Yellowstone Country Guardians Field Journal

Earth Day...

I want to thank the University of Montana, Elise Cunningham, and the Forestry Club for bringing me back to the U on Earth Day.  After receiving a very moving email from Ms. Cunningham—now a student at the University of Montana who had attended one of my place based bear “sermons” for regional students, when she was a high school student at Coeur d’Alene High in North Idaho three years ago—expressing how much my presentation to her class had inspired her, she helped to organize a presentation for YCG, in an effort to motivate her fellow classmates to action! 

For me, the result of this presentation in front of approximately 50 forestry students—most of whom are born and raised Montanans, growing up in rural communities and for many of them, on working ranches—is one of YCG’s greatest success stories to date.  This was certainly not your typical environmental crowd and the majority of students expressed their deep frustration with environmentalism and the nonprofits they are familiar with.  And though they certainly didn’t welcome me with open arms to begin with; by the end of the presentation the mood had drastically changed and I feel safe in saying that we have a number of budding new members in the YCG congregation. 

My presentation ended at 8 pm and at 9:45 I was still answering questions and speaking with a group of students.  I will never forget the words of one very articulate and passionate young man who told me he grew up in Columbia Falls, outside of Glacier National Park.  He expressed how disillusioned he is with the many nonprofit organizations that have spoken to his classes and clubs over the years, feeling that they didn’t understand the values of rural Montanans, which is just another reason he hasn’t taken to the environmental movement.  He went on to express that he and the other students in attendance figured I was just another “enviro” and YCG “just another organization”.  But then he said, “Mike, I can honestly say, and I think I can speak on behalf of many other students in this group, that this organization you have started is the first one I have seen that I actually believe in and could get behind.”  These comments led many of the remaining students—all of whom were rural Montanans—to second the opinion of the young man from Columbia Falls. This led into another lengthy discussion, and any of you who know me know that lengthy discussions come with the territory when speaking to me about anything I am passionate about.   And creating a new paradigm within the environmental movement that inspires locals such as these students who haven’t been involved with environmental or wilderness work in the past is priority number one right now. 

So with a short sojourn to Missoula—two days of meetings followed my presentation where other deep YCG connections were forged—our efforts to broaden the wildlands nurturing movement continue to take hold.   This one evening with a group of fiery young students with little initial interest in what I had to say, furthers my belief that we can collectively create a groundswell of excitement and hope for the future by engaging a new audience and creating a different, bold, and inspiring language around what it means to be stewards of our region’s wildlands.   

~Michael Leach, Director

Old Faithful...

This day is long anticipated by those of us who cherish the opportunity to journey into the depths of Yellowstone National Park before the craziness of summer begins.  For the first time since the first Sunday in November—always an important date for it marks both the closure of the park’s interior roads and the end of the park’s fishing season, thus letting us all know winter will soon tighten its clench upon the area—the road from Mammoth to Old Faithful has again re-opened.  Though the park attempts to have the road from headquarters to Madison junction, and on to Old Faithful open by the third Friday in April, the spring snowstorm that descended upon the northern reaches of Yellowstone on the 15^th of April threatened to delay the much heralded opening of an old, rusted gate.

Though it is subtle, it truly is an event.  Hundreds of times each winter the creaky, steel pole of a gate that spans the width of the road just south of the Upper Terrace Drive is opened by park employees as they move personal items to and from their winter living quarters.  The Park Service—who has some useless terminology for everything just to make it seem more important than it actually is—calls this mode of vehicle movement: admin travel.  If one were not familiar with the ways of the Park Service, they may think this actually carries some level of importance, but it is simply the title given to employee travel when the park’s roads are closed to the public.  I have on many occasions experienced the joy, feeling of importance, and pure exhilaration of opening one of these road closures which abound throughout the extensive network of roads that course throughout the world’s first national park. 

There is something empowering in knowing that you have a magic key that unlocks the opportunity to experience the wonders of America’s sacred wilderness.  Anytime you utilize the barricade key you are supposed to have a work related reason to do so; but since I turned in my badges and keys yesterday—officially parting ways with the Park Service after eight years of service and surrendering my ranger status to put all of my eggs in a YCG basket—I will admit to my love affair with parking my government car in front of a barricade, slowly swaggering to the gate, gently turning the key, and swinging open a door leading to my own personal wilderness Shangri-La. 

Even though there was seldom a reason, when presentations weren’t imminent, and bear jams not present, the opportunity to swing open the barricade gate—field glasses resting on the dash—in pursuit of a bear sighting that only I would observe, was a joy I will always treasure.  Never before did I believe something as small and seemingly insignificant as a gold key could be a source of such unfettered happiness.  

This afternoon, the sun shines bright on the summit of Electric Peak, while slender cumulus clouds stand still aside both its south and north ridges.  The blizzard that raged through the Gardiner basin just 48 hours ago, leaving in its wake a massive bulk of snow nearly two feet deep on the hood of my truck seems a fleeting memory.  And with the ceremonial swinging of a gate, and thus opening of the road to Old Faithful, there are new journeys to be had.  First I will venture back to my old haunts atop the flats of Swan Lake in search of a female grizzly with cubs—a bear I spent many years observing and admiring during my ranger years.  Then, when the feeling is right, I will load my little girl—who first strolled through the Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful’s home) at six months of age—into the truck and we will make her second pilgrimage to a barren and haunting landscape. 

