New Mexico man charged after his dog kills fawn

A New Mexico man who allowed his dog to kill a fawn in southern Colorado has been charged with several wildlife crimes.

Michael Garcia, 36, of Las Cruces, N.M., has been charged with illegal possession of wildlife, allowing his dog to harass wildlife and unlawful manner of take of wildlife. He was issued a citation by a Colorado Parks & Wildlife wildlife officer on July 23. The fines for the offenses are $1,372.50 and an assessment of 20 license-suspension points.

Garcia may elect to pay the fines or appear in court, explained Rick Basagoitia, area wildlife manager for CPW in the San Luis Valley. If he does not pay the fine, he will be required to appear in court on Sept. 16.

“This is a disturbing case; we’ve heard from many members of the public wanting CPW to investigate,” Basagoitia said. “Information that they’ve provided has been greatly helpful to CPW efforts.”

According to the officer’s report, the man was in an area near the Conejos River when his dog chased the fawn and killed it. Garcia posted photos of the dog and the dead fawn on social media. Someone saw the post, reported it to Operation Game Thief and CPW began to investigate.

Garcia was working as a fishing guide on the Conejos River. District Wildlife Officer Rod Ruybalid located him, conducted an interview and issued the citation.

In addition to the fines, Garcia will also be issued 20 license-suspension points, which means he must appear before a CPW suspension-hearing officer. This is a separate process that could result in the suspension of license privileges from one to five years. Only the Parks and Wildlife Commission has the authority to impose suspensions.

Wildlife crimes can be reported anonymously to Operation Game Thief at 877-265-6648. Those who report are eligible for a cash reward if the tip results in the issuance of a ticket or a conviction.

Chasing and killing wildlife is one of the reasons cited on most national park websites as to why they don't allow dogs on backcountry trails.



Jeff
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Senate Committee Introduces Bill to Increase Funding for National Park Roadways

Earlier this week the United States Senate introduced a bill that includes a 21 percent increase in funding for national parks. America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act, a surface transportation bill, would be used to repair and update roads, bridges, and transportation systems in national parks across the country. National park provisions are an important, but small portion of this nearly 500-page surface transportation bill.

“This legislation comes at a critical time for the country and our national parks,” said Emily Douce Director of Operations and Park Funding for the National Parks Conservation Association. “There are crumbling roads along the Blue Ridge Parkway, aging bridges in Great Smoky Mountains and outdated shuttle buses in Zion. Our national parks are scraping by on shoestring budgets, while facing billions of dollars in needed repairs and updates to their aging infrastructure and transportation systems. In fact, more than half of the Park Service’s $11.9 billion maintenance backlog is comprised of transportation needs. This bill is a big step in the right direction. If enacted, this would provide critical funding to repair important roads, bridges and park transit systems to ensure millions of visitors can continue to experience and enjoy national parks now and for years to come.”

The National Park System is second only to the Department of Defense in the amount of federal infrastructure it manages, including 10,000 miles of publicly accessible roads and 1,440 bridges. The America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act would authorize federal highway programs that provide $287 billion over five years.

Key park provisions included in the bill:

• Guarantees an increase in annual funding to the Park Service – an additional $310 million over the span of the five-year bill – through the Federal Lands Transportation Program, which provides funds to improve roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure in parks.

• Dedicates $50 million a year and authorizes $100 million a year for the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program designed to address exceptionally large repair projects in our parks, such as the reconstruction of the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades and a portion of the Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone.

• Provides measures to improve the resiliency of roads and bridges to natural disasters and extreme weather events.

• Encourages innovative solutions to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, establishing a program that would support projects that protect motorist and wildlife through improved transportation infrastructure.

“Our park infrastructure is in bad shape, and the problem will only get worse if the chronic underfunding continues. We commend Chairman Barrasso (R-WY), Ranking Member Carper (D-DE) and the rest of the Environment and Public Works Committee for leading the effort to address the costly backlog of transportation projects throughout our country. Now, the other Senate committees and the House of Representatives must finish the work and pass final legislation to fix our country’s infrastructure, including our parks, and doing so without compromising public input and protections for our nation’s air, water and wildlife,” said Douce.



