So Big

Yellowstone Park is just huge. Today will begin day three of getting around it and we should begin some of the northern loop. Yesterday we visited the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and saw the Upper and Lower Falls. All beautiful. We hit the ranger stations for some information and saw a film called "Ten Years Later," a take off on the old rock group. It was about the regrowth of the forests since the terrible fires of 1988.
The fires of 1988 made big news in the media where the Park Service took a big hit for letting the fires burn. They had actually made the change to this policy some years earlier. Fire was looked on as a natural part of the eco system. The years of controlling fire had lead to the development of huge amounts of tinder in the forest floors, and some experts believed that the fuel quantity was so large that fires would burn super hot and sterilize the soil and kill all seed. The fires of 1988 burned about a third of the Yellowstone forest, and to many people devestated the park. "Ten Years After" chronicles the regrowth of the forests and maintains that the fire was a natural and necessary part of the Yellowstone history. Most areas have vigorously regrown, mostly with the native Lodgepole Pines. The cones from a Lodgepole are held or glued together by a substance that only breaks down and releases the seeds when exposed to fire. The release of these seeds was prodigious, and most areas immediately began regrowth. Some areas either because of climate or exposure take longer and some areas were burned so hotly that regrowth was hampered. But overall the park looks great. The fire revealed the severity of the terrain here which the forest softens. The Park service maintains that the fire created more "edge of the forest" environments which is good for wildlife. The surface received more sun light so more species of plants grow. At any rate, people who thought the park had been ruined were wrong. It's just changed a little.