Aerial sharpshooters with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have killed four wolves in Montana for preying on sheep in the secretive Sheep Experiment Station.

The last four wolves of the Sage Creek Pack were gunned down this week by USDA aerial sharpshooters, after the wolves had been targeted for preying on sheep in the 100,000+ acre USDA Sheep Experiment Station (USSES) west of Yellowstone National Park.

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In 2007 federal protections were dropped for the protection of Yellowstone grizzlies. Ever since then, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition have been fighting to give protection back to the bears. They argued that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) failed to address the loss of essential food sources for the bears, whitebark pine seeds and cutthroat trout.

On Monday, September 21 they finally achieved what they were fighting for when Judge Donald Molloy ruled that inadequate regulatory mechanisms were put in place to manage the bears. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and six other groups, represented by Earthjustice, have a similar case pending in Idaho.

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The Department of the Interior is proposing to cut the number of snowmobiles allowed per day into Yellowstone National Park.

According to reports, a proposed rule change issued by the National Park Service would allow up to 318 snowmobiles per day into Yellowstone National Park for the next two winters. The rule would cut by more than half the 720 allowed last winter by the Bush administration. In a notice to be published tomorrow in the Federal Register, the National Park Service says it is reopening a public comment period on the 318-per-day plan that never went into effect.

The growth in snowmobile activity in Yellowstone National Park over the last two decades has been an increasingly contentious issue from the Yellowstone Valley to the halls and offices of Washington, D.C.. The 45-day comment period is certain to bring in passionate pleas from environmentalists, snowmobile enthusiasts, and local businesses who have long battled over the proper number of snow machines in the park.

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The beetle infestation has been growing “exponentially” since 2006-07, according to the Forest Service management team in Laramie, Wyoming, and has so far claimed millions of acres of pine forest in Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming. North of the border, British Columbia has already lost over 33 million acres of lodgepole pine forest due to the ravages of this type of bark beetle. And more recently (in 2008), Alberta province is come under threat due to an aberrant wind storm that apparently lofted the beetles across the continental divide.

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Outraged by what they saw on their home computers on the evening of May 4th, viewers of the Old Faithful webcam contacted park officials who then dispatched park rangers. The trespassers were apprehended as they returned to the boardwalk twenty minutes later.

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Despite the news yesterday that the wolf population in Yellowstone has decreased 27%, the Bush administration said today that they will remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list in the Midwest and in the area surrounding Yellowstone National Park.

The Bush administration has tried to remove the wolves’ federal protections twice before, once in the Great Lakes and once in the northern Rockies, which includes Montana, Colorado and Wyoming. Federal judges revoked both rule changes in February and September of last year.

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After completing its annual wolf population estimate, Yellowstone National Park has announced that the number of wolves inside the park has declined by 27% since the end of 2007. 124 wolves are now thought to reside in the park, down from 171. Is this a normal fluctuation?

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Like bees, when earthquakes occur in great amounts in one area, it’s called a swarm, reports NPR. But this swarm is bigger than the usual that would happen. The swarm has a magnitude of 3.9 on the Richter scale, and the quakes have happened at greater frequency than the norm.

And all of the earthquakes have occurred under Yellowstone Lake. The last time something like this happened was 20 years ago, reports Wyoming’s Local News 8. Said one geologist on the station: “We think it’s where more magma heat and steam escaped through cracks in the crust. That’s probably what’s causing the earthquakes.”

No one knows for sure why this is happening, though. But no worries to the people living around Yellowstone - the last huge volcano eruption was about 640,000 years ago.

Earlier in the year, around April, the same thing happened in Oregon, except it was 600 earthquakes in 10 days. That one, though, was different - it didn’t occur around any places where tectonic plates meet, the vast land areas that form the Earth’s crust. Three of those quakes had a magnitude of 5.0 or higher. Most, however, happened out at sea, and were barely felt on land.

>> See Also: United States Opening 190 Million Acres to Geothermal Energy Development

Casualties of global warming? Who knows. There’s not much anyone can really do about these, except wait them out.

Photo Credit: moonjazz at Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Our very first stop forced me to rethink that assumption. Boy, did I underestimate the potential of the National Parks food service. The food was often very good, and several stops were a traveling locavore’s dream. Yellowstone was a standout.

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Seeing such amazing wildlife just reinforced why I care so much about this planet and why we need to find a balance between people and wildlife. It solidified in my mind just how precarious that balance is and how precious clean air, water and land really is.

Like a typical tourist, I spent some time perusing gift shops at various points of interest throughout the park. I was taken aback by the amount of well, stuff, to put it politely, that I found in them. Much of the, ahem, stuff, was made from China, too. All I could think of was lead and the recalls. Ick. But I really wanted to bring back something special to the special people in my life.

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Editor’s note: The fourth part of the “Human Interaction with Nature” series takes a look at efforts to recover endangered animal species. This post was written by Denzyl Janneker, and originally published on Friday, May 9, 2008.

Baraboo, Wisconsin and Basra, Iraq might have nothing in common, but fighting a war and killing endangered species has prompted a common human response - to do an about turn and nurture that which we have destroyed.

Baraboo is known for efforts in saving its whooping crane population, while Basra is emerging from the ashes of war with a skyline dotted with cranes, symbolizing the reconstruction and development initiatives under way. At least that’s the intention. Two words stand out in either respect: Reconstruction and reintroduction.

Wars aside, what is it about man’s insatiable desire to kill animals, whether it’s for hides, horns or a hunter’s trophy? If only animals were like humans, they’d be completely cynical and sarcastic:

“Well, sir you might as just save me the trouble of running off into the bush and hiding. So load your bolt-action rifle and oh, don’t worry about the telescopic sight since I’m just going to be a few feet away. And when my head’s mounted above your fireplace in say 10 or 20 years from now, you can brag to your guests what a tough contest it was.”

