Yellowstone Treasures Blog

I've just learned that President Obama has designated this month as National Wilderness Month. That is certainly a step in the right direction. Some years ago, having been amazed to learn that there is no designated wilderness inside Yellowstone Park, I… more »

As a guidebook author inclined to nit-pick, I watched the Ken Burns/Dayton Duncan twelve-hour series last week with all my antennas working, in case they should be transmitting any of the falsehoods about Yellowstone that I’ve found so often in popular m… more »

In recent Yellowstone news, we find that snowmobile permits to enter the park are now set at 318 per day for the next two winter seasons. I haven't learned how this number was picked, but it's a step in the right direction. Since fewer sleds than that ha… more »

The recent flurry of media and internet excitement over this month’s earthquake swarm in Yellowstone reminded me of the interview with Professor of Geology Emeritus Bruno J. Giletti that appears at: http://www.yellowstonetreasures.com/supervolcano.htm.… more »

Visitation to Yellowstone Park set a record in 2009, despite the recession and last winter's relatively low number of snow-time vacationers. According to the Billings Gazette (disclosure: that's my hometown newspaper): "The previous record for visitat… more »

The best news is that 2009 is proving to be a record year for Yellowstone visitation. Most roads are now closed, and snow pack is beginning to accumulate in many parts of the park, but through October the number of people visiting the park has never been… more »

Just in case you live close enough to make a dash for the park before the snows pile up, you should know that all roads except the all-season one between the North and Northeast entrances will close to cars, trucks, and buses at 8:00 am Monday, November… more »

According to the Defenders of Wildlife Web site, the judge agreed that, in delisting the bears in 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not "take into consideration the continued decline of the whitebark pine, a critical grizzly food source threat… more »

Autumn is a beautiful time to visit Yellowstone, but you need to plan your route especially carefully this year. You’ll find construction and even closed roads in a number of areas both in and approaching the park.Here are some places to avoid or plan around: more »

Those of us who watch Yellowstone closely—although sometimes from afar— will be keeping our collective eye on the news next month. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloywill hear arguments June 15 in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups over the 2008 act… more »

In less than two weeks Granite Peak Publications will know the results of this country’s most prominent small press book publishing competition for 2010. Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler’s Companion to the National Park, Updated Third Edition, is one… more »

I’m recently back home after my trip to New York, where the third edition of Yellowstone Treasures was honored as a finalist in the Travel category of the annual Benjamin Franklin Awards. This was the twenty-second year of the Independent Book Publishers… more »

For those of us who live too far from Yellowstone to make it practical to take bikes along when we visit, there are now bikes for rent in Old Faithful Village. The concessionaire Xanterra announces that “the bike shop at Old Faithful Snow Lodge offers hy… more »

For everyone planning to be in Yellowstone later this month, you are invited to attend the dedication of the large new Visitor Education Center that has gone up during the past year and more at Old Faithful. The center will be dedicated at 11:00 am on Au… more »

This is the basic question underlying current research by geologists who study Yellowstone, according to “Ring of Fire,” an article by John Dvorak in the Fall 2010 issue of National Parks, the magazine of the National Parks Conservation Association.D… more »

If someone you know is considering going to Yellowstone soon, this would be a great time to buy him, her, or them a copy of the guidebook Yellowstone Treasures for advance planning. It's on holiday sale for $20 from the yellowstonetreasures.com Web site… more »

Hurray! From today until early March you can travel over Yellowstone's snowy roads by snowcoach, snowmobile, skis, or snowshoes. Seeing the park in winter is a not-to-be-missed experience.And those of us not able to visit this winter will be consoled… more »

While we wait for a court decision about a March settlement between conservation groups and the U.S. Department of the Interior concerning the Yellowstone wolves, I will pass along a few details of that settlement and also parts of an interesting winter… more »

With spring opening scheduled for next Friday, traditional income tax day (4/15), Congress and nature are vying for which one can cause the National Park Service the greater worries. It seems that the feared park closures have been averted, at least for… more »

Just in time for National Park Week (April 16 through 24), when entry to Yellowstone and all other parks is free to all visitors, things have changed for the Northwest’s wolves and bison. First, the agreement between conservation groups and the U.S.… more »

Recently an online discussion has been taking place on the subject of the numerical imbalance of people of color in our national parks. This is an issue that has been on my mind for several years, but so far, I have not begun to understand why so few bla… more »

I've just learned that a study being completed this week by wolf experts and volunteers has found that the number of wolves living in Yellowstone is up this year to about 120 as opposed to 97 counted last year. This is good news for the many eager wolf-w… more »