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Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fixing Yellowstone: How an intact ecosystem set the stage for a wolf queen's long reign
On four separate occasions, Wolf 907F seized power as the alpha female leader of the Junction Butte Pack in Yellowstone National Park. (National Park Service file photo courtesy of Jeremy SundeRaj/Yellowstone National Park) This is the third installment of Howl, a five-part written series and podcast season produced in partnership between the Idaho Capital Sun, States Newsroom and Boise State Public Radio. Read the first installment, Carter's Hope, and the second installment, River of No Return, at YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYO. – Sitting in an old-growth spruce fir forest, Doug Smith says he can see first-hand the impact of reintroducing wolves on the larger ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park. Long before Yellowstone became the world's first national park in 1872, wolves thrived in the U.S. Rocky Mountains. But early Yellowstone rangers killed off the last of the park's wolves by 1926. By the late 1930s, the federal government had basically eradicated all the wolves in the American West. That fundamentally changed the ecosystem, as far as Smith is concerned. 'To me it was just pretty scenery because it wasn't ecologically vibrant,' Smith said. Then, in 1995, the U.S. government reintroduced wolves to Idaho and Yellowstone using wolves captured in Canada. Smith helped bring them back to the park and was in charge of Yellowstone's wolf project for nearly 30 years until he retired in 2022. 'Yellowstone is a very different place, with and without wolves,' Smith said. 'Wolves definitely have changed this landscape with the help of other predators,' he added. 'It's very different.' Many of the changes have to do with the wolves' status as an apex predator, at the top of the food chain. With the loss of wolves and the decline of other predators like cougar and grizzly bears, elk populations surged, Smith said. Without the threat of wolves throughout much of the 20th century, the elk devoured woody vegetation in Yellowstone, like willows and stands of white bark Aspen trees. When wolves were reintroduced, they preyed on elk, which reduced the number of elk and put pressure on the remaining animals to keep moving and not graze as long or as heavily in one place. 'I go to willow stands and aspen stands now that I was in 30 years ago, and literally, every single stem was eaten by an elk, and it was at the level of your knee,' Smith said. 'And now I go in those stands, and you can lose your partner in them in regrowth of vegetation within 10 feet.' Scientists debate an effect called the trophic cascade, which deals with how ecosystems are constructed and describes the cascading impact a predator has on its prey further down the food chain. 'Why it's interesting is when European settlers moved across North America, they killed all the predators,' Smith said. 'So you've really disrupted this process of a trophic cascade.' Smith said the debate over the effects of the trophic cascade gets complicated – quickly. He himself falls somewhere in the middle when it comes to buying into the impact and intensity of the effect. But as Smith backpacked near Cache Creek in the northern section of Yellowstone, he said the impact of wolves and other predators is easy to spot. 'You guys don't have to be ecologists to see all these Aspen are young,' Smith said. 'Within a few years – and, man, give them 20 or 30 (years) – you're going to have a forest here, and we're going to be standing in the shade. Totally different ballgame, and I think that's restoring balance to the ecosystem.' When vegetation grows back, as the aspen and willows grow tall, that impacts things like beaver populations, which Smith has documented, and even songbirds. The big picture for Smith? Wolves restored balance that was missing from Yellowstone's ecosystem when the predators were absent. 'It's a nice story, too,' Smith said. 'We ruined Yellowstone. We're fixing it by bringing back the top carnivores, most notably wolves.' For even more information about the impact wolf reintroduction had on the larger ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park, check out Episode 3 of the Howl podcast. During Episode 3 we hike into Yellowstone's backcountry to see the changes in the ecosystem. And we take a deeper dive into the trophic cascade with Doug Smith, who headed up Yellowstone's wolf program for nearly 30 years. Truth be told, most Yellowstone visitors have likely never heard of the trophic cascade or deeply considered the wolves' impact on the food chain and the larger ecosystem. But like the ecosystem, wolves have a powerful effect on many people, too. Reintroducing