This past week, heavy rains met rapidly melting snowpacks in southern Montana, wreaking havoc on the town of Gardiner, as well as other nearby gateway towns. The northern section of Yellowstone National Park – including landmarks like Lamar Valley and the hot springs – are underwater. The Yellowstone River has risen to record-high levels, flooding much of this portion of the park, and leaving massive destruction in its path. Mudslides, landslides, and rockslides have caused the destruction of bridges and roads throughout the park and heavy rains are expected to continue for days to come.
On June 13th, Yellowstone announced it would be closing all five entrances into the park for a minimum of two days. While the hope of the southern entrances reopening soon seems reasonable, it will be quite some time before the roads into the park through Gardiner will be rebuilt and open for visitors.
Yellowstone is the flagship national park, designated as such in 1872 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The park is famously home to the biggest herds of American buffalo in the country, as well as grizzly bears, gray wolves, and bald eagles. The preservation of the park means the protection of these species which have historically been put in danger. Funding the park means funding a preservation of a long-gone American landscape. For the wildlife, the lands, and the cultural preservation of American history, it is crucial we put our energy and funding back into Yellowstone during this unprecedented environmental event. As Teddy Roosevelt famously stated, Yellowstone is “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”
Yellowstone Forever is thee nationally recognized organization working on preserving the park by funding the highest priority projects and renovations needed throughout Yellowstone. Yellowstone Forever is the park’s official nonprofit partner; this organization works with the park to determine which projects are deemed a high priority and need funding. We can expect Yellowstone Forever to play a part in the coming efforts to restore the park’s infrastructure.