Yellowstone and wildlife photography

[Viathelens]

On June 22 Yellowstone will open the south areas of the park, but the north areas will remain closed indefinitely. This is sad for all wildlife photographers who frequent the park. The majority of the wildlife that can be seen and photographed is in the north area of the park, aside from Hayden Valley where grizzlies and wolves can be spotted, the part that was hardest hit. Lamar Valley and Tower-Roosevelt area are prime wildlife viewing and photographing areas. I was in the park for a couple of weeks and left on June 5. We got great wildlife shots of bears in particular, a ranger told us there were about 18 bears in the Tower-Roosevelt area and one laid down and went to sleep right next to a parking area for several hours. I would say that closing the north area of the park might be good for wildlife in the long run, but all of the construction to repair and rebuild roads will not be a good thing. I'm hoping the north area opens again before, at least, next spring and hopefully before fall for people who had a trip planned. Here is the information link: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/flood-recovery.htm.

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[frdjohns]

This is a pretty cool shot - well done. As for the Park, a year off of the over-whelming crowds of people may be good for the wildlife.

 

[Viathelens]

This is a pretty cool shot - well done. As for the Park, a year off of the over-whelming crowds of people may be good for the wildlife.

Thanks. This is a "drive-by" shot as that was my only opportunity. He just looks so content that it makes me smile when I look at it. I do hope the "rest" is good for the animals in the long run.

 

[bsinc1962]

I was just reading an article in the Billings Gazette that states that the park service has a plan to put in a temporary road that bypasses the river area completely and cuts cross country directly to Mammoth. They feel that they can get this temporary route complete this Summer.

Billings Gazette

 

[Calson]

I have been thinking how great the disaster in the public areas of the park will be for wildlife. Noise levels will also be down considerably so more opportunities for people making sound recordings with only natural sounds.

 

[eaj101]

I was just reading an article in the Billings Gazette that states that the park service has a plan to put in a temporary road that bypasses the river area completely and cuts cross country directly to Mammoth. They feel that they can get this temporary route complete this Summer.

Billings Gazette

There's an existing one lane dirt road from the Mammoth Lodge parking area down to Gardiner that's often a good place to check for antelope and usually has nobody on it. I suspect that this existing grade is what they'll use. It bypasses the canyon completely.

 

[jeffreynye]

I'd love to have anyone's non-Lamar spotting tips. I still have in-park hotel reservations for July 4 to July 9 and think I'm likely to keep them, but they're at Canyon Lodge, which is still closed until at least June 29, so it's up in the air.

Elk and bison are pretty much everywhere, of course, but with the Mammoth-Tower road and the Lamar Valley closed I'm not sure what my play should be. I know Hayden Valley is no. 2 on the list, but I actually have never seen a single predator there! If that's anyone's suggestion, I'd love some w3w-level specificity. (Also, the only land animal on our spotting list that we've never seen in Yellowstone, anywhere, is an otter. Tips welcome!)

 

[Viathelens]

There's an existing one lane dirt road from the Mammoth Lodge parking area down to Gardiner that's often a good place to check for antelope and usually has nobody on it. I suspect that this existing grade is what they'll use. It bypasses the canyon completely.

When I read your post I was thinking to the north and then you added the dirt road information and I recalled that road. That does sound like a reasonable approach as it's already there to someone degree.

I'd love to have anyone's non-Lamar spotting tips. I still have in-park hotel reservations for July 4 to July 9 and think I'm likely to keep them, but they're at Canyon Lodge, which is still closed until at least June 29, so it's up in the air.

Elk and bison are pretty much everywhere, of course, but with the Mammoth-Tower road and the Lamar Valley closed I'm not sure what my play should be. I know Hayden Valley is no. 2 on the list, but I actually have never seen a single predator there! If that's anyone's suggestion, I'd love some w3w-level specificity. (Also, the only land animal on our spotting list that we've never seen in Yellowstone, anywhere, is an otter. Tips welcome!)

Only otters I've gotten were in Lamar Valley. I did get a wolf in June in Hayden Valley. The elk, I've been told, move to the areas of the park in June that are more flat, the valley areas, with a lot of ground cover, sagebrush, to drop and take care of babies. These babies attract predators. The wolf I saw in Hayden was after a baby elk. Hayden could be a good plan and its probably going to be your only option.

 

[MartyD]

I feel for the communities of Gardener, Cooke City, Silver Gate, and Red Lodge. They have struggled with the pandemic, park closures, available work force, and now they not only have to deal with the loss of tourism for the year but they have to try to recover from their own property and infrastructure loss. I wonder how much more they can take!

 

[jeffreynye]

I feel for the communities of Gardener, Cooke City, Silver Gate, and Red Lodge. They have struggled with the pandemic, park closures, available work force, and now they not only have to deal with the loss of tourism for the year but they have to try to recover from their own property and infrastructure loss. I wonder how much more they can take!

Yeah, it's going to be rough for those folks for a while.

In terms of in-park services, I wonder if the combination of the closure of Mammoth and Roosevelt lodging, and limited public access, will "right-size" the staffing at the facilities that are open. That assumes that people who would have worked at (e.g.) Mammoth will now work at Lake (or something), so maybe restaurants and stores will not have as limited service. (Of course, stocking those facilities is a huge logistical problem at baseline, which is now worse. And a lot of those seasonal employees may just leave or not come. So who knows.)

I'm certainly going to be watching closely what kind of reactions visitors have once they start coming back in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I hope they're spending lots of money just outside the park!

 

[MartyD]

Yeah, it's going to be rough for those folks for a while.

In terms of in-park services, I wonder if the combination of the closure of Mammoth and Roosevelt lodging, and limited public access, will "right-size" the staffing at the facilities that are open. That assumes that people who would have worked at (e.g.) Mammoth will now work at Lake (or something), so maybe restaurants and stores will not have as limited service. (Of course, stocking those facilities is a huge logistical problem at baseline, which is now worse. And a lot of those seasonal employees may just leave or not come. So who knows.)

I'm certainly going to be watching closely what kind of reactions visitors have once they start coming back in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I hope they're spending lots of money just outside the park!

My wife and I have been spending time at Roosevelt Lodge in June for wildlife watching and August for fishing for about the last 10 years. We have been at Mammoth or Cooke City the last two years while Roosevelt has been closed. We were able to spend one night there this year before choosing (wisely) to leave on the morning of June 13. We are still in shock and in mourning over the Yellowstone flooding.