JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Unwilling to budge on spending cuts, Wyoming’s congressional delegation announced today a new plan to turn Yellowstone National Park into a dystopic battleground in which public land managers will fight to the death for funding.

Grand Teton superintendent Mary Gibson Scott and YNP chief Dan Wenk will compete in Hunger Games: Yellowstone, along with Scott Guenther, head of the Jenny Lake rangers, National Elk Refuge manager Steve Kallin and Cheryl Probert, acting Bridger-Teton National Forest supervisor.

U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis held a lavish bash at Four Seasons to announce the contest, attended by hundreds of oil and gas industry executives. Lummis hailed the plan as necessary belt tightening in a time of economic austerity.

“Instead of blindly filling desks, these bureaucrats will expose themselves to feel what wretches feel, and show the heavens more just,” she said.

Sen. John Barrasso said Yellowstone’s 3,500 square miles will serve as the perfect venue for the competition. Flesh-hungry grizzly bears and wolves will add extra drama as land managers engage one another in an atavistic struggle, against a backdrop of steaming geysers and bubbling mud pots. Barrasso has signed a deal with Fox News to broadcast the contest.

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Posted under Environment, Humor, Politics, Republican Party

Tags: cynthia lummis, grand teton national park, john barrasso, yellowstone

A week after a family of mountain lions devoured an unfortunately named black Lab, canines have struck back.

A pack of five coyotes chased a pair of mountain lion kittens onto a buck-and-rail fence Thursday evening on the National Elk Refuge. Staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photographed the standoff, which lasted more than an hour. One cat ran away with the coyotes in pursuit, while the other hid in the grass as darkness fell.

The photos, posted in an online gallery and widely shared, had been viewed nearly two million times as of this afternoon.

The kittens appeared to have survived the encounter, as refuge staff spotted both Saturday. The whereabouts of the mother reportedly were unknown.

(Photo by Lori Iverson/USFWS)

Posted under Environment

Tags: mountain lions, wildlife

From its beginnings as a trickle of snowmelt off Two Ocean Pass to the thunderous cataracts of its Grand Canyon and sinuous meandering through the plains of Montana, the Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states.

A new film by Hunter Weeks follows a 30-day journey by drift boat down the river to its confluence with the Missouri at Fort Buford, N.D. Where the Yellowstone Goes chronicles the people and landscapes the party encounters while floating and fishing this majestic waterway.

Weeks will show the film and take questions Wednesday night in a benefit for American Rivers at the Pink Garter Theater. Tickets are $10, available online or at Jack Dennis Sports and Teton Mountain Lodge. Showtime is 7 p.m.

I’ve always thought of the Yellowstone as one of the uppermost headwaters of the Mississippi. Along those lines, I’d someday like to make a journey from Atlantic Creek all the way to New Orleans.

Posted under Environment, Sports

Tags: conservation, fishing, pink garter, river running, yellowstone

Today’s chilly morning, with a temperature of -8 degrees at Jackson Hole Airport, made for lots of annoying “I’m glad I’m on spring break” Facebook posts, but it was not a record, according to meteorologist Jim Woodmencey.

The record for March 25 in Jackson is -27 degrees, set in 1965, he said.

The meteorologist noted colder temperatures in Bondurant (-18) and at Yellowstone Lake (-19) this morning. The lows may have been even a few degrees colder before dawn, he said.

The recent blast of winter has ensured that there will be a nordic leg for the 38th annual Pole Pedal Paddle on Saturday. The Jackson Hole Ski Club will set a course at the base of the mountain by the Teewinot and/or Eagle’s Rest lifts.

Today is the deadline to register for the PPP without paying an additional $15 registration fee. Sign up to participate individually or with a team here.

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Posted under Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: cycling, jhmr, Nordic, ppp, ski racing, skiing

For a second straight year, Snow King’s annual Pond Skimming Party falls on St. Patrick’s Day. And while the recent spring weather would have been ideal, perhaps even filling the pool, the snowstorm predicted for Sunday will only heighten the stakes for skimmers.

Festivities run from noon to 4 p.m., with music, food and sudsy beverages. Last year organizers poured green beer, and there has been talk of coloring the pool. Check out the resort’s Facebook page for photos and more details.

For those looking to celebrate their Irish heritage off the slopes, tonight Center for the Arts hosts the acclaimed Celtic band Lúnasa. Tickets start at $15.

And over in Teton Valley, Fitzgerald’s Bicycles throws its 10th annual St. Patrick’s party at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Wildwood Room. Snake River Brewery has made a special batch of Irish stout, and The Flannel Attractions will perform.

This video is from the 2010 pond skim. To all the hardy participants, Sláinte!

Posted under Entertainment, Holidays, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: beer, parties, skiing, snow king, snowboarding