Perhaps this is the greatest pleasure of residing in one place for any length of time.  Whether it be the April journey to observe the drama of Old Faithful, the budding cottonwoods while walking along my favorite stretch of the Bitterroot River, or the first sight of yellowing western larch in the mountains outside of my hometown in North Idaho.  There is a comfort in knowing that seasons will return, and with them, so will the traditions that give each of us our own sense of hope and ensure that our lives will remain anything but routine…       

~Michael Leach, Director

Bears Emerge Making Yellowstone Country Complete...

Although the cool temperatures and blustery days may be reminiscent of winter, spring has certainly arrived to Yellowstone Country!  There are many indicators telling us of spring’s arrival: the song of the meadowlark; the vibrant color of the bluebird; the opening of the park road to Old Faithful; and yes, the emergence of bears!  As members of the Yellowstone community we have the honor and privilege of being ambassadors of a world renowned bear population.  Though fall bear encounters receive most of the headlines in our region; springtime is an important time for Bear Aware communities across Yellowstone Country to practice simple bear conservation measures.

On March 1^st, bear tracks were observed on the Specimen Ridge trail.  Two days later on the 3^rd, grizzly tracks were seen on the Tower Fall Ski Trail.  And today, the 17^th of April I received word from Yellowstone National Park bear biologist Kerry Gunther that the first black bear sighting of the year occurred this morning near the Hoodoos just south of Mammoth Hot Springs.  So both species of bears are now out and about. 

Not long after leaving the security of their dens, the bears' metabolic activity kicks in and the search for food resumes.  Before the return of the succulent grasses and vegetation that will propel bears into the summer, they will key on the winter killed carcasses of elk and bison.  One can only imagine the treasure each carcass provides to bears, many of whom haven’t eaten a solid meal since November.  Because of their value, bears will aggressively defend these carcasses, making it important to stay away from any actively feeding bear or carcass that appears to be bear food. 

It is during these pre-green up months that many bears will range far in wide in search of food and often that means a meander along the outskirts of town, or through town itself.  These next several weeks are therefore important times to reduce potential bear attractants:

• Properly store your garbage in a garage, fenced in area or other secure location.
• Keep BBQ’s and grills clean and stored.
• Keep pungent items such as meat, fish, and other aromatic attractants out of your compost.
•  Don’t leave out pet food and retire the bird feed until bears move to higher elevations.

Let’s not forget that black bear hunting season has begun across the region.  Whether hunting or simply hiking this is the time for everyone to refresh themselves on how to react in a bear encounter, and please remember to carry your bear spray and know how to use it! (For a bear encounter refresher visit our friends at the Center for Wildlife Information:                                     http://www.centerforwildlifeinformation.org/BeBearAware/BearEncounters/bearencounters.html)

For those of you in pursuit of a black bear, remember your black bear/grizzly ID skills (take this bear ID test to see your skills: http://fwp.mt.gov/bearid/default.html).  And most of all, whether you live here in Yellowstone Country or perhaps you will simply be making a journey to this remarkable region sometime this year, remember to relish the opportunity to once again walk the wilds in the presence of the bear.  

~Michael Leach, Director

 

A Week of Yellowstone Reunions...

On this Easter Sunday, we were greeted by a spring day the like of which we had not yet seen this year in Yellowstone Country.  From the time I awoke to let the dogs out—who excitedly charged the fence where on the other side a small band of 16 mule deer peacefully grazed—to my evening ride up the hill from Gardiner to Mammoth there was not a cloud in our little corner of the massive southwestern Montana sky.  Though spring has taken hold of the mountains and river bottoms of this region for over two weeks now, with most of the traditional signals indicating that a new season reign’s in Yellowstone Country, the 60 degree temperatures today made the long winter doldrums seem a distant memory. 

Over the course of the last week I have made numerous sightings—primarily of the feathered variety—that have reminded me of the great diversity that abounds in this area.  The sighting that kicked off last weekend was the first such sighting I made all winter when I spotted a northern shrike observantly perched atop a power-line and later the top rung of a barbwire fence while winding my way down the Jackson Creek road at the height of our most recent spring storm. 

The next day we journeyed to Chico Hot Springs for a morning soak and exploratory drive through the Paradise Valley in anticipation of the hours we would spend watching the excitement of the Final Four.  On the drive north we spotted many of the usual suspects such as a band of ewe bighorn sheep grazing along the road at Corwin Springs, dozens of mule deer flirting with disaster as they frolicked on both sides of the highway paralleling the Gardiner airport, and a gregarious herd of elk grazing the soon to be succulent grasses on the Dome Mountain Ranch.       

