Grizzly 399 lives on!

The now 21-year old beloved Grand Teton National Park grizzly mother, known by her wildlife management number "399" has been seen again in this, the spring of 2017, with two new cubs. Evidently after her lone 2016 cub was killed by a car, she became receptive and crossed paths with a male grizzly in time to be impregnated again. Her longevity and her fecundity are remarkable. Fortunately, the Park Service is becoming more protective of her and her successive offspring. I understand the road through the area she has long frequented has been closed to auto and foot traffic to help give them safety and privacy to just be wild bears. Perhaps she'll lead the kids closer to the main road - not good for bears but good for my soul to see and maybe photograph them - while we're there next month.

Meanwhile, Yellowstone National Park has recently seen an increasing number of "roadside" female bears, including three or four mother grizzlies and cubs born either this year or last year. The yearlings will spend one more summer and winter with their mothers before being pushed away to pursue lives of their own and to allow their mothers to breed again.

Roadside bears - in theory, mother bears raise their cubs in proximity to human activity to discourage the greatest threat to their babies, male bears that kill them in the expectation that the mother will come into heat again (as did 399 last summer after "Snowy" died) - are a hazard to people, cars, and themselves. This is Yellowstone grizzly bear number "815" who, after allowing a very sizable crowd to watch her and her year-old cub, came down from the rise where they had been napping to a pullout where cars were parked. Most people were out of their cars and some distance away, but some were close (I was not; this photo was taken with a 600 mm telephoto lens) and trying to get pictures with phone cameras and iPads, none of which have sufficient telephoto capability to assure a decent photo from a safe distance. Fortunately 815 just rooted around a bit, then led her cub past the pullout to where there were almost no pedestrians and all traffic was stopped to safely cross the road.

815's cub, born in 2016.

Oh, what a relief it is. And, how fascinating it was.

Barrier at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, October 8, 2013

I count myself was among the millions in this country who felt like a massive weight was lifted when our justly-beset politicians in Washington ended their game of brinkmanship and authorized appropriations to re-open the government -- at least for the near term -- and to restore functions critically important in one way or another to all segments of Americans society. These functions include payroll for civilians employed by the Department of Defense; yes, our uniformed services budget was authorized during what quickly became known as the "partial" shut-down, but hundreds of thousands of civilian Defense Department employees were furloughed. These civilians provide indispensable services to the military, including servicing and maintenance of machinery (like jet engines), medical care, IT services, the list goes on. Meaning, although our sailors, soldiers (but not our spies, to channel John le Carré), and pilots  were on the job, any sense of national security was utterly false, as most could not perform their full duties without the support of the civilian corps. Other halted government resources impacted, or would soon impact if further prolonged, the country's ability to track the spread of, and deploy interventions against, contagious disease outbreaks (SARS, bird flu, to name a couple); those dependent on unemployment compensation for income; support for food and nutrition programs for needy families, and early education programs for children such as Head Start; those needing services like Meals on Wheels for disadvantaged senior citizens; and the millions of people employed by government contractors (such as the company I work for) to pay their mortgages and feed their families and the ripple effects thereof. In other words, the shutdown sooner or later would have affected not only our most vulnerable citizens, but the rest of us too, all the way up the socioeconomic ladder. 

In spite of immediacy of these and countless other government supports and collaterals thereof, none were at the top of the sound-bite lists of closures. From the most benighted conservative to the most enlightened of liberal media outlets, the number one closure on every list was America's national parks. This caught me completely by surprise. No, it's not that I think I'm the only person who puts extremely high value on our parks (and national forests and monuments, shores and historic sites), it's that in times of personal and public disaster, alas, the parks are not likely to be savers of life and property.

Google search page header, October 1, 2013. (Thanks to Google for use of the image without formal permission.)

Having said that, one reason for their prominent place on the list (and in many subsequent discussions) may be that the parks are symbols of values that almost all Americans share: they represent our wide-open and fruitful lands, our sacred histories, and in many senses, our prosperity. Look at us, we are well fed and clothed, and employed and secure, and we're still able to set aside massive acreage "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." 

Yellowstone's barricaded Roosevelt Arch at North Entrance, "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People" writ in stone at the top. Even the elk seem puzzled by the closure. My thanks to Patty Bauchman for the use of her wonderful photo, "Barrier at Roosevelt Arch" October 5, 2013.