wolves also attracted a new crop of tourists hoping to see a wolf in the wild. And that has had a cascading effect on the local economy. Wolf-watching tourism has an estimated $80 million total economic impact on the communities surrounding Yellowstone National Park. Any visitor to the wolves' stronghold in the park, the Lamar Valley, can see the impact in the many tourists dotting hillsides looking through binoculars and spotting scopes hoping to spot canis lupus in the wild. And one wolf, in particular, fascinated wolf watchers for longer than almost any other. Even from a great distance, the old wolf's large size and limp gave her identity away. Gray, with a black nose, white legs, a cream-colored belly and a black spot near the base of her tail, wolf 907F stood out from the pack. 907's physical scars told the silent story of the struggles wolves endure fighting for control of the rugged Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park. Aside from a limp in her front paw, 907 was missing her left eye, the result of an injury park officials first noticed in 2017. 'Whatever tragedy, setback or loss she has, she just keeps on moving forward,' said Rick McIntyre, a retired Yellowstone National Park ranger and author who has studied 907's pack since it formed. 'Nothing (stops her) – not health problems, getting beat up by a rival, the loss of her mother, the loss of her father, loss of pups,' McIntyre said. Nobody in the world has seen more wolves in the wild than McIntyre. He started working at Yellowstone in 1994 as an interpretive wolf ranger and documented his 100,000th wolf sighting in 2019. Because he has 30 years of experience documenting wolves on a nearly daily basis, it takes a lot for a wolf to stand out to McIntyre. But 907 accomplished something rare. She was able to rise to the rank of alpha female four separate times and control one of the largest wolf packs ever documented in Yellowstone. And while she was at it, 907 gave birth to more litters of pups than any wolf ever studied in Yellowstone and outlasted her rivals long enough to grow old in the wild. In 2024, 907 turned 11 years old and continued to lead hunts for bison and elk as the oldest wolf in the national park. By comparison, the average wolf lives for about three or four years in Yellowstone, McIntyre said. Even pet dogs that sleep indoors, receive veterinary care and have a bowl of food waiting for them twice a day don't always make it to 11. Because of her longevity and the fact that researchers put a radio collar on her when she was a pup, Yellowstone biologists and wolf watchers were able to study 907 so closely for so long that there are detailed numbers and statistics documenting much of her life. For her to reach the age of 11, 907 had to defend her territory from rival wolves and endure 10 snowy, freezing Wyoming winters. She had to fight for most of her meals – sometimes getting kicked in the head by 2,000-pound bison and sent flying through the air. Her stats are a snapshot of the turbulent life wild wolves face. Throughout her life, Yellowstone National Park staff watched 907 participate in 566 hunts. Most of the time she chased bison (281 hunts) or elk (239 times). She was successful 33 times, or in about 6% of the hunts that park officials documented. Yellowstone officials once watched 907 and the Junction Butte Pack endure 12 days without finding anything to eat – only for the pack to triumphantly bring down a bull elk on empty stomachs. When it comes to numbers, the biggest impact 907 may have had was building up the bloodline of Yellowstone wolves. In 2024, at the age of 11, she produced her 10th litter of pups. That is the most for any wolf in 30 years of wolf research at Yellowstone National Park. 'With her being 11 years old and having new pups that would be somewhat similar to a woman in her mid 80s having kids,' McIntyre said. Numbers even tell the story of how 907 got her name. When Yellowstone officials captured 907 and placed a radio collar around her neck in 2013, she got collar No. 907. Each collar has a unique number to help identify and tell the wolves apart. Biologists use the 'F' in 907F to designate her as female, but many people simply called her 907. The collar allowed park officials to keep close tabs on 907 for more than a decade. Many of the numbers and statistics about 907 can be found online in the 2024 Yellowstone Wolf, Cougar and Elk Project annual report, as well as previous yearly wolf reports. Wolf 907 and the Junction Butte Pack's territory spanned mountains, valleys and creeks within an area called the Lamar Valley, which is in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park on the Wyoming-Montana border. It's one of the centers of wildlife activity in the park. For years, 907 dug her den into a hillside covered by