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Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls… come right in for another edition of the Greenest Show on the Web: the Carnival of the Green! Fresh off of a stellar performance at Ms. Malaprop, the Carnival’s here at Green Options this week to amaze and delight you. But don’t wait around — the show has a limited engagement here, and then it’s moving on for a stint with our friends at Greener Magazine.

What’s the Carnival of the Green (or COTG, as we green bloggers like to call it)? It’s a roundup of some of the best posts on green blogs from the past week. Always moving, the COTG stops for a visit on a green blog every Monday. The Carnival was the brainchild of Al Tepper, publisher extraordinaire at City Hippy, and Nick Aster, the man behind (and often in front) of the curtain at Triplepundit. These days, our friends at Treehugger play tour manager for the Carnival.

Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s get on with the show. And if you’re suffering from a case of the Mondays, here’s a little music to put you in that carnival mood…. wherever you are.

The Hall of Science

Come on in, and take a gander at the latest technological wonders. Won’t cost you a dime…

We’ve got a double-header from EcoGeek this week. Want some help adjusting your driving to save fuel? Hank and co. take a look at the Fuel Mizer, which can monitor your stops and starts for you. And if you’re a walker (which we hope you are!), two students at MIT are just won a prize to harvest the energy from your footsteps (yep, we covered that one, too).

The Naib, over at The Sietch, investigates the Watercone, a device that uses solar energy to desalinate water. This piece of simple technology could do a lot of good for people without easy access to fresh water.

For the Dedicated Followers of Fashion…

We’ve got some Fall previews, and some new looks.

The Natural Collection is predicting an ethical Autumn as they roll out their Fall fashions online. Keep an eye on their site, as they promise "some fantastic giveaways, competitions and freebies" are on the way.

Nature Mom Tiffany Washko takes a look at some furnishings (particularly beds) that are both green and stylish.

Inhabitat shows us how designer Stephan Boltz gives a second life (and new sense of style) to airplane trolleys.

And speaking of reuse, our own Victoria E. shows us how the Broken Plate Pendant Co. turns "useless" china into unique pieces of jewelry (on her own blog).

The Carnival’s Trade Show

Catch the latest trends in green business and finance.

Sox First has a podcast interview with Erik Mather, managing director of Regnan, on the growing pressure for companies "…to come clean on their contingent liabilities that include environmental, sustainability and governance risks."

Great Green Gadgets expresses some skepticism about carbon offsets, particularly those involving tree planting. Doesn’t mean they’re against planting trees, though… even guerrilla style!

And the Savvy Vegetarian shares a post from market gardener Jocelyn Engman on the importance of supporting local farmers.

Time for a Break… and a Beer

All this carnivaling can make you thirsty…

GO’s Gavin Hudson shares some tips on making your own eco-friendly brew: cheers!

And the Green Cougar points to that inevitable post-college dilemma for green grads: aluminum cans or glass bottles?

The Medicine Show

Health and safety stories with a green tint.

Allie’s Answers takes note of some of the potential dangers presented by manufactured nanoparticles in sunscreens.

The Environmental Working Group’s Enviroblog presents a video on the danger that still exist from arsenic-treated lumber used for decks and playsets.

Finally, at sustainablog (my other blog), I took a look at an editorial in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune claiming that greener development of transportation infrastructure could create less wear and tear on roads and bridges (so they’re less likely collapse!).

Get a Glimpse of Far-Away Lands…

A couple of our participants in the Carnival this week share some travel information and experiences.

Intelligent Travel spotlights several green hotels you might want to consider on your next getaway.

Sally Kneidel of Veggie Revolution recounts her visit (complete with some great photos) to the South African village of Welverdiend

The Souvenir Stand

If you must buy, make sure it’s sustainable.

The Millionaire Mommy Next Door claims that "Memories are made of the things we do, not the things we buy." We couldn’t agree more!

La Marguerite reminices on times past when we didn’t throw away so much stuff.

And Green LA Girl takes a look at some eco-friendly claims made by some companies about their products, and shows that a little digging often chips the green gilding off of these fairly ordinary items.

Finally, Take a Stroll Down the Midway…

You never know what you may find.

INNside Innkeeping in Montana highlights efforts by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the owner of hotels and restaurants inside a number of state and national parks, to green up their own operations. That’s right… Yellowstone is going green…

Maria Energia, the blog of our own Maria Surma Manka, considers the implications of recently-announced renewable energy deals by BP.

Jetson Green takes a look at an ancient case of urban sprawl, and wonders if it provides some insight into more recent calamities such as post-Katrina flooding in New Orleans, and the bridge collapse in Minnesota.

In another post, Intelligent Travel offers its congratulations to Java Green, a D.C.-area cafe’ that recently won the title of "Best Vegetarian Restaurant" in a contest held by VegDC.

Flower-Garden-Bulbs.com provides some tips for getting flower bulbs started right… the organic way.

The Good Human muses upon the messages sent by environmentalists concerning climate change, and claims that the planet itself will survive this crisis; the human species, on the other hand, may not be so fortunate.

And, finally, our good friends at Lighter Footstep help spread the word on the October 15th Blog Action Day, when a diverse array of bloggers, ranging from Lifehacker to ProBlogger, will be writing about, and raising funds for, environmental issues.

That’s a wrap, folks — thank you for coming by and enjoying the Carnival. We’ll see you next week at Greener Magazine!

Image sources: Treehugger (COTG banner) and Wikimedia Commons (here, here, and here)