YELLOWSTONE: AYE, THERE'S THE RUB

YELLOWSTONE LAKE

GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER

MAMMOTH  HOT SPRINGS FROM A DISTANCE

MINERAL DEPOSITS, MAMMOTH  HOT SPRINGS

TOURISTS AT OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER

Wednesday, 9:00 AM.  55 degrees F at the ferry dock and on the back porch. Wind variable and calm.  The sky is overcast and it is foggy, but it is clearing rapidly.  The humidity is 97% and the barometer is steady at present, at 30.19".  We had about .15" of rain yesterday and into the evening.

   People spend their whole lives studying and writing about the unique geology and natural history of Yellowstone National Park and its environs, so my comments are akin to a few grains of sand characterizing an entire ocean beach.  I commented yesterday on the wildlife of the park, now a few words regarding its physical characteristics and management.

   The central feature of Yellowstone is its lake, 137 square miles of deep lake occupying an ancient, collapsed volcano caldera, at an elevation of almost 8,000 feet.  It is surrounded by even higher mountains.  The Yellowstone River exits the lake to the north, through a deep and narrow gorge with upper and lower falls.  The spectacular beauty of the lake, the gorge and falls alone is worth the trip to the park.

   Old Faithful geyser is the iconic tourist attraction of Yellowstone, but its greater value in my estimation is providing a visual connection to the volcanic geology of Yellowstone.  Far more interesting to me than one geyser, no matter how grand, are the myriad hot springs, mud flows and steaming irruptions occurring all over the region, a combined experience unlikely to be found anywhere else on the planet.  One can actually feel the power of creation, both geological and biological, in Yellowstone.  It is no wonder to me that Indians and early white visitors alike were overawed by its beauty and mystery.  If we moderns are not likewise rendered both grateful and fearful by an experience so  scientific and yet so spiritual,  we are already on the downward slope of our evolutionary journey.

   Yellowstone has been a burgeoning attraction since it was declared a national preserve 144 years ago, and visitation continues to rise annually.  I personally would not visit the park between Memorial Day and Labor Day because of the crowds and traffic.  At some point visitation will have to be limited, either by advanced registration or some other control, or by eliminating vehicular traffic and reverting to trains, buses and non-motorized travel.  Visitation to the park may have to be treated as a once in a lifetime experience, akin to a religious pilgrimage.   This topic will be a political football, but without some entirely new concepts in transportation something drastic will have to be done, both to preserve the resource and the visitor experience.  Limiting the park to foot traffic is impractical because of its size, and only the youngest and fittest would be able to experience it, and then only minimally.  A good first step might be to transfer trailer camping to outside the park and to private concessions.

   Yellowstone experienced a devastating fire in 1988 from which the region has yet to recover.  Many areas still look like the gods are playing the childhood game of "pick-up-sticks", with huge jumbles of dead timber fallen one trunk on another for miles and miles in every direction.  Add to that the depredation of bark beetles and bud worms and dead, half-dead and dying trees are everywhere.  My background makes me aware of these things; whether the average tourist sees and is upset by them I don't know, but certainly park management and ecologists are fully aware, and have opted to let nature take its course. I am uncertain whether this is a wise policy; perhaps it is the best anyone can do, but my biggest fear is another, even more devastating fire, fueled by billions of dead trees.  This story is not over.

  Another management conundrum is the current policy of eliminating lake trout from Yellowstone Lake because they compete with the native cutthroat  trout.  Whether the lake trout got there naturally or were introduced by humans is immaterial to me, as they are a North American fish, even if not native locally.  The current management policy is to hire gill net fishermen and their boats from the Great Lakes to seine the lake trout and kill them, dumping them back into the lake (I suppose to be sure the nutrients derived from the lake stay in the lake).  I recoil at the waste of the fish so caught, and would prefer to see them processed and used for human consumption if this policy is to be continued.  The whole process seems a "bridge too far."

  At this point in its history Yellowstone remains a unique geological, wildlife and historical treasure, much of it wild and beautiful, and some of it loved to death.  It is a treasure to be both preserved and utilized, and that can only be accomplished if it is also properly managed and loved.  To quote the Bard:

 "Aye, there's the rub."