a mix of sagebrush and conifer trees overlooking Slough Creek, where 907 and her pack hunted bison and elk. On a chilly July morning in 2024, the creek meandered through a giant meadow below the den, where bison wallowed as the morning sun crested the nearby mountain peaks. The den was a mile or more from the closest road, near the top of a diagonal section of forest. Toward the left side of the forest, barely visible to the naked eye from more than a mile away, stood four small clusters of conifer trees. At the base of one of the trees, near a patch of light colored dirt, 907 wrestled with two pups, one gray and one black Unbeknownst to 907, she was often the object of attention from afar. And on that morning in July a handful of people with high-powered scopes were watching her every move. One of the wolf watchers was Laurie Lyman, a schoolteacher originally from California. Lyman became interested in wolves after realizing that third and fourth graders became more interested in learning about continents if Lyman described the animals that lived there. One year, Lyman received a copy of Jim Dutcher's 1997 Emmy Award-winning documentary 'Wolves at Our Door,' which Lyman and her students promptly fell in love with. Something about wolves – how they live in packs that function like a family, where all of the wolves help raise the pups, contribute to hunting and share food – made an immediate impression on Lyman. Within wolf packs, including 907's own Junction Butte Pack, biologists have even documented one wolf raising another wolf's pups. One spring, 907 had a litter of eight pups. Other female members of the Junction Butte Pack who lost their own litters helped 907 raise her large litter – even taking turns nursing the pups. Before reintroduction, Lyman was fascinated by the ways the members of wolf packs worked together to take care of each other. But wolves had been absent from the landscape in the U.S. Rocky Mountains for her entire life, and Lyman assumed she would never see a wolf in the wild. That's how wolf reintroduction changed Lyman's life. After wolves were reintroduced in 1995, Lyman started hearing about people seeing wild wolves again and she made a trip to see what it was all about. 'When they released them into Yellowstone, when they started to see them, it was incredible, and that was the changing point in my life,' Lyman said. Lyman retired from teaching in 2005 and bought a house in Montana just outside of Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance to be closer to wolves. She became friends with then-Yellowstone Ranger Rick McIntyre and purchased a spotting scope. And for the past 20 years, Lyman has been watching wolves and documenting her sightings online at Now, she thinks of wolves and wolf packs a lot like students and classrooms. 'It's very similar to actually teaching my kids, watching the wolves out,' Lyman said. 'It's like watching a recess. Because you have the adults sleeping. And you have the yearlings playing. And you have the pups and it's very much like kids in a sandbox, kids playing soccer. And then the older kids sitting in the lunch center talking.' 'My thing is getting to know them on an individual basis, so that I can easily recognize them,' Lyman added. Thanks to their notes and years of daily field observations, McIntyre and Lyman have major details of 907's life documented. Even as a pup, 907 didn't have it easy. She was born in 2013, the second year of the Junction Butte Pack's existence. Before the year was over, 907's mother died or disappeared, McIntyre said. About that same time, 907's father, wolf 911, took off, returning to the original wolf pack that he had been born into. 'In human terms, you could say that she was orphaned,' McIntyre said. 'However, she was raised by the pack, raised by the family.' After she became an adult, 907 fought with her twin sister, wolf 969, for control of the Junction Butte Pack. The two sisters regularly pinned each other to the ground and bit at each other, Lyman said. 'And they went back and forth several times on who had the alpha female position,' McIntyre said. '907 would have it for a while, the sister would take it away from her and then 907 would get it back.' In 2017, 907 had a litter of pups and made her den in a remote location away from the rest of the Junction Butte Pack. Park officials and wolf watchers noticed that the other adults in the pack stayed away from the den and didn't appear to bring food to 907 or her pups. In May, 907 returned to the pack, but her pups had died. 'And to make it worse, while she was desperately trying to save her pups, her sister at the time, 969, took advantage of that situation to seize the alpha position,' McIntyre said. 'And when 907 rejoined the pack after losing all of her pups, she was beaten up by her sister and relegated to a very lowly position in the pack.' 