Originally Posted by
Ty0604
They weren't proven to be false at all. In fact I met an East/West cyclist who was issued a similar permit when he passed through in mid April. He camped once near Lewis Lake and once at a then closed Madison Campground. Do you think bears care if it's an established campground or not? They don't.
This is why national park staff have restrictions.
And this will be why national parks like Yellowstone may institute further restrictions on cyclists.
It is clear that the poster has no knowledge of bear habitat or behavior - nor does he appear to care.
Here is what Yellowstone N.P. says about bear management -
"The purpose of bear management areas is to reduce human impacts on bears in high-density grizzly bear habitat. Eliminating human entry disturbance in specific areas prevents human/bear conflicts and provides areas where bears can pursue natural behavioral patterns and other social activities free from human disturbance. Types of restrictions include: area closures, trail closures, a minimum party size of four or more people, and travel limited to daylight hours or to established trails."
And specifically about areas adjacent to the TransAm route in early season -
N. Grant Village (498 KB PDF): The Grant Campground will not open prior to June 20, actual opening dates may vary annually. If bears are still frequenting the spawning streams after opening, the campground loops adjacent to the streams will remain closed until bear activity ceases. Campground opening and closure dates are determined annually and can also be located in the park newspaper.
O. Heart Lake (1.2 MB PDF): Area is closed April 1 through June 30.
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And you are telling me that YNP managers will toss aside decades of work by wildlife biologists
just so that a couple of cyclists can ride through?
Yeah. Right.