An Associate Press article mentioning us is making its way through local and national newspapers. Although we are extremely excited about this, some are suggesting that we didn't consider the well being of Yellowstone's visitors, or wildlife, when creating our application. They suggest that our users will increase traffic, harass wildlife (indirectly,) and make it more difficult for rangers to perform their duties.This simply isn't true, as all of this was taken into consideration before begining development.

Because of the very limited cell service in Yellowstone, the application has to store all posted sightings until a reasonable amount of service is regained. This means a user may post a sighting at 1:00pm, but it not be automatically uploaded until 1:45pm. The same is true when an application user is trying to download sightings posted by others. Even though the application works seemlessly when without service, new content cannot be shared unless the device has connectivity. This provides just enough delay to ensure a large number of people won't be rushing to the most recent sighting location.

The safety of Yellowstone visitors is our top concern, followed very closely by the safety of Yellowstone's wildlife. We wouldn't ever knowingly develop, or share, anything that would put either at risk. The "YNP Wildlife" application is a tool that greatly enhances the Yellowstone experience, but not at the expense of others or wildlife.