Dear Supporter,

Batten down the hatches, at least until January. The Bush administration is literally digging deep to make good on its promise to mount an 11th-hour assault on our public lands before he rides into an ozone-tinted sunset. And he's getting some help from an activist judge in Wyoming. On some positive notes, Montana has again recognized the intrinsic values of the Yellowstone and Boulder rivers; letting nature take its course on a Shoshone National Forest wildlands fire proved successful; and Grand Teton's elusive wolves are getting their moment in the spotlight after long living in the shadows of their Yellowstone brethren.

Wildlife

Apparently seeing a whopping one creature given protection under the Endangered Species Act in eight years was just too much for the Bush administration to, uh, bear. Their reaction: Let's let foxes decide when, where and how to build houses for endangered hens. [Endangered Species]

While Yellowstone frequenters can readily rattle off the names of such wolf packs as the Druids, Slough Creeks, Chief Josephs and Agates, Grand Teton's wolves have lived in relative obscurity. GYC and its partners thought it time the "Wolves in Grand Teton & Jackson Hole" got more respect. [Teton Wolves]

Neither rain, nor sleet nor snow could keep our two members of Grand Teton National Park's "Wildlife Brigade" from their appointed rounds at summer bear jams, interpretive talks and visitor centers in an effort to educate tourists about the park's critters. [Wildlife Brigade]

Government and other agencies have struggled with questions over bison management. GYC and five partner organizations have come up with practically perfect answers. [Bison Management]

Waters

The headlines read: "Oil and gas leases will be buffered from rivers." We, too, are grateful that pristine drilling platforms will be separated by at least a quarter-mile from unchecked degradation by the Yellowstone and Boulder rivers. [Yellowstone River]

Lands

If at first you don't succeed enjoin, enjoin again. U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer in Wyoming recently put the nation's 58.5 million remaining acres of roadless areas at risk. Luckily for our wild lands, he tripped over his own words a few times along the way. [Roadless]

With Smokey The Bear sitting this one out, the Gunbarrel Fire west of Cody burned 62,000 acres of Shoshone National Forest timberlands before Labor Day rain and snow extinguished the blaze. The Shoshone's decision to let nature take its course was a success and reflects a new, healthier approach to forest management. [Fire]

Never mind that there's little or no gas gold in them thar hills, or that the Windsor Group still hasn't cleaned up its mess from its disaster two years ago, or that the public has had no say in the matter - the notorious energy company has been granted a permit to drill the first well on the Shoshone National Forest in more than a decade. [Gas]

Community & Events

September is a busy month at GYC, with hikes and a 25th-anniversary celebration in Jackson. It's also a great time to experience the wonders of Cody Country, with an assist from our Cody Map & Guide [Events]

WILDLIFE

In Industry We Trust: Let science determine the best path for endangered species? Naw. The lame-duck Bush administration has decided that the best guardians of endangered critters are the very agencies that have helped endanger them in the first place. Instead of consulting with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service to determine whether, say, a dam-building project will further endanger endangered species, the Bush crew wants to put the decision into the hands of the Army Corps of Engineers. Independent scientific review apparently is too bothersome when there are industry pockets to be lined. Oh, and if you want to let the Bushies know how you feel about this back-door move to dilute the Endangered Species Act, you'd better hurry - the Department of the Interior gave us a whopping one month for comment, meaning the deadline is Sept. 15.

Your guide to Grand Teton wolves: Quick, name the five wolf packs that roam in and out of Grand Teton National Park. No? OK, name one. We didn't think so. While Yellowstone's highly visible wolves are widely known by pack and even individually by number, the packs in Grand Teton and Jackson Hole have roamed the region without much fanfare. In an effort to raise their profile and help visitors understand the essential role wolves play in a healthy ecosystem, GYC and several partners have produced "Wolves in Grand Teton & Jackson Hole". This attractive and informative fold-out guide describes the history, biology, ecology and habits of the Huckleberry, Pacific Creek, Antelope, Buffalo and Pinnacle Peak packs. The guide, available for $2 in the park and nearby communities, can be downloaded for free. [Teton Wolf Guide]

Call of the Wildlife Brigade: Recognizing the need to manage human/wildlife encounters and educate visitors about food storage, Grand Teton National Park last year created a 12-person wildlife-protection squad called the "Wildlife Brigade" - and GYC pitched in by funding two of the positions for this pilot project. Interns Ariel Blotkamp and Lee Rademaker, both University of Montana students, spent the summer managing wildlife jams, patrolling for unsecured food and other bear attractants, providing visitor education at popular trailheads and offering interpretive services. "I like talking with so many people across the country and the world while traveling around the park to keep wildlife safe," Blotkamp said. "I also love being a part of someone's first wild bear sighting." Added Rademaker: "After six years of class work, it is nice to 'ground truth' some of what I have learned." [Wildlife Brigade]