'Everything that year was against her,' McIntyre said. Even though she was relegated to a subordinate role, 907 didn't leave the pack. 'She just has this ability to keep on moving forward, rather than dwelling on the past, dwelling on how unfair life has been,' McIntyre said. During the 2019-20 winter, the Junction Butte Pack experienced a bloody leadership shakeup. The female wolves aggressively drove 969 – 907's sister and rival – out of the pack. Wolf 969 survived her initial expulsion, but park officials noticed she appeared to be in poor physical condition. A few weeks after her exile, 969 encountered the Junction Butte Pack again one January night, leading to a fight. 'The next morning 969F was seen with injuries and she died later that day,' officials wrote in the Yellowstone Wolf Project's 2020 annual report. 'Her injuries were caused by other wolves and she weighed only 33 kilograms (73 pounds).' Even after her sister and closest rival was killed, 907 continued to face challenges from rival female wolves. First, it was her sister's daughter, wolf 1382, who became a problem for 907. Then wolf 1262 took over as the pack's alpha female. Finally it was wolf 1276. But after 1276 was last seen alive in October 2023, 907 again took her crown as the Junction Butte Pack's alpha female. 'And this is her fourth term as alpha female, meaning that she lost it three times,' McIntyre said. 'And in those cases, it was either to a sister or a niece. So she's had a lot of hard times in her life, and she's always been able to fight back and prevail.' From 2016 to 2024, 907 claimed the rank of alpha female four separate times. And she gave birth to pups every spring from 2015 to 2024. For those reasons, Lyman views 907 as the stabilizing force in the Junction Butte Pack and one of her favorite wolves of all time. 'She would just put her head down and walk into the wind no matter what adversity came to her,' Lyman said. Despite her long rivalry with her sister, it turns out 907's greatest threat came from outside her own pack. It was just before Christmas 2024 when 907 made her last stand. During the final few weeks of 2024, the Junction Butte Pack left the invisible, unfenced boundary of Yellowstone National Park and entered Montana, where hunting season was underway. From Dec. 17 through Dec. 19, hunters legally killed two other adult members of the Junction Butte Pack outside of the park, Yellowstone officials wrote. After the shootings, 907 and some of the surviving members of the Junction Butte Pack returned to their home territory in the Lamar Valley inside of Yellowstone. But the Junction Butte Pack's numbers were reduced. Lyman said there were only six other wolves with 907 when the final battle went down – and one or two of them may have been pups. A much larger force of 19 wolves from a different wolf pack, the Rescue Creek Pack, ambushed 907 and the Junction Butte Pack on Dec. 22 after wolf watchers spotted the diminished Junction Butte Pack feeding on an animal carcass. The attack occurred at night. Lyman wasn't there, but she received a phone call from a friend who was. 'She was filming and her camera lights things up so she could see things pretty well,' Lyman said. 'She called me and she said, 'You know, it's over. They got her.'' The radio collar 907 was wearing was designed to enter mortality mode and emit a unique signal after several hours passed without any movement from the wolf. Officials didn't detect a mortality signal from 907 until about three days after the attack, Lyman said. Lyman was heartbroken thinking about 907 suffering at the end. It may be impossible to know exactly what went down in the dark woods after the Rescue Creek Pack advanced on 907 and the Junction Butte Pack. But this much seems certain. 907 went out fighting. She died fighting a larger, rival wolf pack that had attacked her and the Junction Butte Pack – the family she lived with her entire life with. No other members of the Junction Butte Pack died in the attack from the Rescue Creek wolves. That means 907's pack, including some of her pups and nieces, lived on without her. Strange as it sounds, Lyman takes comfort in that. Despite the sadness, people like Lyman were happy that 907 lived and died naturally, as wolves did before humans became a factor. At least 907 wasn't shot by hunters, like 15 other members of the Junction Butte Pack who were killed when they strayed outside of the park's boundaries, Lyman said. The same week 907 died, her counterpart, the alpha male of the Junction Butte Pack, was killed by a poacher. The alpha male, who did not have a number or a radio collar, was killed Dec. 24, while the wolf was outside of Yellowstone National Park, in Montana. After living to be the fifth-oldest wolf ever recorded in Yellowstone and having more litters of pups than any Yellowstone wolf since the species was reintroduced 30 years ago, 907 went out fighting. 