Local News

Yellowstone-Teton Territory is home to world-class fly-fishing, a drive-through bear and wolf park, and Legacy Flight Museum—just to provide a sampling. Rexburg, Idaho, is the gateway community to the region and is easily accessed.

Complete your vacation to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks by visiting the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana. Observe live bears and wolves in naturalistic habitats. The Center is a not-for-profit wildlife park and educational facility that promises a unique experience you won’t soon forget.

Current conditions and statuses of Yellowstone's road and entrances.

Sub zero temperatures and water equals ice. If you take the time to search the banks of Yellowstone’s rivers you will likely find magical scenes of rocks, snow and ice…when you mix in moving water with long exposures. Get out, be safe, and have fun. Happy shooting

“Be Alert. Make Noise. Carry bear spray. Avoid hiking alone. Do not run,” read the yellow postings.

Winter causes a change in Yellowstone’s wildlife, their coats fill out to handle the extreme cold of the park, and that makes most of them look beautiful. Happy shooting

As part of National Park Week 2012 all U.S. National Parks are free April 21 – 29, 2012

Nature Valley brings national parks into homes across the world via new interactive website. The site offers 360-degree views of 300+ miles in Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Smoky Mountain National Parks.

Slideshow of images captured during the crew's two-week stay in Yellowstone.

According to the National Park, Yellowstone grizzly bears have begun emerging from their dens in the park.

Our Program will be Dick Wilson, Idaho chair for Reel Recovery. Reel Recovery is a national organization who organize retreats for male cancer patients and survivors. These outings are designed around fly fishing with the support of professional and local volunteers. So come on out and show your support. !

Congratulations to ” Leaky Boots” your FFI team who took the second place spot out of 17 teams in the Silver Division in this years Fly Casting Tournament put on by Trout Unlimited, Way to go guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The following is a summary of current Yellowstone road and entrance statuses and conditions. Full closures: -The Canyon to Tower Road is closed to traffic Sept 22, 2012 through May 23, 2013. The road will also be closed from the hours of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. from July 5 to Sept. 22, 2012 from Chittenden Road

February is a cold month in Yellowstone, filled with snow and ice, but it is a beautiful time. Photographers visiting Yellowstone in these cold months should pay close attention to how light is moving across the landscapes of Yellowstone. Happy shooting

10%-24% declines over the last several years

In light of two grizzly bear maulings in Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 2011, a Montana non-profit organization wants to make bear spray cans widely available for rent to hikers and backpackers, according to an article online at Bozemandailychronicle.com. While the program is still in early stages of development, the Keystone Conservation Group, a people

RESTON, Va. — Thanks to citizen-scientists around the country, the USA National Phenology Network hit a major milestone this week by reaching its one millionth nature observation. 

The millionth observation was done by Lucille Tower, a citizen-scientist in Portland, Ore., who entered a record about seeing maple vines flowering. Her data, like all of the entries, came in  through USA-NPN’s online observation program, Nature's Notebook, which engages more than 4,000 volunteers across the country to observe and record phenology – the timing of the recurring life events of plants and animals such as when cherry trees or lilacs blossom, when robins build their nests, when salmon swim upstream to spawn or when leaves turn colors in the fall.   

Each record not only represents a single data point — the status of a specific life stage of an individual plant or animal on one day – but also benefits both science and society by helping researchers understand how plants and animals are responding to climate change and, in turn, how those responses are affecting people and ecological systems.   

"My dream is that through the wonders of modern technology and the National Phenology Network we could turn the more than six billion people on the planet into components of our scientific observing system," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "We could make giant leaps in science education, improve the spatial and temporal coverage of the planet, lower the cost of scientific data collection, and all while making ordinary citizens feel a part of the scientific process." 

Jake Weltzin, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist and the executive director of USA-NPN, concurs. "Hitting the one millionth observation is exciting because researchers and decision-makers need more information to understand and respond to our rapidly changing planet. More information means better-informed decisions that ensure the continued vitality of our natural areas that we all depend on and enjoy." 

For example, said Weltzin, the data in Nature's Notebook are already being used to benefit society, including the development of more accurate indicators of spring, forecasting the onset of allergy seasons or the chances of western wildfires, managing wildlife and invasive plants, and setting goals for habitat restoration. Ultimately, such information can be used for better managing water resources, wildlife and ecosystem management, and even help farmers and ranchers across the nation.  

