Most native Montanans and those who choose to move here share a notable trait: They value an outdoor lifestyle, a clean environment and public land more than the residents of any intermountain state, according to a recent poll.

That was just one of the findings of the fifth Conservation in the West poll, a survey of 2,400 voters in six Western states sponsored by Colorado College. The states are Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

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Kyle Ploehn is an artist, illustrator and writer living in Billings Montana. He likes to spend the few hours he isn't painting hiking the mountains of Montana. 

The Coming Storm by Kyle Ploehn. Original 16x32 Digital Painting.

The Coming Storm is a painting in which I explore the tragic tale of the great american buffalo and their decline into near extinction. The last of his kind cries tears of blood for the violence that befell a once great nation of beasts, roaming unconquered across the great plains.

Having grown up with Yellowstone National Park in my backyard (It was a regular trip in my younger years), I saw buffalo quite regularly. They seemed as common as deer and elk, so I was surprised and deeply affected when we were taught of their near annihilation in school. The image of thundering grasslands full of these ancient, giant creatures slowly disappearing until only a one remained haunted me. I painted this image as ode to the lost buffalo and a revering for those few that remain.

Canvas Prints of 16x32 are available for $250, 6x12 poster prints matted to 11x14 are available for $45. Contact me at [email protected], if you're interested in purchasing a print or visit my website http://kyleploehnart.blogspot.com

Blame the relatively mild winter weather for the early emergence of bears in the Greater Yellowstone Area.

The first confirmed report of grizzly bear activity in Yellowstone occurred on Monday. A grizzly bear was observed late in the afternoon, scavenging on a bison carcass in the central portion of the park.

With bears emerging from hibernation, hikers, skiers and snowshoers are advised to stay in groups of three or more, make noise on the trail and carry bear spray. The same advice goes for those taking guided snowmobile trips in Yellowstone.

Bears begin looking for food soon after they emerge from their dens. They are attracted to elk and bison that have died during the winter. Carcasses are an important enough food source that bears will sometimes react aggressively when surprised while feeding on them.

Updated bear safety information is available at www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/bearsafety.htm and in the park newspaper distributed at all park entrances.

Yellowstone also implements seasonal bear management area closures to reduce encounters between bears and humans in areas where elk and bison carcasses are in high density. A listing of these closures can be found at www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/bearclosures.htm.

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