'This is a wolf in the wild, and this is what wolves do,' Lyman said. 'They're wired to rise to the top to survive, and this is what they have to do to do it.' 'She just did what she had to do to make sure that her pack survived,' Lyman said. 'So to me, she is a key to the Junctions surviving until now. And her legacy is in those three females that are left there in the pack.' That's one of the gifts of a wolf, Lyman said. 'Just like a regular family does, you pass down what you know and help them learn to survive. And she really did that.' Idaho Capital Sun, like the Capital is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@ Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. homeless population drops again. And yes, there's reason for hope
For nearly two decades, an official count confirmed what all of us could see: more and more people living on sidewalks, streets and other marginal spaces all over Los Angeles County. So it felt like only good news this week when the county's homeless agency announced a 4% decline in the homeless population and a 10% decline in those living in the street. To go a bit deeper than the numbers, I got hold of my colleague, Doug Smith. A deep thinker who's covered every big story in L.A., Doug has become The Times' foremost expert on homelessness. Here's what the essential Doug Smith had to say: What did you make of the latest figures? I expected it. I drive around a lot, as does [City Hall reporter] Dave Zahniser. We both have seen the difference made by [the city's] Inside Safe and [the county's] Pathway Home programs. Many of the largest encampments have been eliminated. Should we be hopeful that L.A. is finally tackling this problem? The [city and county] programs are very expensive and are barely two years old. The big question is how much more they will be able to expand, or even maintain the number of hotel and motel beds they now have. Does Mayor Karen Bass, or any other individual or group, deserve credit for this decline? She does, but she's not the only one. One of the most important initiatives is Housing for Health, a program created by L.A. County Department of Health Services when Mitch Katz was running it. It targets frequent users of the public health system. Judge Carter has forced the county to create 3,000 new mental health beds (still in the works). [California Community Foundation Chief Executive] Miguel Santana is now on the newly-created housing board that will be Proposition HHH on steroids. Janey Rountree at the California Policy Lab at UCLA has done more than anyone else to make usable information out of the oozing mash of data coming out of homeless services agencies and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. What are a few things that will be needed to keep moving people off the street? We are finally, mercifully, moving beyond the ideology of 'Housing First' as the one and only solution. The system has improved, but is still stuck in the binary thinking of interim vs. permanent housing. When you visit encampments, you quickly identify people for whom neither of those is the right first step. Some need detox and drug treatment, some long-term mental health treatment and some jail. The first two are woefully scarce, so they tend to all end up in jail. There are several valiant private enterprises out there trying to figure out a conventional financing model to build affordable housing. I hope they figure it out. Is there anything the average Angeleno can do? They can pat themselves on the back already for doubling the sales tax. Even if the recent trend continues, it's going to be a long way to 'Problem solved!' Try to be equally empathetic with the people living on the street and the people whose houses and businesses they live in front of. Finally, don't be too harsh in judging those in positions of responsibility who have made only incremental progress. Yes, they're imperfect. But all they have is local levers to budge a problem that has macro social and economic causes. The 2025 Emmy nominations have been announced. The best comedy category is stacked, with fan favorites including 'Abbott Elementary' and 'The Bear.' Who should win? Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. On July 17, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew continued their historic journey to the moon, which launched from NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. the day before. On July 20, two of its astronauts became the first people to step on the surface of the moon. For the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, The Times measured the mission by heartbeat. Jim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
