The world’s largest active geyser roared back life in Yellowstone National Park last week.

Based on temperature and seismic data from the Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone officials confirmed that Steamboat Geyser erupted at 5:30 a.m. Thursday.

But because most of the park’s roads are closed because of spring plowing, park officials said nobody witnessed Steamboat going off.

Later on Thursday, park employees saw a steam plume billowing from the geyser, and on Friday geologists caught the steam on video. As of Monday at 3 p.m., the steam plume was still visible.

Steamboat Geyser is the world’s largest active geyser, but it only erupts sporadically and it is impossible for geologists to pinpoint when it will go off. Since May 2000, there have only been 10 eruptions. Before Thursday, the last eruption was on Sept. 3, 2014.

Geysers are constricted hot springs that erupt as the water heats up. Steamboat’s major eruptions can shoot steam to heights of 300 to 400 feet.

By comparison, steam from Yellowstone’s world-renowned Old Faithful Geyser, which erupts like clockwork more than a dozen times daily, averages 130 feet in height.

When I was 12 years old and my cousin Jimmy was 10 years old, we were visiting our grandparents in Blackfoot. My grandfather Andersen had built a screened-in porch with a closet that contained all his hunting and fishing equipment onto the back of his house.

Jimmy and I were pretty curious kids, so we opened the closet to see what was in it. We found an old .30-40 Krag Jorgensen rifle, like the ones used in the Spanish American War.

We really wanted to look at that rifle, but we knew from our own training that we had to ask Grandpa if we could get it out and look at it.

We asked him if we could see it and were gently scolded for getting into the closet, then complimented for coming to him and asking if we could look at the old rifle.

My grandfather knew that both Jimmy and I had been trained by our fathers to handle and shoot firearms safely, and he wanted to see what we had learned, so he took us back to the closet and instructed me to get the rifle out of the closet.

I carefully lifted the old firearm out and immediately opened the bolt without a cartridge being ejected and opened the side-mounted magazine to check for cartridges. Then I stuck my little finger into the breech to make sure that the rifle was unloaded. Satisfied that the rifle was indeed unloaded, I examined it carefully, keeping it pointed up, then handed it to Jimmy to look at.

My grandfather was pleased but not surprised that we knew how to handle firearms and didn’t miss a trick, even though we were really excited to see that rifle.

He winked at me and asked, “Why did you check to see if it was loaded? Don’t you trust me?” I explained to him that I did trust him, but if I hadn’t checked first to make sure it wasn’t loaded, my father would have ruined the rest of my day with a lecture.

I have thought about that experience and other similar experiences I had growing up. Not all adults in the 1950s kept their firearms locked up. It was common for people to keep their guns in closets or under the bed or even in accessible gun racks hanging on the wall in the house.

My friends and I were at least as curious as children today are. However, my brother and sisters and I, as well as most of my friends, lived in homes with guns, and we had been taught to handle guns safely with parental supervision. If we had not, the stage would have been set for someone to get hurt.

Today, there doesn’t seem to be as many really knowledgeable parents teaching children to handle firearms responsibly.

In 1988, the National Rifle Association introduced the Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program to teach children through kindergarten to “Stop. Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell An Adult,” if they see a gun. The program has since been presented to 28 million children in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. The Eddie Eagle program was updated in 2015 and its purpose is still focused on the safety of children if they see a gun.

The Eddie Eagle Program has been a big success in teaching children that guns can be dangerous in the wrong hands and that they need adult supervision when handling firearms.

By itself, the Eddie Eagle Program doesn’t go far enough in teaching gun safety to children. The program needs to be supplemented by adult supervision in handling and shooting firearms. The program doesn’t remove the curiosity of children, it only teaches them, “Stop. Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell An Adult.” In other words, it teaches children to fear firearms and to run away and tell an adult.

If the curiosity of children about firearms isn’t addressed, those children will get a little older and eventually give in to the curiosity. Before that occurs, children need to be taught by a knowledgeable adult exactly what a firearm is, how they work and the safe handling, and they should be given the opportunity to shoot firearms. As a child’s curiosity is replaced by knowledge and experience, their confidence, skill and a respect for firearm safety practices will be instilled.

