Yellowstone Country Guardians Field Journal

Yellowstone Is Grumbling...

A few weeks back as part of our collaboration with Hopa Mountain I led 27 high school students from around the region through a one and a half hour geology walk around the dynamic Mammoth Hot Springs and as always, I was astonished by how much change had occurred since my last saunter along the Terraces.  The title of the presentation I shared with these wide eyed students was the same as the one I led every week for five years for the Park Service as a ranger naturalist, “Yellowstone Is Not A Place, But A Process.” 

I always posed the question to visitors from all over the globe, how in the middle of the Northern Rockies do we have more thermal features than anywhere else on earth?  The majority of visitors and certainly many of the youth from around Yellowstone Country on a brilliant winter day just two weeks ago know the answer.  Yellowstone is sitting on a hot spot.  A hot spot is a plume of magma very close to the earth’s surface.  In our case the magma plume is approximately 3-7 miles beneath the earth’s surface and the magma chamber’s heavy breathing and pulsing sends upwards of 2,000 earthquakes—or what we like to call small tremors—to Yellowstone’s surface each year.

Yellowstone’s approximately 2,000 quakes per year makes us second only to California in the number of seismic episodes we experience each year.  Recently we have been experiencing a swarm of quakes across the Yellowstone ecosystem.  The University of Utah’s Seismograph Stations which monitor seismic activity in and around Yellowstone National Park have registered two quakes of magnitude 3.0 and 3.1 occurring last night, the evening of January 24^th. 

Though there has not been a supervolcanic eruption in the Yellowstone ecosystem for approximately 640,000 years, two of the earth’s largest eruptions have occurred here over the course of the last 2.1 million years including the infamous Huckleberry Ridge eruption.   The Huckleberry Ridge eruption occurred 2.1 million years ago and is considered by geologists to be the single largest volcanic eruption in history of the earth.  While it is unlikely we will experience a Yellowstone eruption in our lifetime, the current seismic activity certainly gives us all something to ponder and clearly demonstrates Yellowstone’s wild nature.

According to a recent press release distributed by the Yellowstone National Park, the events of the last few days are most likely being caused by plate tectonic slips and not magma movement.  To read more about the current seismic episode in Yellowstone National Park visit Yellowstone’s official website. 

Series of Minor Earthquakes Continue in Yellowstone

Even during the doldrums of winter, there is always something exciting of epic proportions in Yellowstone Country!  Yellowstone indeed, is not a place, but a process…

~Michael Leach, Director  

Helena, Montana Presentation...

I just wanted to give a big shout-out to the Last Chance Audubon in Helena, Montana for welcoming me to the state capital as their speaker of the month last week.  It was a tremendous pleasure to share the story of YCG and the wildness and spirit of Yellowstone in such a beautiful venue with such dedicated conservationists. 

Though I always appreciate any opportunity to present on behalf of YCG, there is something special about traveling to Helena where I was inspired by your energy and commitment to the future of conservation in the Yellowstone ecosystem.  The turnout which was very impressive—on a cold Monday evening in January—meant a lot and your passion for the preservation of wildlife and natural habitat is something that we will continue to work toward inspiring in the next generation of wildland enthusiasts. 

YCG looks forward to further building our relationship with the Last Chance Audubon and thank you again for inviting me to spend the evening with you all…

~Michael Leach, Director

 

Haiti and Martin Luther King Jr...

On this day, when the people of Haiti are in the midst of a struggle that most of us cannot imagine we want to ask the entire YCG Clan to continue to keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.  The courage and strength that the Haitian's are showing during this daunting time is a lesson to us all and should give each of us the audacity to face our own struggles with grace and compassion. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. day is always an important time for those of us working with our nation's greatest asset--our youth.   Each day at basketball practice where I have the privilege of working with 16 young men in our quest to develop the future leaders of Gardiner, Park County, Montana, and perhaps the nation, we focus on a thought of the day and these thoughts typically come from one of the great leaders that has positively impacted our world.

We often find ourselves meditating on the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. and on this day his words will be our focus and will give us the strength to endure our personal challenges and team struggles.  And while these challenges and struggles often feel all-consuming, the terrible events that recently occurred on a small island in the Caribbean force us all to think outside of our own lives and focus our energies on the needs of our global community.  

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is a day to honor one of our nation's greatest leaders.  If you are interested in making a contribution to help the people of Haiti, you might consider one of many organizations working on the ground in Haiti, such as Oxfam International.

Oxfam’s 200 staffers stationed in Haiti, including a highly trained emergency response team of 15, are rushing to meet the most urgent needs, such as providing clean water and other public health necessities. 

Thank you all for your time, generosity, support and compassion.

Sincerely,

Michael Leach, Director

YCG/Hopa Mountain Collaboration A Big Success…

It is with great excitement and happiness that I share the results of our recent collaborative effort with our friends at Hopa Mountain.  On Saturday, January 10^th, we partnered to bring together 27 Hopa Mountain and YCG youth in effort to provide a platform while connecting each individual to Yellowstone Country. 

The day began early on Saturday morning at the Hopa Mountain office where a number of Hopa youth from Bozeman jumped on a bus en route for Yellowstone National Park.  After picking up another group of Hopa and YCG students in Livingston, they began their journey south through the Paradise Valley on a beautiful January morning.  The final stop before entering the park was at Gardiner High where a number of YCG participants eagerly joined the rest of the crew for what would soon become a memorable day. 

We were extremely pleased with the turnout and couldn’t have been happier with the adults on board for this Yellowstone outing.  Laura, Jamie (a counselor at the 2009 Youth Wilderness Leadership Program), and Joe joined us from Hopa Mountain and added a great deal to the day’s festivities.  YCG volunteers included Heather Laubach and Randy Ingersoll whom the students always connect with. 

After journeying up the hill to Mammoth, I led the students through a 1 ½ hour Terrace Walk titled “Yellowstone Is Not A Place But A Process.”  This was a presentation I used to share several times a week with visitors from all over the globe as a ranger in the park and I can’t begin to express how much it meant to share this with the youth that Hopa Mountain and YCG had the privilege to work with on this day.

From there we traveled down to the Mammoth Hotel where we utilized the historic Map Room for a leadership presentation and history talk.  After a quick sack lunch we took the fun to another level as we all journeyed down to the Boiling River for a very memorable soak in the hot water that we had just spent the morning learning about. 

Our final stop after getting all of the students changed at the Gardiner School was for a visit with our friends from The Town Café.  To make the day even more special for the youth our friends at The Town opened up simply to serve us, so we had the place to ourselves and when we arrived there was a buffet of pizzas waiting for us. 

After weeks of planning the day went off without a hitch, and I want to thank our friends at Hopa Mountain for partnering with us to implement what was surely a memorable day for a number of youth from across the region.  I also want to thank all of you who have supported us over the course of the past year and who have helped make events such as these a reality for YCG and the youth we are honored to work with.  Without you this work would not be possible. 

~Michael Leach, Director