Grizzly Mauls Two Hikers Near Old Faithful as Yellowstone Backs $100 Foreign Fee

Two big Yellowstone stories landed this week that Montana outdoor users will want on their radar — a serious grizzly mauling near Old Faithful and the park superintendent’s full-throated endorsement of a steep new entry fee for international visitors.

Hiker Stumbles on Bloody Hat, Finds Mauling Victim Near Old Faithful

A Monday hike near Old Faithful turned into a rescue effort when Craig Lerman came across a blood-soaked hat on the trail and then found one of two hikers who had been mauled by a grizzly. Both victims were airlifted out of Yellowstone to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

Investigators haven’t released a full account yet, but early indications from the scene point to a sow defending a cub — a classic case of hikers ending up between a mother grizzly and her offspring at the wrong moment. Lerman stayed with one of the injured men until rangers arrived. The victim had managed to dial 911 himself before Lerman took over the call on his own phone, since the first phone was covered in blood.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the hospital had not released an update on either victim’s condition.

For Montana hikers heading into Yellowstone country this spring — or anywhere in grizzly habitat across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Bob Marshall, the Cabinets, or the Mission Mountains — this is the season when sows with new cubs are especially defensive. Standard precautions apply: hike in groups, make noise on blind corners, carry bear spray where you can actually reach it, and know how to use it.

Yellowstone Superintendent Calls New $100 Foreign Visitor Fee “Fantastic”

Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly is on board with a new $100-per-day, per-person entry fee for non-U.S. residents visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Sholly’s reasoning is straightforward: the parks need money. Eighty percent of fee revenue stays in the park, and Yellowstone has a long backlog of infrastructure and maintenance needs after years of record visitation. Sholly also made the point that American taxpayers already fund the parks, so it makes sense for foreign visitors to pay more at the gate than U.S. citizens do.

For Montanans, the fee structure is worth understanding heading into summer. If you’re driving in from Gardiner, West Yellowstone, Cooke City, or any of the other Montana-side gateways, the new fee doesn’t apply to you — it’s aimed at international tourists. But it could meaningfully affect the visitor mix and crowding patterns at popular spots like the Lamar Valley, Mammoth, and the Northeast Entrance corridor that Montana wildlife watchers use heavily.

Whether the fee actually thins out the summer crush at Old Faithful and the Grand Loop, or whether international visitors simply absorb the cost, will be one of the storylines to watch this season.

Original reporting by Andrew Rossi for Cowboy State Daily.