Smokey Merkley was raised in Idaho and has been hunting since he was 10 years old. He was a member of the faculty of Texas A&M University for 25 years. There he taught orienteering, marksmanship, self-defense, fencing, scuba diving and boxing. He was among the first DPS-certified Texas Concealed Handgun Instructors. He can be contacted at mokeydo41245@hotmail.com.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A man who chained himself to a concrete-filled barrel in an effort to prevent trucks from hauling Yellowstone National Park bison to slaughter has pleaded guilty.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports Joshua Rivera, of Clifton, Colorado, pleaded guilty Monday to trespassing and interfering with a government employee. He and another man were arrested Friday after they chained themselves to 55-gallon (208-liter) barrels in an attempt to block a road in Yellowstone.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported the men belong to the group Wild Buffalo Defense. The group’s spokesman, Monty Slate, said the protest delayed a shipment of bison for a few hours before another path was cleared.

Bison are shipped to slaughter each year as part of a population management plan for the park.

Rivera’s co-defendant has pleaded not guilty.

___

Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com

Two snowmobilers became stranded Thursday night after the ice they were riding their snowmobile on collapsed and their sled sank into Island Park Reservoir.

According to authorities, a 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman from Idaho Falls had been riding their snowmobile from their cabin near Shotgun to Lakeside Lodge when the accident occurred.

As the couple rode along the south shoreline of the Island Park Reservoir, the ice broke underneath them, sinking their sled.

“The two individuals made it to the bank and were able to call the sheriff’s office for help,” Fremont Search and Rescue secretary Eric Thomas said.

Fremont Search and Rescue and Fremont County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene.

“One search member made it within 25 yards of the stranded individuals, but he was unable to go any further due to the danger of the snow under his sled sliding into the reservoir,” Thomas said. “The two subjects were instructed to walk east along the trees staying back from the bank.”

Rescuers made it to the stranded couple. They were later taken back to base where they were examined and released by Island Park EMS.

A search-and-rescue team member gave the couple a ride back to their cabin. Their names have not been released.

Thomas warned that the Island Park Reservoir is not stable enough for snowmobiles.

“The warm weather we received this last week has made the ice very thin in places,” he said. “The new snow we received over the last couple of days has hidden the slush sitting on top of ice.”

Thomas also warned that anybody who tries to snowmobile on the thin ice may wind up in the freezing reservoir water.

“After spending a few minutes in the water and the cold air temperature — once you get out, (the) deadly combination can quickly lead to hypothermia,” he said. “Another danger is the windblown cornices that have formed on the west and south banks in the reservoir and rivers.”

An earlier snowmobile crash that injured a man occurred at approximately 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at Egan Basin in Franklin County.

According to a report from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Lanell Thomas had been maneuvering over some moguls near the Pig Chutes area of Egan Basin when he landed extremely hard.

The landing threw Thomas into the handlebars hard enough to bend them.

Todd Flippence, who was riding with Thomas, called for help.

Franklin County Search and Rescue responded to the scene and stabilized Thomas, who suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. Search and rescue personnel transported Thomas to an air ambulance that airlifted him to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah.

Lisa Dayley Smith of the Rexburg Standard Journal and Necia P. Seamons of the Preston Citizen contributed to this story.

Are you an adult who would like to learn how to hunt but you don’t know where to start and don’t have anyone to show you how? Maybe you hunted before as a kid, but you really need some help to get started up again. That makes you the perfect candidate for an upcoming Idaho Wildavore class sponsored by Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Southeast Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Pocatello Trap Club.

An Idaho Wildavore is someone who likes to connect the mountains to their meals through hunting and fishing activities, and this next class will teach adults with little to no hunting experience just how to do that through turkey hunting.

A two-day turkey hunting workshop will be held the evening of April 5 and then again all day April 7.

Participants will learn about turkey biology, habitat needs, turkey management, hunting techniques and ethics, types of gear, shotgun handling and shooting, field dressing a turkey, meat care and so much more. There will even be mentored turkey hunts offered later in the spring for at least 20 workshop participants who have completed the two-day class and have earned their hunter education certification.

Workshop participants will need to provide basic gear and clothing appropriate for turkey hunting in spring weather conditions; however, Idaho Fish and Game will provide the shotgun and ammunition for the mentored hunt.

Cost of the workshop is $25 per person plus the cost of purchasing a turkey license and tag. An online hunter education course or independent study workbook must be completed before purchasing a license and tag for the mentored hunts later in the spring. For the online course option and field day, the cost is $33. Or, if you prefer the independent study workbook option with field day, the total cost is $8. The field day will be scheduled specifically for workshop participants at a later time.

The ideal candidate for this Idaho Wildavore turkey workshop has never hunted before (or has very little hunting experience) and does not have access to experienced hunting mentors. Those who apply must also be at least 18 years of age.

For more information or to submit an application for the Idaho Wildavore turkey workshop, call Tessa Atwood at the Fish and Game office in Pocatello at 208-232-4703 or email her at tessa.atwood@idfg.idaho.gov. Space is limited.

