Spring in Yellowstone National Park

I’ve been out of the office for much of the past two weeks wandering around Yellowstone National Park with some of NRDC’s wonderful supporters. 

We spent most of our time in the wild northeast corner of the Park.  At this time of year, the high country is blanketed with several feet of snow, and thus the valleys teem with wildlife. 

We saw wolves, grizzlies, black bears, pronghorn antelope, countless elk, bison (cows, bulls, and newborn calves), bighorn sheep, and a great variety of birds and waterfowl.  We scurried up sage-covered hills, hiked muddy trails, endured funky weather, laughed a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed spring (with a dash of winter and a touch of summer) in America’s first national park.

The metaphor of spring as a time of birth and renewal gets pummeled every year right about now, but I’m going there anyways, because my time in the Park and – more importantly – my time with some devoted NRDC members rejuvenated me and put our work in the Northern Rockies in perspective. 

People care a great deal about this part of the world and the wild critters that roam it, and it’s a privilege to live here and work to protect it.

Enjoy some photos of spring in Yellowstone.

 

 

 A stunning photograph of the famed Lamar Valley captured by Val Schaffner.

 

 A bison calf feeds from its mother.

 

 Searching for wildlife while on a break from hiking.

 

 A wolf track.

 

 Winters in Yellowstone are harsh, as evidenced by the rack and skull of this huge bull elk.

 

 Bighorn sheep on a high butte near the confluence of the Lamar and Yellowstone Rivers.

 

 A grizzly bear on his lunch break.

 

 Wildlfowers, such as these pasque flowers, are starting to bloom.

 

 Black bear in the foreground, bison in the background.

 

"Spring" in Yellowstone is a relative term.

 

Fresh grizz tracks on the trail always get my attention.

 

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