Thursday, June 2, 2016
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THE OTHER FISHING: Carp can offer anglers an exciting challenge C
n Field guide, 2
n Fishing report, 2
n Gear Junkie, 3
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This mother black bear had two cubs with her as she grazed alongside the road to Tower Falls last Thursday in Yellowstone National Park. Already this year tourists have been taking unnecessary risks and performing illegal acts while visiting the park.
STORY AND PHOTOS By BRETT FRENCH french@billingsgazette.com Last week in Yellowstone National Park a mother black bear and two cubs ambled down a greening hillside along the road to Tower Falls. Instantly a line of cars and photographers swooped in creating what’s known in Yellowstone as a bear jam. Before a ranger could arrive to direct traffic and keep people back, I snapped these photos with a long lens of a woman getting way too close for comfort to the mama bear and cubs. The woman finally stepped back either after getting her shot or because she was urged to move by a few people in the gathering crowd. No animal is more dangerous than a mother who feels its offspring may be threatened. The
UNBEARABLE
Woman shooting photos gets too close to bear risk the woman took is not only illegal in Yellowstone — tourists are required to stay 100 yards from bears and wolves — but also just plain ignorant. Common sense seems to flee people’s minds incredibly fast when they see an animal, bird or even a line of cars pulled to the side of the road in Yellowstone National Park. Already this spring Yellowstone has been the site of several examples of people behaving
badly. One tourist picked up a bison calf and gave it a ride in their car to the ranger station. A woman was filmed trying to pet a bison. One woman was struck by a vehicle and died after trying to cross a road to take photos of a bald eagle. A Canadian film crew illegally walked onto a hot springs feature, filming the entire trip. And the peak park visitor season hasn’t even arrived yet. If last week’s bear jam is
any indication, no matter how much information park managers publish or broadcast about the illegality of such incidents, folks either aren’t getting the message or just don’t care about the rules meant to ensure their safety, as well as to protect wildlife and the park workers called to the scene of such incidents. Last week when the woman photographer boldly advanced across the narrow road,
A tourist steps on to the Tower Falls road in Yellowstone National The woman turns to run back to the crowd after being told she is too close. Park to shoot a photo of a mama black bear and two cubs alongside the road.
OUTDOORS JUST FOR KIDS
Zion Canyon was once filled with water When I look at a beautiful mountain valley or a deep river canyon, I always find myself wondering how it was shaped by the grinding of huge, ancient glaciers or the scouring of massive floods. So I was really excited when I read about a study that found that Zion Canyon in Utah’s Zion National park was once much bigger. Then about 4,800 years ago a massive rock avalanche raced downhill at speeds up to 180 mph tossing rock and dirt up and down the canyon. The slide dammed the Virgin River and created a lake that lasted for 700 years. “The ancient Zion landslide
would cover New York City’s Central Park with 275 feet of debris,” said Jeff Moore, an assistant professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah who authored the study. “And you would need 90 times the volume of concrete in Hoover Dam to recreate the mountainside that failed.” Some people used to think that Zion Canyon’s floor was so flat because of debris from glaciers. That’s what happened at Yosemite Valley in California. Actually what happened is the lake filled with dirt to give Zion Canyon its flat floor. Thousands of years from now all of that sediment will be
eroded out of the valley and it will be rough again. The scientists figured out it would have taken five to 10 years for the lake to fill. Present-day Zion Lodge would have been under 380 feet of water. Eventually the lake broke through the dam. Although 2,600 years is a long time ago, humans have been in North America for at least 14,000 years. So imagine being alive back then and seeing this huge landslide, or coming back to Zion after the slide had happened and seeing all of the changes. How amazing would that be? — Brett French, Gazette Outdoors editor
I thought for a second that I would witness a bear attack. Luckily the mama bear showed more sense than the woman and moved away from the crowd and up the hill, along with its cubs. Yet the incident makes many regular park visitors and staff wonder: What is going to happen next? Or maybe less politely: How stupid can tourists be? No wonder some park workers refer to visitors as “tourons,” a combination of the words tourist and moron. Last summer it was bison gorings and people falling from cliffs that made headlines. This year is anyone’s guess. With a busy tourism season forecast as the Park Service celebrates its 100th birthday, chances are it won’t be too long before another Yellowstone visitor behaves badly. Let’s hope it’s not a fatal mistake.
Finally the woman moves back away from the black bear, who has apparently become very conditioned to humans and their bad behavior.