Wildlife Habitat
-
The Derby Fire Credit: Mike Granger, Division Supervisor Winds continued to drive the Derby Fire yesterday, now at 195,000 acres. Three other fires burned in the Absaroka mountains portion of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness north of Yellowstone Park: Pine Creek, Jungle Creek and Passage Falls. The Big Creek Fire in the Gallatin Range, west of Paradise…
-
The New York Times has a major article on the Derby fire today. “McLEOD, Mont., Sept. 6 — The Boulder Valley, which bumps up against the wilderness north of Yellowstone National Park, is a quiet corner with an unusual mix of residents. They include celebrities, the merely wealthy, ranchers and others drawn to a place…
-
One of the major factors every year whether there will be grizzly conflicts in the fall is the status of fat-rich whitebark pine crop. If there is a good crop, the bears will stay at high elevations where the whitebark pine grows — just below timberline. In recent years, there has been some pessimism about…
-
So it turns out that the Derby Fire is the largest by far of the many forest fires in the Northern Rockies this year, although I should add there have been some larger range fires in Idaho and Nevada. The fire is still raging, and some wildlife has been caught in the fast moving fire.…
-
“Lodgepole and fire go way back. It is a tree comfortable with fire. Yes, lodgepole has been burned before but still invites the old flame over to spend the night. Should fire be unavailable or otherwise preoccupied, lodgepole turns to another old friend to heighten the allure: the mountain pine bark beetle.” Lodgepole recently killed…
-
Last year there was a story of how a grizzly bear drove polar bears off a whale carcass on the Arctic Ocean. Grizzlies are showing up way north of the past range. Here is similar news from the Anchorage Daily News. Read
-
Maybe posts on Aug. 25 made it sound like everything was going to burn up. So? Well, calm and cooler weather made the fires “lay down.” They are still there spreading slowly where their edges have not been contained. However, higher temperatures and strong winds are predicted 8/30 in advance of a cold front. It…