Changes in phenology are among the most sensitive biological indicators of global change. Across the world, many springtime events are occurring earlier — and fall events happening later — than in the past. These changes are happening quickly for some species and more slowly, or not at all, for others, altering relationships and processes that have been dynamically stable for thousands of years.  Some wildlife —like caribou and butterflies — are becoming mismatched from their plant food resources, which are responding differently.  Migrations for some birds are changing too, as they can now overwinter instead of moving south for the winter, or as they fly north more quickly to keep pace with an advancing front of spring flowering. 

Because of this, said Weltzin, scientists need more and better information about the pace and pattern of nature — locally to nationally — to answer important scientific and societal questions, and to build the tools and models needed to help people understand and adapt to the changes. 

"So much of our improved understanding about global environmental changes is driven by varied and valuable sources of information that include networks of citizen-scientists," said John Wingfield, National Science Foundation’s assistant director for biological sciences.  "The public at large has played an important role collecting observations and data for a hundred years and more. Knowledge and data gained from their work will continue to have a lasting effect on how we understand regularly recurring biological phenomena for hundreds of plant and animal species and contribute to the policy arena."  

Gwen Lundburg in Seattle is one citizen-scientist who has contributed hundreds of entries into Nature’s Notebook. "Just noticing small changes like tiny purple lilac buds suddenly turning green has taught me to look more closely at my plants," Lundburg said. "I see things in my garden I never saw before." 

With the help of citizen-scientist volunteers, working in concert with professionals, the USA-NPN, which was established in 2007, collects, stores and freely shares phenological data on more than 800 species of plants and animals. The Nature’s Notebook observing program has been in operation since 2009. The coordinating office of the organization is located at 1955 E. 6th St., Tucson, Ariz., 85721. For more information, visit the USA National Phenology Network, or contact Jake Weltzin at 520-626-3821 or jweltzin@usgs.gov.

Studying the earbones of trout can reveal their lifetime movements in a large river system, according to a study released in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.  

Scientists correlated the natural variation in strontium isotopes found in stream waters against those recorded in otoliths (earbones) of westslope cutthroat trout to examine fish movements during their lifetime. 

This study was the first to show that the use of isotopes in water and earbones accurately assesses movement of trout wholly within a freshwater system. The research was conducted by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Montana State University, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.  

"It worked so well! The values in the water matched those in the otoliths, which grow like rings in a tree," said Clint Muhlfeld, USGS scientist and lead author of the study. "As fish grow and move into new environments, the otoliths record that information and we matched that with stream statistics to reconstruct the entire life cycle of a fish." 

The study provides a reliable method that compliments traditional fish tracking techniques. This research may allow biologists to investigate non-native species invasions, identify important populations, and quantify life histories of freshwater fishes in river networks. 

"All life is literally a product of its chemical environment, and there is no more dramatic demonstration of that fact than the ability to retrace the life history of fish from the variations in the chemicals deposited in their ear bones as they grow and migrate through space and time," explained USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "As this technique has already proven its scientific value in understanding the movement of fish in the marine environment and those which migrate from freshwater streams to the ocean, it is truly an achievement that could inspire 'CSI'." 

Westslope cutthroat trout are an important native fish species in western North America where their populations have declined because of factors including habitat destruction, fragmentation and non-native species. These fish make extensive migrations among spawning, growth and refuge habitats, yet conventional tracking techniques have not been able to unravel the extent of their movements. Knowing exactly what habitat the fish use during each life stage is an important component to understanding their ecology and, in turn, more effectively managing this important species. 

"This approach could be very useful in understanding life history strategies and conservation needs of freshwater fishes worldwide," said Muhlfeld. "Biologists are typically limited to examining movements of fish at checkpoints throughout their lives or over small periods of time.  This approach allows examination of a fish’s entire life with significant accuracy." 

The study provides a reliable method that compliments traditional fish tracking techniques and may allow biologists to investigate non-native species invasions, identify important populations, and quantify life histories of freshwater fishes in river networks. The article, "Estimating westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) movements in a river network using strontium isoscapes," can be viewed online. 

More information about this study can be found on the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center website.