Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Investigations into mechanisms of resource partitioning are particularly suited to systems where nascent interactive behaviors are observable. Wolf (Canis lupus) recolonization of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem provided such a system, and we were able to identify behaviors influencing the partitioning of resources by coyotes (Canis latrans) and wolves. We observed coyote-wolf interactions immediately after wolf recolonization, when reemergent behaviors mediating the outcome of competitive interactions were detectable and mechanisms of spatial avoidance were identifiable. Although coyotes used the same space as wolves, they likely minimized risk of encounter by making adaptive changes in resource selection based on perception of wolf activity and potential scavenging opportunities. When exploiting carrion subsidies (i.e., wolf-killed ungulates), coyotes relied on social behaviors (i.e., numerical advantage in concert with heightened aggression) to mitigate escalating risk from wolves and increase resource-holding potential. By adapting behaviors to fluctuating risk, coyotes might reduce the amplitude of competitive asymmetries. We concluded coyotes do not perceive wolves as a threat requiring generalized spatial avoidance. Rather, the threat of aggressive interactions with wolves is spatially discrete and primarily contained to areas adjacent to carrion resources.

Climate change is likely to alter wildfire regimes, but the magnitude and timing of potential climate-driven changes in regional fire regimes are not well understood. We considered how the occurrence, size, and spatial location of large fires might respond to climate projections in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) (Wyoming), a large wildland ecosystem dominated by conifer forests and characterized by infrequent, high-severity fire. We developed a suite of statistical models that related monthly climate data (1972–1999) to the occurrence and size of fires >200 ha in the northern Rocky Mountains; these models were cross-validated and then used with downscaled (∼12 km × 12 km) climate projections from three global climate models to predict fire occurrence and area burned in the GYE through 2099. All models predicted substantial increases in fire by midcentury, with fire rotation (the time to burn an area equal to the landscape area) reduced to <30 y from the historical 100...

The bison (Bison bison) of the Yellowstone ecosystem, USA, exemplify the difficulty of conserving large mammals that migrate across the boundaries of conservation areas. Bison are infected with brucellosis (Brucella abortus) and their seasonal movements can expose livestock to infection. Yellowstone National Park has embarked on a program of adaptive management of bison, which requires a model that assimilates data to support management decisions. We constructed a Bayesian state‐space model to reveal the influence of brucellosis on the Yellowstone bison population. A frequency‐dependent model of brucellosis transmission was superior to a density‐dependent model in predicting out‐of‐sample observations of horizontal transmission probability. A mixture model including both transmission mechanisms converged on frequency dependence. Conditional on the frequency‐dependent model, brucellosis median transmission rate was 1.87 yr−1. The median of the posterior distribution of the basic repr...

for reviewing this document. This document was requested, reviewed, and endorsed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). Significant portions of this document were drawn with permission from the North East Black Bear Technical Committee's 2012 document, An Evaluation of Black Bear Management Options (Hurst et al. 2012), which in turn drew upon several state and provincial black bear management plans across North America. We express our gratitude to all fellow bear managers in North America for their willingness to share this valuable information.

Cinderella species' is a term that has been used for over a decade to describe a number of promising economic plants, including many tree species. These are supposed to be like the girl in the children's fairy tale of the same name, who appeared ordinary, but with a magic spell from the fairy godmother, was transformed into something of great beauty to behold. However, maybe those of us who continue to use the term would be wise to read to the end of the story….

Future climate projections of warming, drying, and increased weather variability indicate that conventional agricultural and production practices within the Northern Great Plains (NGP) will become less sustainable, both ecologically and economically. As a result, the livelihoods of people that rely on these lands will be adversely impacted. This is especially true for Native American communities, who were relegated to reservations where the land is often vast but marginal and non-tribal operators have an outsized role in food production. In addition, NGP lands are expected to warm and dry disproportionately relative to the rest of the United States. It is therefore critical to identify models of sustainable land management that can improve ecological function and socio-economic outcomes for NGP communities, all while increasing resilience to a rapidly changing climate. Efforts led by Native American Nations to restore North American Plains bison (Bison bison bison) to tribal lands c...

This dissertation evaluates how lakes respond to changes in their environmental and climatic settings. This dissertation consists of two lake modeling projects and the environmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions of four lakes in southwestern Montana. Lakes and their associated biological communities respond to environmental and climatic change on rapid timescales. Lake modeling and lake core stratigraphies are complementary tools for exploration of how lakes and their biota respond to environmental or climatic perturbations. In one modeling approach for exploring these issues, a simple hydro-climatological lake model was developed that classifies lake sensitivity to climatic perturbations based upon lake area, catchment area, precipitation, and evapotranspiration. Using simple ratios of these commonly measured parameters the model classifies lakes into three domains: ephemeral, sensitive to vegetation change, and permanent. The lakes that plot within the sensitive to vegetation change domain should show water balance fluctuations in response to environmental change, and these lakes would make good targets for paleoclimatic studies. Diatom records from four lakes, Crevice Lake, Foy Lake, Morrison Lake, and Reservoir Lake, in southwestern Montana provide late-Holocene (past 3000 years) records of environmental and climatic variability. The lakes show similarities in the timing of major changes in the fossil diatom assemblages, suggesting regional climate forcings. Spectral analysis of the lake-core records suggest periodic fluctuations at spectral frequencies that are characteristic of oceanic influence on climate, such as the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The Crevice Lake core diatom record shows three distinctive diatom communities during the approximately the last 1000 years. The model DYRESM-CAEDYM was used in an inverse modeling approach to provide a means to estimate climate variables during these three stages. The model estimates of climate variables during the Medieval Period, the Little Ice Age, and the 20 th century, include incoming shortwave radiation, cloud cover, vapor pressure, and wind speed. The model results suggests that changes in spring seasonality, when the climate variables differ the most, is more important in affecting diatom community composition than total deviations from modern averages. iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my wonderful husband, Mike, whose support and laughter kept me sane throughout this entire process. Also, to my parents, Gary and Vicki Bracht, who have never questioned my dreams, or career choice.