Through the Idaho Wildavore program, Idaho Fish and Game hopes to help connect an untapped user group to conservation through the important role of hunting. It is Fish and Game’s desire to see workshop graduates leave with the basic knowledge and experience to continue hunting on their own, and even introduce the tradition to friends and family.

Jennifer Jackson is the Regional Conservation Educator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Southeast Region.

Granted, hunting an animal that weighs upward of 2,000 pounds and is renowned for its ill temper and bad attitude, the hunter entails a few risks. I accepted that when I signed up for the cape buffalo hunt in remote Zambia in Africa.

What I didn’t sign up for was dealing with grass fires swept by gusting winds and stalking in on a herd of buffalo in tall grass only to be roared at by two lions hunting the same herd. The roars were close enough to make the hair stand up on my neck.

I bought the Zambia cape buffalo hunt at a major conservation fundraiser. I liked the idea that the money went to a good cause, and if successful we would deliver half of the buffalo to two different tribal chieftains who controlled the southeast half of the million-acre Kufe hunting concession area. The hunt would be conducted in one of Africa’s truly wild places.

Wild was right. Flames and smoke swept across miles and miles of grasslands and forest. High winds carried burning embers causing fires to hopscotch across the landscape. Animals moved out ahead of the fires. We moved out ahead of the fires. Once surrounded by fire, we drove to a pond, parked and wondered if we would have to submerge if the fires got worse.

This year, the annual grass burning done by tribes for centuries was delayed because of late rains. The fires are set to burn off old vegetation so new vegetation can sprout through feeding herds of antelope. I had expected to hunt in broken open glades burned off by earlier fires, but we were faced with a sea of grass taller than our heads.

To avoid the fires, the buffalo moved into dense woodlands during the day. The quick-moving hot fires blew over the woodlands that were still green and then died out. Four of five days we followed tracks into the thick tangled woodlands. Only once did I have an opportunity at a shot. A massive bull was 25 yards away in dark shadows, with a screen of brush covering most of his body. All that was visible was the glint of light off his eye. The PH whispered for me to shoot him an inch above the eye. Just as I got the 2 power crosshairs on him, he was gone.

LIONS IN THE WIND

The next morning, we found a herd of 35 to 40 buffalo at dawn. We followed their weavings in and out of the brush and high grass for an hour. We could see the grass move as they passed us not 40 yards away up wind. A horn here, gray skin there. This was going to be our best chance. Then the lions roared.

Lions were also hunting this herd and got our scent. We were between them and dinner and they didn’t like it. The roar was like a physical blow. Immediately we were huddled together, back-to-back rifles ready. We did not want to be the dinner of the day for the lions or trampled by buffalo. Thankfully, the buffalo galloped away and the lions disappeared with them. A lot of bad things could have happened quickly.

There is a classic Africa hunting book titled “Death in The Tall Grass.” I always thought it was a catchy title. Now I know what it means. Buffalo and lion in the tall grass are a double whammy.

Back at camp, we discussed the bad luck. Bad luck, said the PH, come with me I will show you bad luck. He took me to a chain-linked area where they let their trophies dry.

Four of the biggest sable antelope skulls and horns I have ever seen were scattered around it. Sables are regal and majestic antelope and renown for their courage to fight even lions when attacked. Hunts for them are closely controlled and monitored. The tribal fee alone to shoot one is $7,000. The remains of four magnificent animals laid before us. They had been poached and their meat dried for the jerky trade and the skulls discarded. Their meat would bring the individual poacher maybe $25 to $50. Tribal wardens were hunting the poachers. Grimed-faced and carrying 1950s era AK-15s, a team of five wardens were on rotating 10-day foot patrols looking for the poachers.

The next day, I took a mature bull as it came out of a densely brushed area into the open. If you have not experienced the ear deafening concussion of a truly big-bore rifle without ear protection, don’t volunteer. After my three shots with a 416 and the PH’s one shot with his 500 nitro, my ears were ringing for three days.

OFF TO SEE THE TRIBAL CHIEFTAINS

The hunting crew halved the buffalo with axes and saws. Efficient but brutal, they had the job done in 30 minutes. We wrenched each half of the buffalo into the truck and off we went headed four hours deeper into the interior to deliver buffalo meat. The local hunting staff got all the intestines, which are considered the “desert of the buffalo.” Without phones, there was no way to call ahead. The village didn’t have electricity or refrigeration. We had to hustle before the meat spoiled.