Another reason is that the national parks and related units are a subtle proxy for all the affected economic engines, unlikely though it is that most people would readily make that connection. Although government run, units of the Department of Interior (national parks, monuments, historic sites, shorelines) and the Department of Agriculture (national forests, grasslands, recreation areas) rely on concessionaires and other contractors to provide guest services -- lodging, gift and convenience shops, guided tours and transportation, food service, gas, and emergency medical services for instance -- plus road construction and maintenance, utilities, communications... The list of businesses required to service visitors on federal land is remarkable. When the government shutters the parks, the concessionaires and vendors get stop-work orders. When the concessionaires and vendors get stop-work orders, they lay off personnel.The domino effect on the economy is obvious and nearly immediate.

Just outside of most parks are gateway communities. Take Yellowstone, for instance, which has several adjacent communities that owe their existence, or if not their existence, their prosperity, to the park: Gardiner, Montana at North Entrance; the twin map-dot towns of Silver Gate and Cooke City, Montana at Northeast Entrance, and West Yellowstone, Montana to the west. Fifty miles beyond East Entrance is Cody, Wyoming, and just beyond South Entrance is the little tourist development of Flagg Ranch. These settlements are all about visitor amenities (museums, snow-mobile rental, guided tours), services (restaurants, lodging), and necessities (groceries, gas, medical care). Although not park service contractors, when the parks close, visitors cancel or divert and business activity is flat-lined.

There have been numerous studies of the benefits of national parks on the economy, and a variety of estimates on the negative effects of the shutdown -- all of them staggeringly large for an approximately 2-week period of downtime. The pundits who chose national parks to represent the immediate impact of the shutdown were right on the money.

Barrier at the entrance to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, October 4, 2013

The Built Environment: Parkitecture in Yellowstone National Park

The tradition of structural creation in Yellowstone National Park particularly fits the idea of "parkitecture," which is variously defined as the often rustic, always romantic styles of architecture and decor intended to celebrate and enhance the experience of that particular public space we call a park. What interests me most is parkitecture in natural parks that is intended to resonate with the environment. Sometimes that intention includes the preservation of pre- and historic structures, and more and more lately, as the parks are pressured to better accommodate increasing numbers of visitors and existing structures age, it includes the studied design of new structures along with the restoration of irreplaceable classics.

The granddaddy of parkitecture is of course Yellowstone National Park's Old Faithful Inn that has been accepting lodgers since the summer season of 1904. OFI was designed by the architect Robert Reamer, who is quoted as saying, "To be at discord with the landscape would be almost a crime. To try to improve upon it would be an impertinence.”  His genius touched many other major structures in Yellowstone, including the now deceased original hotel at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the still flourishing Yellowstone Lake and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotels.

Old Faithful Inn is a triumphant survivor, to wit, just 25 years ago almost to the day, the devastating forest fires of 1988 came treacherously close to igniting the world's largest log structure. Disaster was miraculously avoided by the effectiveness of the sprinkler system, installed only the year before, combined with the massive efforts of firefighting crews to keep the exterior drenched until the wind direction changed.

Since then, the Inn has undergone extensive rehabilitation and deep renovation, including incorporation of much more sophisticated fire suppression systems, and shoring up of the foundations and massive stone and log infrastructure to better resist the almost constant small, and occasional large, earth quakes shaking the region. 

Today it is difficult to get a good head-on view for photographing the front-central exterior inn, in part because of the exuberant growth of lodgepole pines and because area directly in front of the inn is relatively sunken.

 

But within the Inn's doors is a most stunning lobby of proportions not dissimilar to the many grandiose natural features of the park.

Only Reamer could carry off such splendorous rusticity.

A great place to sit and restore trail-sore feet is in front of the 85-foot floor-to-roof lava stone  fireplace with its firescreen depicting the stylized plume of Old Faithful geyser just a few hundred feet beyond the Inn's east wing.

 

Even the dining room at the Inn is renowned for its "I want to be there" appeal aimed right at people like me and KLK. And yes, the menu includes bison stew and trout, needless to add, both from farmed sources. 