It wasn’t until our return trip, just south of the yellow blinking light at Emigrant—the first such transportation ornament within 31 miles of Gardiner—that we spotted two drab gray birds walking on stilt like legs.  This sighting represents the return of a species whose graceful mating display and hauntingly ancient call fills the spirits of birders and wilderness lovers alike who live in and journey to the northern Rockies each spring and summer.  The sandhill crane.  Those of us in the truck were eager to return to the house as we all suffered from a case of too much basketball on the brain; yet the long elegant strides of this unique bird caused us all to reach for the field glasses to watch in a spring reverie the pair of sandhills pecking at the thawing ground in search of insects and leftover grains.

Minutes later while driving past the unofficial fishing access site we call 26^th—for no other reason than its proximity to the 26 mile marker—two great blue herons flew over a grove of naked cottonwoods in pursuit of a more northern destination.  The next morning we awoke to a very spring like day with light winds and big skies.  YCG board member and Montana Audubon Executive Director Steve Hoffman had come down from Bozeman the night before to watch the Final Four festivities and now we found ourselves sauntering through the sagebrush pastures above Gardiner in search of birds.  Steve is both the most skilled and excitable birder I have ever had the privilege to bird with and it took him no time at all to spot a plentiful flock of gray-crowned rosy-finches.  This sighting was unique because we often spot the more common black-rosy finch and I had never observed any variety of rosy-finch in such great abundance.  

As if all of these sightings weren’t enough, at the beginning of my long journey to Lolo, Montana (long because my wife was out of town and this would be my 17 month old baby girl’s longest journey with daddy) for my first guided fly-fishing trip of 2009 I spotted a black and white head peeking out of the La Duke Spring nest.   Over the course of the last two weeks the nest had been occupied by another black and white headed bird a Canada geese. But now one of the most specialized members of the hawk family had reclaimed its bulky mass of dead and dried sticks; the osprey has returned to the Yellowstone Country!  Later in the week on a bike ride to Mammoth, soaring high above the Chinese Gardens just beyond the 45^th parallel I spotted my first osprey in the park of 2009.  This sighting reminded me that Memorial Day (the opening day of fishing in YNP) is fast approaching and I will soon be sharing the deep pools and swift riffles of the Gardner River with the most efficient aerial angler in the ecosystem.   

Now all that is left for me to fully appreciate that spring will go uninterrupted until the busy summer season, is the spindly legs of a burnt orange bison calf.  This week while guiding a client with whom I have completely ditched the professional client/guide relationship and have instead developed a strong bond and friendship, I was able to drop a dry skwala imitation (a #12 stonefly, the first such hatch in Montana each spring) into the feeding lane of a 15-inch cutbow.  No spring is complete without this annual rite of passage, and it was with a soaring spirit that I gently cradled the belly of my heavily spotted and brilliantly colored finned friend before returning her to the depths of a Bitterroot riffle-line. 

Those of us who know this country are truly blessed individuals and this week alone gives me extra incentive and motivation to push forward as YCG strives to nurture the wildness and spirit of Yellowstone Country…

~Michael Leach, Director

 

  

It's Official: Spring Has Arrived...

My baby girl's cries awoke me early this morning as if she knew it was Wednesday morning, and the two of us would be venturing north on a pilgrimage to Chico Hot Springs for a morning swim.  Walking out to start the truck it was clear that winter is stubbornly attempting to stifle our celebration of spring.  On our way up to Chico the roads were wintery with a solid sheet of ice for the first 19 miles until we twisted our way through Yankee Jim Canyon.  By the time we reached Dome Mountain Ranch the road began to clear and with each mile under our belt, we were able to accelerate in pursuit of hot water.  

After a nice soak/swim with my little one who is fascinated by “wah, wah”, we loaded the truck and began our trip back home.  Traveling 55 mph on the road leaving the resort, a drab brown and white molted back of a bird roughly 9 inches tall caught my eye.  Though I naïvely predicted a return of spring on March 22^nd, winter returned with a vengeance here in Yellowstone Country over the course of the last seven days; leaving us yearning for a return of spring.  Since the weather hasn’t given us any pronouncement that spring has officially arrived, I have eagerly awaited a song that is perhaps the greatest single symbol that spring has finally returned to our region. 

Throwing the truck in reverse, I hit the accelerator and sped my way back to the fence post where my hopes now rested.  Luckily the bird hadn’t taken flight upon our arrival, and I was able to reach through all of the toys and baby clothes in the back seat and find my beat-up and well traveled binoculars.  With a quick lift to my eyes I glassed the bird perched on the green T-bar fence post and to my delight after a turn of my feathered friend’s head, I saw the yellow chest and the black v-shaped throat patch of the Western Meadowlark. 

Though sighting this symbol of spring gave me great excitement, we needed to hear the melodic song of the meadowlark before the new season could be official.  And within two minutes of idling in the middle of the northbound lane, my wish was granted and bringing joy to my little one, we listened in enchantment to the melody that signifies the return of spring. 

Driving south on our way home to Gardiner the sun began to shine high above the plateau of Mt. Everts and continued its ascent of Bunsen Peak.  The road that was treacherous just one hour earlier had now turned to a thoroughfare of slush.  The sunshine helped the temperature rise several degrees since our morning commute to Chico and with the song of the meadowlark it is official, spring has made its return to Yellowstone Country.  

~ Michael Leach, Director