Yellowstone National Park

Every year, thousands of American and international tourists pass through Cody as they leave or enter Yellowstone National Park. The summer tourism season officially starts May 1, when the park's east gate opens. That's usually a busy time, but things might be different this year.

Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone 25 years ago, after intense debate and under serious scrutiny. Park rangers exterminated the last wolves in Yellowstone nearly a century ago, and their return has restored the park's ecosystem to a state not seen in a long time.

On January 12th, 1995, the first truck loaded with grey wolves from Canada arrived in Yellowstone National Park. Livestock producers, outfitters and other people who live near the park waited to see what would happen. But one of those groups that hasn't been too happy about the reintroduction: livestock producers.

Almost 25 years ago, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Wolves originally roamed the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, but, in the 1900s, they were wiped out. Settlers in the West poisoned and killed wolves in such high numbers that the animal was not seen in the area for decades.

Grizzly bears of the Yellowstone ecosystem are once more protected by the Endangered Species Act. That means Wyoming Game and Fish manages the bears as normal but the final decision has be ok'ed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fall is usually the time of the year the most human-bear conflicts occurs because recreationists are out and bears are getting ready to hibernate. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke with Dan Thompson, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's large carnivore supervisor, about how grizzly management is changing as the grizzly population footprint is expanding.

In this episode, we're turning up the heat—both on and under the landscape.

In our second show, we explore some carnivores of Yellowstone! One comes in gray or black; the other has spots and stripes. Both are fascinating, but what makes each species tick is totally surprising.

It's known as the Night of the Grizzlies. Over fifty years ago, two women were killed by two different grizzly bears on the same night. The repercussions of the incident can still be seen in the way bears are managed today. But it also gave birth to a powerful myth—it's dangerous for women to spend time in the woods while menstruating.

In the past month, Yellowstone National Park has gone viral a couple of times on social media with videos of bison charging at visitors. Bison-human incidents happen every season sometimes causing injuries. Yellowstone is always trying to figure out how to get the message across that the bison, elk, bears and even badgers that people encounter in the park are wild and dangerous. But why are people continually getting too close to wildlife?

Up first in this episode, what do scientists do when they're racing to understand the rarest breeding bird in the state of Wyoming? Whatever it takes. Then, what can one tiny organism tell us about the health of an entire ecosystem?

With over six months under his belt, Cam Sholly, the new superintendent of creleased the parks top five strategic priorities. Those include investing in infrastructure, focusing on the people who work at the park and how to deal with increased visitation. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke with Sholly about two priorities that impact our region. First, why does the park need to prioritize strengthening the ecosystem?