The Inn still accommodates overnight guests, and we were fortunate enough to nab a room there this June. The modern decor makes pleasant, if simplified reference to the rustic Prairie-Craftsman style of the building, with details successfully echoing the tastes of Reamer's day. 

OFI is extraordinary from every angle, inside and out.

There is no question in my mind that it was very wise to invest in the conservation of this extraordinary building through its numerous trials and tribulations over the past 109 years: the ordinary vicissitudes of time, fires, earthquakes, budget cuts, and competing priorities. May it last another 109 and many more than that.

Just Life, and a Good One at That: Photo Essay

From my last couple of posts a reader might be inclined to avoid Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks as depressing places good only for witnessing that Great Bitch Mother Nature wreak her havoc. Not so, let me assure you! They are in fact supreme places for lifting the spirits, making the heart sing, and, mostly, for being constantly awed by Nature at her best. Here are some examples, in no particular order. I'll keep commentary to a minimum so you can judge for yourself.

Early morning view, Grand Teton range

Newborn elk calf, Mammoth Hot springs, just learning to stand and nurse. The elk find safety from predators to be a fair exchange for the presence of humans, and their vehicles, and their buildings.

 The hike to Hidden Falls, Grand Teton National Park.

Lone Star geyser is an easily accessible back-country geyser in Yellowstone. The cone itself is about 12 feet high, and in full eruption reaches 30 to 40 feet and lasts half an hour. It's one of very few geysers that can be safely approached closely enough to fully sense the power of the eruption.

The trail to Lone Star geyser follows the Firehole River for a couple of miles.The Firehole is a great trout stream.

Bacteria and algae capable of thriving in extremely hot, very acidic or very basic, highly mineralized conditions in Yellowstone's thermal features - this one is the edge of Black Pool in West Thumb Geyser Basin - are responsible for the glorious colors.

Speaking of glorious color, these are the Red Hills, a little east of Grand Teton National Park in the Gros Ventre Wilderness; the red color comes from iron. The lake is Lower Slide Lake, formed by a sudden massive landslide that dammed the Gros Ventre River in 1925.

 Arrowleaf balsamroot all abloom in June, Grand Teton National Park.

Trout Lake, Yellowstone National Park. We looked for otters but saw only the fish they feed on, the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (classified as a threatened species), gathering near the inlet in preparation for spawning.

The female alpha wolf of Yellowstone's Lamar Canyon pack, known as "Middle Gray" hauling brisket of elk back to her pups.

Bison calves practicing being bison.

 

The Grand Teton Range, beauty beyond compare.

All photos from June 2013.

Web cam updates

Click on photo to enlarge for detail

I'm an addict of web cams, at least those pointed at various wonderful subjects in the greater Yellowstone area, which I check multiple times every day. It's been a few months since I posted favorite or interesting cam captures - one reason is that just a month ago KLK and I returned from another great adventure in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, with a 36-hour side trip to Cody, Wyoming, so stay tuned for upcoming posts about that wonderful trip. 

Meanwhile, here's a picture taken from one of the two cams atop Mount Washburn where they are housed in the lookout and used to survey their respective domains for signs of wild fire. In the lower left corner is a good-sized herd of bighorn sheep, all, as far as  I can tell, ewes with lambs. On close inspection, it seems the big-curl rams are spending the summer in bachelor parties elsewhere. There are also a couple of hikers along the trail.

We have hiked to the top of Washburn several times, but it wasn't an option early this June. I took the photo below along the road from which both the northern and southern trails to the summit depart. Hikers are now (mid-July) to be seen on the web cam every day. 

More posts soon from Yellowstone at ground level!

Boy or girl?

In June of 2008, KLK and I fortuitously had the opportunity to view and photograph this magnificent grizzly bear that was of such a size, and without a cub at the time of year when both black and grizzly bears are most active and most visible with their babes, we assume it was a boar. 
Exactly two years later, my fellow Yellowstone chat-pager, Hélène, has posted this video, taken in exactly the same spot as we watched the “boar.” I think we were very wrong about the bear’s gender. 

Whether or not this is the very same bear (it sure looks like it), four cubs is an extraordinary production. Quadramom Bear is truly the Park Celebrity of the Year. May she have all the luck raising them to maturity and independence. If all goes well, she will liberate them in the late spring of 2012. God speed, lovely bears!