We drove through a maze of animal trails and then on to a dirt road and into the village. The chief was in and called a group of young men to carry their half of the buffalo to the butchery to be stripped and hung for jerky. A jovial man, he introduced us to several of his wives ranging in age from 14 to 60. He wanted us to stay and sample fresh-made beer before resting for the night. We still had another half-buffalo to deliver.

Each chieftain proudly showed me the motorcycle the outfitter Mohamed Bhagoo had bought for his village wildlife patrol officers. It was the only motorized vehicle in either village and gas was hauled in. Part of the government lease/concession agreement with the outfitter requires them to provide for poaching patrol and direct village assistance. That money comes directly from hunting proceeds. The hunting area had not been leased for the past several years and the tribes did not receive any compensation, and poaching had increased significantly. Now both tribes and concession operator were working to eliminate poaching and preserve the magnificent antelope, buffalo and big cats.

Last week was Part I of a two-part series on a Texas hog hunt. We closed as we were about to take Tony Schumacher out for an evening hog hunt, so we’ll pick up there.

At about 5:30 p.m., Dan ran down and threw out some corn by a pond. We slammed down dinner, and then Dan, Clint, Tony and I headed to blind 115. Bill, Murray and Summer went hunting with pistols.

We set up a few hundred yards away and were waiting on the Slow Glow to illuminate. It’s an ingenious invention. Here’s how it works — it is an LED light and is motion-activated. When an animal comes in, it slowly illuminates and is at full power in two minutes.

We held tight for a couple hours, and then Clint and Dan slipped down to see what was going on. They returned with the report. A big group of hogs must have come in right after Dan baited the hole because there was not one kernel of corn left. We then hit a couple other spots, but Tony had to leave before midnight because of three school kids he had to get lined up the next morning.

As usual, I’ll lose track of the sequence of events, especially because the Slow Glow guys had me up until 3 every morning! One group of hogs were coming in at the high blind and they wanted me to use a rifle there. So I carried a 30-06 Mossberg Patriot Revere tipped off with a Leupold 3Xi 4-14×50 and loaded up with Hornady 165-grain SST.

By the time we climbed up in the blind, they were already feeding. They spooked but soon came back. I took my time and then I touched off a round. The hog didn’t run far.

After that it was a flurry of fast-paced stalks. They had some unique tricks. They’d throw corn along the edge of a pond. That way cows and deer couldn’t eat it. When hogs come in feeding, they make a ton of noise snorkeling for the corn. It sounds like an army of carp feeding.

We had one secluded pond and when we stalked in, they had already fed and were laid up 50 yards away sleeping. We could hear them over there grunting. Ugh, I wish we had brought Bill’s Fox Pro with the hog calls.

The next night we snuck in on the same spot and there were 30 hogs feeding. But it’s hard to sneak in on 60 eyeballs without them seeing you so they busted us and took off, nearly trampling a poor raccoon in the process.

We were doing multiple stalks each night. Hunting with a Slow Glow is great. It allows you to hunt 24 hours a day and you actually have to play the wind just like on a normal stalk. If you sneak in behind the light you can get super close, which provides for an intense hunt.

The next day it was all or nothing with the Benjamin Pioneer Airbow. I told Clint I had to get a hog with it. For broadheads, I was using a Wasp hammer. It’s a stout broadhead and would penetrate a hog.

We went back to blind 115, which is the one we took Tony to. This time we were going to play it a little different. We set up an Ameristep Throwdown blind across the pond under a willow tree. We further concealed the blind with brush. Then we sprinkled corn along the pond.

We went back to camp and ate dinner and then headed back to hunt. We slipped into the blind before dark because we weren’t sure if they were coming in early. The sun started dropping and the shadows grew longer. Before long it was dark and still no hogs.

Then we heard a hog or two squeal off in the brush across the county road. Then another one or two grunting. This time we had brought Bill’s Fox Pro. Clint turned on the feeding hog sounds and not two minutes later hogs started pouring over the dam of the pond and scurrying in to feed.

Clint filmed them a minute and pretty soon gave the thumbs up. There was a big boar in back I wanted but there were always two or three other hogs feeding in front of him. Finally, a shot presented itself.

I touched the trigger and an arrow arced out at 440 feet per second. It hit him so hard that he flipped over. Pretty soon he flipped into the pond and was thrashing around. We waited a minute to let him bleed out but surprisingly he jumped up and took off. We went over to check out things. The arrow had passed through and stuck on the dam. Wow, talk about some power.

There was a good blood trail. Should be an easy track.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge says lawsuits from environmentalists and American Indians who want to restore protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears can move forward.

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen on Tuesday denied a request by the Interior Department to put the lawsuits on hold.

