Friends of Slough Creek

Slough Creek Resident Killed by Cracker Round

Slough Creek Campground, Yellowstone National Park - July 17, 2004 A long-time resident of Slough Creek, a

cinnamon black bear, was needlessly killed today. The tragic death was the result of a cracker round fired too close to the bear by a Yellowstone Ranger.

Campers spotted the bear and hazed the animal for almost 45 minutes from site #19 to just south of site #26 along the creek.

The bear was on a small island in the middle of Slough Creek when he was hit. He was also heard bawling in pain as he retreated into the trees and brush across the creek. The next morning his dead body was sighted half-submerged in the water at the edge of the far bank of Slough Creek and visible from site #22.

The Yellowstone Bear Management Team was called in to retrieve and remove the dead bear the afternoon of July 18, 2004. He was then transported to Bozeman for a required autopsy.

A profound sadness gripped witnesses and other Slough Creek campers as the news of the bear's unneccessary death spread.

Some Slough Creek guests openly wept at the loss of the cinnamon bear, and wondered how such an unthinkable event could happen in Yellowstone.

The cinnamon bear was little, if any, threat to campers, and had been seen skirting the campground, crossing the creek, digging rotting deadfall trees, and feeding in the meadow across the creek from the upper campsites.

Although there had been unsubstantiated reports of this bear damaging a tent in the campground, and charging fishermen on the trail above Slough Creek, there was no reason that a cracker round needed to be used for aversive conditioning of the animal. There was absolutely no proof that this bear ever did anything except act like a normal bear.

This was the first year in quite some time that new and inexperienced campground hosts were stationed at the Slough Creek Campground in July and August. Their resistance to training and insufficient knowledge of the Slough Creek area and bear behavior, along with their unwillingness to enforce campground rules relating to safe food storage, was noticed by many campers. Repeated and unnecessary calls to Tower Rangers by these hosts probably provoked a stronger-than-necessary response from a Tower District Ranger that resulted in the shooting of a cracker round at the animal.

There was no reason for the Ranger to fire the cracker round at all, since the bear was easily hazed and was in the process of crossing the creek when he was accidentally shot. Yellowstone Park officials, and the ranger involved, say that the cracker round may have struck a branch or tree before hitting, and mortally wounding, the bear.

An official report on this incident is available from the Yellowstone Park FOIA office. Please request a copy, read it, and decide for yourself if the conclusions drawn by Sub-District Ranger Collette Berg are consistent with her own accounts of witness testimony regarding this incident. Then, voice your opinion by e-mailing Yellowstone Park CLICK HERE

The Cinnamon Bear...doing what
he did best...just being a bear.

We are all diminished by the poor decisions that were made July 17, 2004, resulting in the loss of this innocent bear. There are still many questions that remain to be answered. We will keep asking in the hope that this incident will not be forgotten...or repeated. bjensen - mff

Were you there on July 17, 2004? What did you see? CLICK HERE to send us your comments about this incident. Your letters, and the feedback we receive from Yellowstone Park and other interested parties, will be posted on these pages.