New York Times
14-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Fauja Singh, Master Runner at an Advanced Age, Is Dead
In the space of four days in 2011, Fauja Singh, a native of India who lived in greater London and claimed to be 100 at the time, delivered the most stirring performances ever for a runner of his ascribed age. On Oct. 13 that year, at a meet in Toronto, he set eight world records for the 95-plus age group in events ranging from 100 meters to 5,000 meters, or 3.1 miles. Doug Smith, the co-chair of Ontario Masters Athletics, called it the 'most astonishing achievement' he had ever witnessed. 'He rested between the events by sitting down and having a few sips of tea,' Mr. Smith said in an interview for this obituary in 2017. 'He was actually running — both feet off the ground. He was amazing.' Three days after the track meet, Mr. Singh performed yet another rousing feat. He became the first reputed centenarian to complete a race of 26.2 miles by finishing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8 hours 25 minutes 16 seconds. His actual running time was 8:11:05, but in the throng of runners, it took him 14 minutes to reach the start. There were two complications. Mr. Singh received assistance in crossing the finish line, statisticians said. More troubling, he had a passport but could not produce a birth certificate for race officials or Guinness World Records to verify the authenticity of his achievements. Mr. Singh died on Monday, his startling accomplishments of 2011 both celebrated and unconfirmed. He was hit by a car while on his daily walk in his home village of Beas Pind in the Punjab region of India and died in a hospital, his former coach, Harmander Singh (no relation), said in a phone interview from London. He had returned to India to live during the pandemic. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Scotsman
03-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
National insurance burden ‘life or death' for Scottish firms as hiring and investment frozen
'These survey results highlight major concerns and challenges for Scottish businesses as a direct result of rising costs' – Doug Smith, SCC Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scottish businesses across all sectors are feeling the strain of April's 'life or death' hike in employer national insurance payments, putting growth plans on hold, a key study today warns. The survey of more than 400 firms north of the Border found that while confidence and sales have actually improved over the past quarter, ongoing cost pressures and concerns continue to impact growth and investment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The latest Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) quarterly economic indicator, which is produced in partnership with the University of Strathclyde's Fraser of Allander Institute, found that taxation concerns have risen sharply in the past year, with 70 per cent of businesses citing increased worries regarding taxes, compared to 50 per cent in the second quarter of 2024. A worker's payslip showing details of their employer's national insurance contributions. The SCC's report also highlights 'significant challenges' around cashflow and profits, despite positive sales trends across the board. On balance, both cashflow and profits have seen contraction over the second quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, the number of firms expecting to raise their prices during the coming quarter has risen to 65 per cent, compared to 50 per cent a year ago. Pressure from labour costs has risen by 15 per cent in one year. Nearly nine in ten - 86 per cent - of firms were experiencing increased pressure from labour costs during the most recent three-month period, compared to 75 per cent for the same quarter last year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The latest poll also showed staff hiring had stalled, as more than half of all firms - 55 per cent - reported no changes to staff levels and 65 per cent expect no change in the next quarter. Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC). Doug Smith, vice president of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and chairman of the SCC Economic Advisory Group, said: 'The latest findings paint a troubling picture: investment is frozen, employment is stagnating and concerns are growing around taxation at a time of economic uncertainty around tariffs, immigration, tax and general fiscal policy. 'These survey results highlight major concerns and challenges for Scottish businesses as a direct result of rising costs, particularly the increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs). Every obstacle to sustaining cashflow and profits has a direct impact on confidence, investment, growth and jobs across all sectors.' He added: 'The lack of skills is a real challenge not just in meeting the demand of future projects but also in completing current and day-to-day work. We need a clearer focus from both governments on matching education to the needs of business.