tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post1136136070862577820..comments2024-01-22T18:22:29.391-08:00Comments on hedera's corner: Staying in Yellowstonehederahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01696592301686568456noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-65201439183304592502009-01-21T00:56:00.000-08:002009-01-21T00:56:00.000-08:00Hi, Doug Hilborn the Photo Safari Guide in Yellows...Hi, Doug Hilborn the Photo Safari Guide in Yellowstone Park as referenced above. The main reason for the decline in moose in Yellowstone is due much more to the loss of subalpine fir trees from the fires of 1988, which burned 36%of the park (793,000 acres of the 2.2 million that is Yellowstone). And by the way, of the 51 fires in the park that summer, of which 42 were lightning caused, and 9 by man, over 400,000 acres were from a cig butt and started the North Fork fire which burned the Old Faithful area, the Norris area, and the Mammoth area. That's right, over half the acreage was from man and started outside the park and was jumped on by firefighters from the get go! So back on track. 80% of Yellowstone's forested areas are lodgepole pine and just a little bit is subalpine fir. Some moose move higher in the winter where the snow is deeper to feed on the subalpine fir soft branches that grow from about 7,500 feet up to 8,500 feet or 9,000 feet. Most of the fir burned up so ever since 1988 the moose has had less food to eat in Yellowstone. I am not saying that moose are never killed by wolves, they are, but they were affected more by the fires. Moose populaton in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's 18 million acres is estimated at somewhere around 600 and before the fires of 1988 was somewhere around 1,000. The tetons are the place to see the moose, and if you are really looking you should be able to find at least one on a one or two day trip there. <BR/><BR/>Doug Hilbornduhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00052872011459777341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-10848434992697851152008-07-04T18:00:00.000-07:002008-07-04T18:00:00.000-07:00I don't think you should draw too many inferences ...I don't think you should draw too many inferences from the fact that I didn't see any moose on this trip. The only moose I've <I>ever</I> seen, in my whole life, were far enough back from the trailhead that the walk to get there took an hour or so; that was in the Tetons, in '93, during our last trip through this region. On this trip, we simply didn't get that far away from the road, largely because of the snow and slush.<BR/><BR/>Elk and bison seem perfectly happy to hang out where there are cars and people; moose may simply be more stand-offish. Although Curtis' point is valid, and should be investigated.hederahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01696592301686568456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-24776232623052440012008-07-04T17:51:00.000-07:002008-07-04T17:51:00.000-07:00Important point, Curtis.Enjoyed this travelogue, h...Important point, Curtis.<BR/><BR/>Enjoyed this travelogue, hedera. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-204369319458985702008-07-04T09:52:00.000-07:002008-07-04T09:52:00.000-07:00It occurs to me just now--and I admit I'm no natur...It occurs to me just now--and I admit I'm no naturalist or field biologist--that the wolves may now have an unnatural advantage over those moose. In a balanced environment--one in which man hasn't co-opted all the open land--the grazers have unlimited amounts of rangeland in which to prosper, and their numbers are only controlled by (top of the pyramid) predators like bears and wolves. But with the loss of habitat, those predators probably have the upper hand. How many moose calves can a herd afford to lose before its population comes under real pressure? Much has been done to "bring back" the wolves, and to preserve the bear population in Yellowstone and surrounding territory. I just wonder if that might not backfire and end up causing the moose population to crash. I'm on the side of the wolf people, of course, but we can hardly make the claim that any part of the lower 48 is, in effect, in a state of natural balance. These parks have become just large zoos, and need to be managed as such.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.com