SUBJECT:	Slough Creek Campground Renovation Proposal and EA
LOCATION:	Yellowstone National Park, WY
ACTION TAKEN:	Input and feedback was supposedly requested regarding the Slough Creek Campground Renovation Project Environmental Assessment through postings and hand-outs at the campground since1997, however, none of the campers in our group observed any request for comments on any of the proposed changes. We were told that there were scoping brochures available as well during this time. During July and August of 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000, our group spent a considerable amount of time camped at Slough Creek. Not one of us noticed any posting or request for comment regarding the proposed renovation project over a six week period in the height of the tourist season. In August of 2000, a new information kiosk was constructed at a reported cost of several thousand dollars and funded by the Yellowstone Foundation. E-Mail and letters have been sent and some replies have been received from YNP regarding the Slough Creek Renovation Project Plan and the included Environmental Assessment. Issues addressed included: campsite closures, new construction, moving and/or adding campsites, removal of bear-proof trash cans, the addition of large dumpsters, suitability of campground hosts, the combined 30' length limit proposal, the death of the cinnamon bear, and others. CLICK HERE to read Friends of Slough Creek Mail
STATUS:	Slough Creek Renovation Planning by the National Park Service is in progress. Although the time period for public comments expired in 2000, and the entire project is "on hold" right now, input is still being accepted. A new Registration & Information Kiosk was completed in late summer of 2000. This project was funded by a private Yellowstone advocacy group. Now we have a picture of a Grizzly Bear poster that hardly anyone looks at, and a permanent structure where there was none before. Campsite #2 has been closed due to natural erosion of the river bank. All of the traditional, and plentiful, "bear-safe trash cans" were removed in 2004 in favor of two large dumpsters located near sites #11 and #26. The reason given was that this would allow fewer service employees to collect trash each day, and save the Park some money. The net effect has been that campers have been much more likely to leave trash and garbage in their sites, rather than make the walk each time to one of the dumpsters, to say nothing of the noise, dust, and air pollution caused by a large diesel garbage truck "powering-up" to dump the dumpsters each day. On July 17, 2004, a cinnamon black bear was killed when a Ranger fired a cracker round, hitting the animal. The circumstances surrounding this incident, and the actions taken by the Park have been questioned, as well as the events that led up to the shooting. The outcome should have been much different, and the life of this bear could easily have been saved.
THE FUTURE:	Closure of remaining upper campsites along the river which was set out in the original renovation plan has been amended in the environmental assessment that is posted at the official Yellowstone National Park web site. The upper riverfront campsites are to be open and maintained as before until it "becomes necessary" to close them. The possibility of additional campsites being added has also been mentioned. IMPORTANT! 30' COMBINED LENGTH LIMIT PROPOSED! MOST TOWED TRAILERS COULD BE PROHIBITED AT SLOUGH CREEK CAMPGROUND! It is proposed in the Slough Creek Renovation EA that a 30' total vehicle and trailer length limit be placed on all camping UNITS. This is NOT just a limit on the towing vehicle or trailer length, it's a limit on the TOTAL length of vehicle AND trailer combined. It would mean, for example, that a 30' self-contained motor home would be permissible, but someone with a standard or compact truck/SUV, pulling a small 16' detachable camping trailer, would not be allowed. We recently learned that this item was supposedly a "mistake" in the EA (which is still on the Yellowstone web site). We have since learned that this combined length limit remains a "permitted" option in all three alternatives described in the Slough Creek Rehabilitation EA. If the project is re-activated and proposals in the EA are adopted, anyone with a vehicle and trailer combination that measures over 30' in total length, would not be permitted to camp at Slough Creek Campground. Virtually all but the tiniest trailer-vehicle combinations will be excluded if this rule is implemented. Please express your opinion by writing directly to Yellowstone National Park using the links provided below. If you would like your letter to appear on the Friends of Slough Creek pages, please send us a copy as well. We'll be happy to post it on this site. Please Read E-Mail & Responses
OUR POSITION: CLICK HERE TO READ RESPONSES TO THIS PAGE	We feel that attempts to obtain public comment on the Slough Creek Renovation Plan were minimal at best and did not constitute a responsible effort by the National Park Service or the Renovation Committee to obtain input and comments from actual campground visitors or environmental professionals. This is evidenced by Yellowstone Park Superintendent Finley's statement, in his letter of December 19, 2000, that 39 comments were received from 1997 to 2000. This could hardly be termed a "valid sample" since there were at least several thousand campers in the campground during those years. Our group, which includes a large number of outdoor enthusiasts who have been annual visitors to Slough Creek Campground for over 20 years, believes that further closures of the upper riverside campsites is not necessary, or in the best interest of the campground. We are pleased to hear that this plan is "on hold" and hope there will be no changes to the existing campground sites in the foreseeable future. We see no need whatever for the recent construction (and expense) of the new so-called "information kiosk". In fact, the location of this debatable improvement has only increased vehicle and foot traffic, dust, and noise for nearly half of the campground sites. Very few visitors actually read any of the minimal information that is posted there. PLEASE...bring back the individual bear-proof trash cans! They worked MUCH BETTER and made the campground MUCH SAFER for all visitors and wildlife. Originally, the entire campground was intended to be preserved and protected as a primitive, tenting-only, area by the National Park Service for the benefit of Slough Creek visitors and preservation of the creek. It appears that administrators could be about to make irreversible decisions that will have serious negative impacts on the future quality of the Slough Creek experience, even eliminating the possibility of camping there for most visitors pulling trailers. The proposed 30' combined trailer/vehicle length limit contained in the Slough Creek Renovation EA should be eliminated entirely from any future plans for Slough Creek Campground. This rule would exclude almost everyone who pulls a trailer of any kind from camping at the campground, while it permits up to 30' self-contained motor homes. Who comes up with unworkable and unreasonable ideas like these? We are strongly opposed to the ineffective methods used to obtain public comments regarding changes to Slough Creek Campground. We believe that the demonstrated lack of local knowledge of the camping environment at Slough Creek displayed by the National Park Service and the Renovation Committee will eventually be detrimental to the campground. An "errata sheet" is being prepared which will contain any changes to be made to the current Slough Creek Renovation Project Environmental Assessment (EA). We have requested, and have been promised, a copy of this document as soon as it is available. Once the "errata sheet" is completed there is to be a public comment period. We will keep you posted on all the details when, and if, this happens. It is our opinion that the National Park Service should do much more to actively solicit and obtain input, suggestions, and comments from actual Slough Creek visitors, not simply from so-called "experts in the field", who have never spent much, if any, time in the campground. Yellowstone belongs to every American. We pay the taxes that support the salaries of Park administrators and employees. We deserve to be heard and we have every right to know what is happening in OUR PARK. We oppose any and all actions that could lead to needless regulation or degradation of one of Yellowstone Parks' most unspoiled and pristine areas. We urge officials to leave Slough Creek Campground as it is, primitive, wild, accessible...and unforgettable! bjensen-mff