Jeff
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Weekend Road Work Scheduled for Saturday, August 3rd in Grand Teton

Pavement preservation continues in Grand Teton National Park throughout the weekend. On Friday, August 2, road work will take place on U.S. Highway 89 between Pacific Creek Road and the Moran Junction Entrance Station. There will be flaggers stationed throughout the work zone to direct traffic through the entrance station. Travelers should expect up to 30-minute delays as chip seal activities are underway and the highway is reduced to one lane of travel. Road work will take place between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. The Pacific Creek boat launch will remain open for use during road work, but users should expect delays getting to and from the boat launch.

Road work is also scheduled for this coming Saturday, August 3. Work will take place on U.S. Highway 89 south of Moran Junction between Triangle X Ranch and Elk Ranch Flats, as well as a small work zone at a pullout just south of the Jackson Hole Airport. Travelers should expect up to 30-minute delays. Road work will begin at approximately 8 a.m. and last until 2 p.m.

A traditional cattle drive is also taking place early Saturday morning between Elk Ranch Flats and east of Moran Junction on U.S. Highway 26/89/191. The road will be temporarily closed to vehicle traffic between approximately 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. for the cattle drive.

To avoid travel delays, motorists may choose to use an alternate route and drive the Teton Park Road between Jackson Lake Junction and Moose Junction. Road work is weather and temperature dependent.

Travelers are advised to drive slowly and maintain the recommended speed limit on chip seal pavement to reduce the risk of debris damaging cars or windshields. Visitors can expect temporary delays and reduced speed limits in these mobile construction zones.

In addition to the pavement preservation work, the final phase of emergency repairs related to the June 2017 washout of the Gros Ventre Road will occur late this summer. Work is expected to begin in mid-August and continue into November. Traffic delays associated with the Gros Ventre Road repair project will be limited to 15 minutes between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The work will focus on realigning the road to restore the original 45 m.p.h. speed limit and replacing the concrete barriers with a guardrail. Additional stream bank armoring will occur upstream and downstream from the work that was completed in the fall of 2017.

Travelers can call the park road information line at 307-739-3682 or visit the park’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to get information about road work locations in the park.



Jeff
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Remains of 2015 Yellowstone River drowning victim found and identified

The remains of Feiyang “Isaac” Xiang, a 21-year-old male from China who likely drowned in 2015, have been found and positively identified. Xiang, a seasonal concessionaire employee in Yellowstone, was last seen being swept down the Yellowstone River in the northern section of the park on Thursday, July 23, 2015. A large and extensive search for Xiang ensued aided by several dog teams, dozens of ground searchers, and helicopter teams. Search efforts did not turn up any sign of Xiang.

In February 2018, staff discovered human bones in the vicinity of the 2015 drowning site. Law enforcement officers collected the remains and sent them to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for DNA testing. In June 2019, the park received confirmation that the remains were of Xiang.

Yellowstone National Park law enforcement officers have stayed in touch with Xiang’s family since the incident. When the remains were positively identified, staff notified the family. In July 2019, Xiang’s family returned to the park and collected his remains. They have since returned to China.

Yellowstone National Park worked with many agencies and individuals during the search and investigation and would like to thank all of them.



Jeff
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Two Trail Projects Announced for Grand Teton National Park

The Grand Teton National Park Foundation just announced two trail projects that will definitely be of interest to hikers and backpackers. In their July Newsletter, published yesterday, the Grand Teton friends group announced that the Tribal Youth Corps and Youth Conservation Program are currently working together to build a new section of trail near Grand View Point. The announcement states that the "new route will connect the existing one to a new parking lot at Bug Canyon, just down the road from Jackson Lake Lodge". This new trail appears to significantly shorten the existing route to Grand View Point, a little known and underrated destination within the park that offers outstanding views of the entire Teton Range (see photo below). For more information on this project, please click here.

The Foundation also announced that they will be spurring a major restoration effort along the Teton Crest Trail next summer. The announcement states that the "Foundation is currently seeking support to fund improvements along this iconic footpath in two particular places — Hurricane Pass and Paintbrush Divide". It continues by stating that "Decades of use along the trail, coupled with natural erosion processes at high elevation, have led to deteriorating trail conditions that necessitate repair and improvement." For more information on this project, and to help support it, please click here.



Jeff
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