Hebgen Quake - 50 years ago

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle posted a great article on the Hebgen Quake:

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/06/21/news/000quake.txt

A reminder of the history that created our little piece of heaven.

Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center testing coolers

Our local zoo: The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center recently completed testing some bear proof coolers, as reported by the AP. For years, Yellowstone has maintained the policy that food should be raised off the ground to prevent bear access. Yosemite, however, determined that this was not successful and only lead to bears destroying trees to get the food. Bear proof food canisters are expensive, and generally small.

It looks like Yellowstone may be catching up, and there are now some larger options for food storage, including coolers. The bears at The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center tested models from Engel USA and Yeti Coolers and both were approved. Please let me know if you have tried these products yourself.

• Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee: http://www.igbconline.org
• Engel USA: http://www.engel-usa.com
• Yeti Coolers: http://www.yeticoolers.com

Looking for authors

If you are a homeowner, relative, or frequent guest of Kirkwood Meadows, and would like to share your stories, fishing tips, or other news on this blog, please send me and e-mail and I will give you authorship permissions.

This Week in The West Yellowstone News

Our local paper has some great anecdotes, especially in the Police Reports. This week the police reports contained the following news:

• May 14: A caller reported a suspicious door-to-door meat salesmen. [Was the salesman suspicious, or the meat? It matters.]
  

• May 14: An unidentified bear was seen at the old airport. [Obviously a familiar bear would not be an issue.]
  

• May 19: A caller reported hitting a bear in the park. The bear was hit with their car, which was damaged. Their fear of the bear kept them from leaving the vehicle. [I bet the bear was afraid of the car too.]

I hope everyone is looking forward to the Summer season! I will hope to see you, an unidentified bears, in Kirkwood soon!

Pika - One of our local residents

The Casper Star-Tribune has a post about the status of the pika. A few years ago, I saw a pika up the Kirkwood Trail, hiding among the rocks. I have not seen him again, but I hope we still have pika in our neighborhood.

Have you seen a pika lately?

Hebgen Dam - Work continues

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that work will continue on our precious Hebgen Dam this spring. Hopefully we will have a more consistent water level this year.

See you all soon!

Wireless in the park

CNN brought to my attention to yesterday's publication of the Wireless Communications Services Plan, Environmental Assessment. It is amazing how far wireless communications have come in recent years. Today you can use your T-Mobile or AT&T cell phone at Mt. Washburn and Old Faithful, and you can use Sprint & Verizon cell phones at Mammoth and Canyon.

The recommended plan is summarized as follows:

Alternative C is the park’s preferred alternative; this alternative would add

cellular coverage to the Lake area and improve cellular coverage at Canyon and Tower-Roosevelt. When feasible, the cell tower at Old Faithful would be relocated from its current location to a site near the water treatment plant to further reduce the impact on the viewshed. Antennas located at Mount Washburn would be relocated from the existing fire lookout and placed on a new platform tower adjacent to the lookout to reduce impacts to the viewshed from the historic lookout and improve visitor and park staff safety. On Bunsen Peak, obsolete equipment would be removed and the cellular phone facility would be relocated to Elk Plaza. The electric transmission line to the summit of Bunsen Peak would remain, but the equipment shed would be replaced with smaller equipment (e.g., cabinet sized weather-proof enclosures). Internet-WiFi access would be available at many of the park’s hotels and stores and to residences in park development areas.

This is a very conservative proposal and hopefully will be effective. I am generally in favor of increased cellular coverage for safety reasons. WiFi will probably be helpful. I have benefitted from the proliferation of high-speed internet access, enabling me to do work from the porch with a view of Hebgen Lake. However, I was struck by the mass of laptop users in the lobby of Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park this summer.

Only time will tell, but I will continue to spend more time in the backcountry whenever possible.