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The survey was conducted between May 12 and June 9 and 405 firms responded. Combined, those companies employ in the region of 50,000 people. Of those firms, 92 per cent were classed as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - businesses with less than 250 people. The latest economic indicator was reinforced by insights from the Scottish Economic Advisory Group, which raised concerns around skills shortages in sectors such as construction, engineering and manufacturing, alongside the 'misalignment of education priorities with the practical needs of business'. The group also emphasised the intense cost pressures of NICs - described as 'life or death' for microbusinesses, and particularly tough for SMEs - as well as increased taxation, and energy costs significantly higher than the rest of Europe. The group claimed that it has proven 'nigh on impossible to recruit in construction, and businesses are struggling to maintain labour forces to meet demand'. Fiona McKee, founder of The HR Practice, said: 'It is increasingly difficult to recruit skilled workers, and salary expectations are unrealistic, pushing costs up on top of employer NICs.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The issue of tariffs was also raised by businesses with overall taxation concerns increasing again over the quarter and over the year. Survey fieldwork began a month after Donald Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day', which saw the US president unveil new tariffs on imports. In the report, one small manufacturing firm in Ayrshire noted: 'At the moment they are 10 per cent on our products. Should they be any higher it could be a serious problem.' Barriers Liz Cameron, chief executive of the SCC, said: 'While agreements have been reached between the US and UK governments to remove barriers, we urge ongoing cooperation and collaboration to rebuild business confidence and restore certainty. 'The new agreements with the EU and India are pragmatic moves towards building strong trading relationships with our economic partners. These will reduce costs, cut red tape and make it easier for Scottish businesses to compete and grow across the world. However, more still needs to be done on people and migration to attract skilled talent, with a migration system aligned with the needs of Scotland's economy.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Professor Mairi Spowage, director of the Fraser of Allander Institute, added: 'Economic conditions remain challenging across the UK as we go into the summer months. After healthy growth in January and February, we have seen contractions in March and April, which means the size of the economy in Scotland is essentially the same as it was six months ago. 'Businesses reported a slowdown of activities in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. This decline in activity may reflect the impact of increases to employer national insurance contributions (NICs) as well as uncertain conditions, particularly from trade and tariff decisions taken by the US government.
The Wire
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Wire
WHITEWATER CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN ASIA-PACIFIC AT IAAPA EXPO ASIA 2025 IN SHANGHAI
The World's Leading Water Park Manufacture and Designer Celebrates Regional Milestone with Project Openings, Innovation Showcases, and Full-Service Support for APAC Clients. SHANGHAI, June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As IAAPA Expo Asia 2025 opens in Shanghai, WhiteWater proudly celebrates its 40th Anniversary in the Asia-Pacific region. With this year's show brings the industry together in our APAC office home city, WhiteWater seizes the moment to unveil bold new attractions, showcase world firsts, and reaffirm WhiteWater's role as both a global leader and a trusted local partner. CELEBRATING 40 YEARS IN APAC: GLOBAL INSIGHTS WITH LOCAL EXPERTISE 2025 marks WhiteWater's 40th year in Asia-Pacific—a milestone that reflects not just the company's legacy, but its evolution alongside a rapidly maturing industry. WhiteWater remains the first and only international supplier with a full-service office in the region. Its local team—on the ground throughout the entire region—ensures clients get the best of both worlds: agile, culturally attuned support with world-class technical know-how in safety, design, and operations. "For the past 40 years, WhiteWater has been privileged to work alongside visionary developers and operators from across Asia-Pacific. We