25 Wyo-based cars derail near Bozeman

BOZEMAN, Mont. - Twenty-five cars of a Montana Rail Link train derailed in a canyon about five miles east of Bozeman, Mont., Saturday morning.

Rail Link spokeswoman Lynda Frost says 24 of the 25 cars spilled coal. Some coal spilled into Trail Creek and railway officials have notified the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The derailed cars were part of a 115-car train that originated in Spring Creek, Wyo., and was destined for Centralia, Wash.

Frost says the derailed cars, made of aluminum, were destroyed. Front-end loaders were being used to remove the coal.

Frost says no injuries were reported in the 4:30 a.m. derailment and the cause is being investigated. The main line is expected to reopen at 7 a.m. today.

New visitor center planned for Yellowstone

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - Groundbreaking for a new, $27 million Old Faithful Visitor Education Center at Yellowstone National Park is set for May.

The two-story, 26,000 square foot structure will be built on the site of the small, outdated visitor center that was demolished last summer. A temporary visitor center is in place while construction is under way.

The new facility is expected to open to the public by the fall of 2010 and serve 2.6 million visitors every year.

It will feature new exhibits and host new programs to help visitors understand and appreciate geysers, hot springs, and other hydrothermal features in Yellowstone. The building will also contain an auditorium, research library, multipurpose classroom, and educational bookstore.

Construction of new Old Faithful visitor center set for May.

Game and Fish captures third orphan cougar kitten

JACKSON - Wildlife managers have captured the last of three kittens that became orphaned when their mother died in northwest Wyoming.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials caught the kitten around 3 p.m. Friday after a resident called in to report the cat.

Game and Fish spokesman Mark Gocke said the mountain lion appeared weakened and pretty thin.

The kitten will join its two siblings who were captured earlier in the Jackson Hole area, and all three kittens eventually will go to a zoo in Wahpeton, N.D.

Officials said the kittens are thought to be less than six months old and likely would have died if left to fend for themselves.