Hold onto your hat the next time you’re in Yellowstone National Park or it could become a part of the Yellowstone geology team’s growing collection.

With more than 300 retrieved, estimated to be worth more than $6,000, the hats are just part of an array of litter they’ve gathered so far in 2025, according to a recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey observatory.

As part of Yellowstone’s Geology Program, the crew remediates, studies and protects the park’s geology and hydrothermal features.

Hydrothermal area cleanup is one of the main jobs for the team, and the crew has collected more than 13,000 pieces of trash and 4,000 rocks and sticks to go along with the plethora of hats so far this year.

In doing so, they’ve traveled 1,300 miles of trails and boardwalks on foot and have driv

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