celebrate our anniversary in the region thanking the hundreds of parks who've trusted our expertise to deliver amazing experiences for every guest," said Doug Smith, Global Head of Sales at WhiteWater. "Together, with our clients, we've transformed skylines, built iconic rides which earn rave reviews, and most importantly, created fun memories for millions of families." Read more about our iconic 40 years in APAC and see what our partners said here. NEW LANDMARKS OPNINGS ACROSS APAC From China to New Zealand, WhiteWater's new openings this year highlight the quality, scale and diversity of the aquatic entertainment WhiteWater consistently delivers. • Water World at Shanghai L+SNOW Indoor Skiing Resort in Shanghai, China has officially opened its outdoor water park, following the success of its indoor debut. Designed and supplied by WhiteWater, the new landmark water park will further support the world's largest indoor ski facility to enhance Lingang's reputation as a leading cultural and tourism destination in China. • Dream Space Water Park in Chongqing, China opened in June as the city's largest water park. Featuring entirely WhiteWater attractions, the park features 40 slides, a 36-meter Double Wave Pool, AquaCourse 180, and the world's largest aquatic play structure, FusionFortress 17. • In New Zealand, H2O Xtream in Upper Hutt unveiled three thrilling AquaTubes, expanding its municipal offerings with high-energy appeal. Meanwhile, WhiteWater is continuing to support renewals and expansions for some of the most well-known brands across the region: • Water World at Ocean Park Hong Kong is enhancing guest comfort and safety by adding Life Floor to its indoor play areas. • The 9-times Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice #1 Water Park in Asia Waterbom Bali has three new kids' slides that will open this year, following the launch of a Mini Boomerango earlier in the season. • Australia's beloved Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast will feature 4 new slides opening later this year supplied by WhiteWater again. WORLD'S FIRST ATTRACTIONS THAT REDEFINE GUEST EXPERIENCES At IAAPA Expo Asia 2025, WhiteWater is spotlighting global product breakthroughs that will inspire APAC operators to think bigger. • A patented lateral drift attraction and the world's first Wall Runner water slide, opened at Soaky Mountain Waterpark in the U.S. Showcasing a gravity-defying ride path and intense banking turns, Wall Runner delivers a sensation like no other—giving guests the thrill of drifting sideways across a sweeping wall. • Brazil's Beach Park is now home to the world's tallest Master Blaster, combining heart-pounding mega drops, uphill blast, and AquaLucent effects for an electrifying ride with unforgettable visuals. • At Bavarian Inn's Bavarian Blast in Michigan, the largest indoor water park in the state invites guests to race side-by-side on the world's first inner tube Parallel Pursuit. Set within an immersive German theme, the park features 16 WhiteWater slides tailored for high throughput and family fun. LOOKING AHEAD: A FUTURE BUILT ON PARTNERSHIP AND INNOVATION With more projects on the horizon and evolving guest expectations, WhiteWater's APAC team stands ready to co-create the next icons that stand out and succeed. "Our future is anchored in partnership," said Onno Meeter, President of Water Parks at WhiteWater. "Whether launching a first-time attraction or elevating a world-famous brand, we're here to provide unmatched local excellence and global insight. That's what 40 years in APAC has taught us; and that's what we'll continue to deliver." WhiteWater's full-service APAC team can be found at booths #1422 and #1322, ready to share insights, explore new opportunities, and celebrate four decades of collaboration and innovation in the region. About WhiteWater WhiteWater was born in 1980 with one clear purpose, to create places where families unite and make joyful lasting memories. We achieve this by standing alongside our customers from concept to completion of award-winning attractions, from slides to water rides and everything in between. We aim to inspire our clients by unleashing our creativity to realize their ambitions; we craft solutions which make each park unique. We are dedicated to making products that operators can count on, because we understand the importance of reliability and efficiency on the bottom line. As market leaders, we put our success down to our attitude, in all our years we've never once forgotten why we're here – to help parks solve problems, create immersive experiences, and delight guests all over the world. We're here to create places where fun can thrive. (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). This is an auto-published feed from PTI with no editorial input from The Wire.
