix?   

Yellowstone Country Safety * mufflers can cause fires *

 The vegetation is drying out as the summer progresses. Hot vehicle mufflers can start forest fires. Avoid driving trucks and cars through tall grass. 

The Buffalo and Island Park

Island Park’s history is intertwined with the American Bison. In 1876, Richard “Rocky Mountain Dick” Rock settled on the north shore of Henry’s Lake. He was a mountain man who became the second settler in the area. He made a living capturing, training and selling local wildlife. His ranch was a regular stage stop for the tourists on the way to Yellowstone. One of his most popular attractions was a buffalo that he found as a calf and raised.

Buffalo occasionally wander from the park onto the flat, east of Highway 20 near Henry’s Lake. Currently the Idaho Department of Fish and Game does not have jurisdiction over these bison.

Brucellosis control is the rationale for giving the responsibility for bison management to the Idaho Department of Agriculture. Yellowstone bison and elk were infected with the disease prior to 1917 by domestic cattle grazing in the park. Brucellosis causes failed pregnancies in cattle and is transmitted by ingestion of infected birthing materials from other species. Area elk are also infected and no occurrences of infected cattle have been reported in Island Park. One could conclude that since cattle don’t begin grazing here until well after the spring elk calving, the chance of Brucellosis exposure is minimal. Would this not pertain to the buffalo as well? The current management approach is to immediately destroy any animal that wanders into the Island Park area.

The undeveloped flat is a source of pride for many residents of Island Park and the presence of a small herd of buffalo might help guarantee its preservation. It would be the source of tourist interest, a great marketing tool and a generator of local income. This complex issue that would require study, planning and everyone’s input and could be a win-win for everyone involved.

Island Park has a Buffalo River and even a Buffalo Run RV Park but what we don’t have is any buffalo!