Attorneys for the agency had argued they needed time to review last year’s decision to lift protections for the animals.

Advocates for restoring protections said a delay would have hurt their efforts to stop a proposed grizzly hunt in Wyoming this fall.

The hunt would allow up to 24 bears to be killed. It would be the first legal grizzly harvest in the Lower 48 in more than 40 years.

About 700 grizzlies live in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

BOISE — Josue Daniel Alfaro, also known as Danny Alfaro, also known as the “Great Outdoors Bandit,” 32, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced recently in United States District Court to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for bank robbery and attempted bank robbery.

Chief United States District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Alfaro to pay $31,216 in restitution to the six victim banks and to forfeit $28,930 in unrecovered cash proceeds and $2,826 in recovered cash proceeds. Previously, on December 20, 2017, Alfaro pleaded guilty to Counts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 of the indictment.

According to the plea agreement, Alfaro admitted to robbing and attempting to rob, the following banks on the following dates and in the following amounts:

-On December 21, 2016, the U.S. Bank at 10500 West Overland Road in Boise, Idaho for $3,174;

-On December 21, 2016, the Idaho Central Credit Union at 1615 South Celebration Avenue in Meridian, Idaho for $2,100;

-On March 24, 2017, the Bank of the West at 9140 West Emerald Street in Boise, Idaho for $3,469; 

-On May 24, 2017, the Alpine Credit Union at 351 East 800 South in Orem, Utah for $12,736;

-On August 7, 2017, the Bank of the West at 9140 West Emerald Street in Boise, Idaho. Attempted robbery, no loss; 

-On August 7, 2017, the Pioneer Federal Credit Union at 850 East Fairview Avenue in Meridian, Idaho for $9,637;

-On August 7, 2017, the Clarity Federal Credit Union at 555 South Meridian Road in Meridian, Idaho for $100.

According to the plea agreement, for each of the robberies, Alfaro obscured his face with a baseball cap and black sunglasses. He provided the tellers with notes demanding money. One of the notes, provided to the Idaho Central Credit Union on December 21, demanded $40,000 in large bills. Another note, provided to the Bank of the West on March 24, stated: “Give me money or I will shoot the teller next to you.” Yet another note, provided to the Pioneer Federal Credit Union on August 7, stated: “give me all of your hundred dollar bills, I have a gun.”

In total, Alfaro robbed $31,216 from the six banks and credit unions, whose deposits were federally insured.

According to the plea agreement, on August 13, 2017, Alfaro was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport attempting to board an international flight to Brussels, Belgium. In his carry-on bag, Alfaro possessed $2,826 in cash that he obtained from the robberies.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Boise, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles field offices), the Boise Police Department, and the Meridian Police Department.

The National Park Service has issued the following statement regarding the first sightings of bear at Yellowstone National Park this year: 

The first grizzly bear sightings of 2018 occurred in Yellowstone National Park last week. On Tuesday, March 6, staff observed an 11-year-old male grizzly bear wearing a radio collar in the west-central part of the park. On Wednesday, March 7, employees reported seeing a grizzly bear in the east-central part of the park.

Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in mid-to-late March. Females with cubs emerge later, in April to early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter. Sometimes, bears will react aggressively while feeding on carcasses.

All of Yellowstone National Park is bear country: from the deepest backcountry to the boardwalks around Old Faithful. Your safety cannot be guaranteed, but you can play an active role in protecting yourself and the bears people come here to enjoy by following these guidelines:

Prepare for a bear encounter.

Carry bear spray, know how to use it, and make sure it’s accessible.

Stay alert.

Hike or ski in groups of three or more, stay on maintained trails, and make noise. Avoid hiking at dusk, dawn, or at night.

Do not run if you encounter a bear.

Stay 100 yards away from black and grizzly bears. Use binoculars, a telescope, or telephoto lens to get a closer look.

Store food, garbage, barbecue grills, and other attractants in hard-sided vehicles or bear-proof food storage boxes.

Report bear sightings and encounters to a park ranger immediately.

Learn more about bear safety.

“Many Yellowstone visitors are deeply passionate about the conservation of park bears,” says Kerry Gunther, the park’s bear management specialist. “Reducing human-bear conflicts by preventing bears from obtaining food and garbage, hiking in groups of three or more people, carrying bear spray, and making noise in blind spots on the trail are the best way for visitors to protect bears while recreating in the park.”

While firearms are allowed in the park, the discharge of a firearm by visitors is a violation of park regulations. Bear spray has proven effective in deterring bears defending cubs and food sources. It can also reduce the number of bears killed by people in self-defense.