Practically perfect solutions for bison management: In response to years of failed bison management and to the Government Accountability Office's issuing a failing grade to bison managers, GYC and five partner organizations are promoting a new vision for managing Yellowstone bison. In August, a collaboration of local, state, regional and national groups released Practical Solutions: A New Vision for Managing Yellowstone Bison. Practical Solutions demonstrates that necessary and meaningful changes can be made that will respect bison as native wildlife and provide critical habitat for them outside of Yellowstone. The four-part plan offered in Practical Solutions sets forth a program that protects Yellowstone bison and assures science-based decision-making. Check out our Practical Solutions. [Bison Management]

WATERS

Keeping oil and gas safe from clean water: OK, we're being facetious here. In reality, the news was mostly good on the Montana oil-and-gas front, at least where the Yellowstone and Boulder rivers are concerned. After industry officials nominated 28 parcels of land along those spectacular rivers for drilling, the state subsequently announced that it will require a buffer zone of at least a quarter-mile between drill pads and all rivers and their direct tributaries. That's the good news, given that nearly 4,000 acres of riverfront land in Park and Sweet Grass counties will be offered for lease Sept. 9. The challenge is that the buffer stipulation only affects 16 state-owned parcels. The vast majority of leases are on Bureau of Land Management and private lands, so continued vigilance is required. Still, this is a good start and goes a long way toward protecting the multi-million-dollar tourism and recreation industries that the Yellowstone, Boulder and other rivers support. Now, if we can just buffer those pristine southeast Idaho phosphate mines from the unbridled expansion of wilderness flora and fauna. [Rivers]

LANDS

Back to the drawing board:
Already rebuked once, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer of Wyoming took another stab at ending the 2001 Clinton Roadless Rule, which prohibited development on 58.5 million acres of public lands. In a harshly worded statement directed at former President Clinton and the judge who overruled him, Brimmer issued a permanent injunction against the roadless rule, five years after his first injunction. His reasoning, among other pointed criticisms: The roadless rule violates The Wilderness Act. Memo to Judge Brimmer: Roadless and wilderness are NOT the same thing (motorized vehicles can go in roadless areas, for instance, but not into wilderness). Naturally, conservation groups are appealing. It is possible that Brimmer's ruling will only apply to Wyoming. Another hope is that his fogginess on the issue combined with his criticism of fellow judges will lead to his decision being overturned. Again.

Where there's Smokey, there's not enough fire:
The Forest Service has come a long way from its traditional policy of total suppression for every wildfire. The Gunbarrel Fire just west of Cody on the Shoshone National Forest is a prime example of this new era in wildland fire management. Until last week, the Forest Service had been managing the Gunbarrel - at 62,000 acres, one of the largest such fires in the history of the Rocky Mountains - as a beneficial use fire and allowing it to burn unimpeded in the North Absaroka Wilderness. The Gunbarrel is burning primarily in areas that have suffered severe beetle kill, helping the forest to rejuvenate and recover from the epidemic.

The Forest Service is transitioning to a new philosophy where firefighting squads are tasked with multiple types of management for every fire, suppressing blazes where they threaten human life or property but allowing the same fire to burn freely in areas where it poses no threat. The Gunbarrel epitomizes this transition. As the eastern front of the fire began threatening private land and homes, the Forest Service switched to a more traditional containment- and suppression-oriented response.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition hopes that other forests in the ecosystem will adopt similar policies. As the Forest Service continues to allow fire to follow its natural role, overall forest and ecosystem health will benefit.

Drawing a line in the forest: Wyoming is already 40 percent leased to oil and gas companies, and many residents are saying enough is enough, but that isn't stopping the notorious Windsor Energy Group from trying to break the seals on the Shoshone National Forest along the spectacular Beartooth Front. Windsor, which orchestrated the infamous blowout of a gas well just south of the Wyoming-Montana border in August 2006, resulting in the evacuation of residents along Line Creek valley, has been granted permits in two nearby locations - including one just inside the Shoshone National Forest boundary. If Windsor proceeds, it'll be the first drilling on the Shoshone in more than a decade. Local residents, fearing for their health and safety as well as the future of America's first national forest, are asking for an environmental review first. Windsor, meanwhile, is trying to push this through on a so-called "categorical exclusion". And it's all happening in a place where gas wells from decades ago are capped because efforts to retrieve the resource proved mostly fruitless.

COMMUNITIES & EVENTS

Check out our events page- with more activities in the Greater Yellowstone Area, better organized and easier to find.

In particular, we have a hike in the Snowcrest Mountains planned for late September; the World Premier of "Drift"- a flyfishing movie; and a high-end Women and Wilderness event in October. In addition, we are celebrating our 25th Anniversary in Jackson, WY, at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Art Museum, on September 7.

Join us at the Open Range Images Gallery in Cody from 4-7 p.m. on Sept. 25 for the "Cody Character" silent auction.

Check out GYC's expanded photo gallery.