Elk (Cervus elaphus) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem alter patterns of aggregation, habitat selection, vigilance, and foraging in the presence of wolves (Canis lupus). Antipredator behaviors like these can reduce predation risk but are also likely to carry costs. Data from five elk populations studied for 16 site years showed that progesterone concentrations (from 1489 fecal samples) declined with the ratio of elk to wolves. In turn, progesterone concentrations were a good predictor of calf recruitment in the subsequent year. Together, these data suggest that wolves indirectly affect the reproductive physiology and the demography of elk through the costs of antipredator behavior.

Future climate projections of warming, drying, and increased weather variability indicate that conventional agricultural and production practices within the Northern Great Plains (NGP) will become less sustainable, both ecologically and economically. As a result, the livelihoods of people that rely on these lands will be adversely impacted. This is especially true for Native American communities, who were relegated to reservations where the land is often vast but marginal and non-tribal operators have an outsized role in food production. In addition, NGP lands are expected to warm and dry disproportionately relative to the rest of the United States. It is therefore critical to identify models of sustainable land management that can improve ecological function and socio-economic outcomes for NGP communities, all while increasing resilience to a rapidly changing climate. Efforts led by Native American Nations to restore North American Plains bison (Bison bison bison) to tribal lands c...

Climate, fire frequency and intensity, and forest structure and development are strongly linked, and predicting potential changes in carbon storage depends on understanding these links. However, we lack the ability to make robust predictions about how changes in climate will alter these interactions and change the carbon balance of a landscape. Forests contain as much as 80% of the total carbon stored aboveground and 40% of that stored belowground in terrestrial ecosystems (Dixon et al. 1994, Harmon 2001). Disturbances such as fires or insect outbreaks - controlled largely by climate - may shift a forested area from a net sink to a net source of carbon to the atmosphere, and increasing the frequency of large disturbances may affect the global carbon budget. Complex interactions among climate, disturbance regimes, and stand-level ecosystem processes, however, preclude predicting the importance of climate change for forest landscapes.

Written for the U.S. Forest Service as a Society for Wilderness Stewardship wilderness fellow in 2017 following months of research.

Thunder echoes from a steep, gray headwall towering over a timbered alpine lake 8,000 feet above sea level. A hot summer day culminates in flashes of lightning that repeatedly strike the exposed ridge-a storm fueled by the northern extreme edge of the North American monsoon-a continental force that occasionally brings summer thunderstorms rolling across Mexico and the Southwest United States, up the Rockies, dipping into Montana. This is just one of the many ways that the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness is a point of transition.

Written for the U.S. Forest Service as a Society for Wilderness Stewardship wilderness fellow in 2017 following months of research.

The shrill "meep" of a tiny, brown pika emerges from a boulder field of shimmering white granite, streaked with silver, pink, and grey, pouring into a sapphire alpine lake 9,000 feet above sea level. A golden eagle soars above a nearby steep mountainside riddled with pockets of granite between which trees cling. The craggy summit of Gallatin Peak looms 2,000 feet higher-part of the crest of the Spanish Peaks, which continues to the northwest, losing elevation as it passes dozens of high lakes. Alpine turns to forest, giving way to the prairies of Cowboys Heaven, before plunging into an arid canyon over 2,000 feet deep, where the Madison River slices through the northwest terminus of the Madison Range. The depths of Bear Trap Canyon, home of rattlesnakes and moose, is separated from the heights of the Spanish Peaks by one of the greatest elevation gains in Montana-6,500 feet. This is just one corner of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, which preserves a large portion of an over 350,000-acre, nearly contiguous roadless area. The Wilderness includes a segment of the Madison River and the canyon through which it runs, a chunk of land bordering Yellowstone National Park’s northwest corner, and the 50-mile length of the Madison Range, one of the westernmost ranges in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The central Rocky Mountain region of North America lies at the biogeographic crossroads of the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Great Basin. Here, we examine genetic patterns in an abundant, widely distributed, and ecologically important rodent species, the long-tailed vole (Microtus longicaudus), across this climatically and tectonically dynamic landscape. We examine patterns of genetic diversity in relation to the species' overall phylogeographic distribution using mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences from modern, historic, ancient, and published samples. Our analyses reveal extensive genetic diversity in the central Rockies, a lack of population structure, and a lack of concordance between genetic and morphological subspecies distributions. Patterns of genetic variation in late-Holocene and modern populations are similar. We conclude that geographical features such as the Continental Divide, previously isolated glacial cover, and major rivers do not result in persistent genetic structure within the long-tailed vole. We also conclude that the central Rocky Mountain region is a zone of secondary contact for divergent mitochondrial lineages of the long-tailed vole.

Recognition of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem-lands that surround Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks-was hoped to facilitate regional sustainability. However, with over 30 federal, tribal, state, and local agencies; thousands of private businesses and landowners; over 175 non-government organizations; and more than 16 million users annually, the region has proven difficult to manage comprehensively. It is increasingly important to understand how local stakeholders perceive control over change and the responsible agents and actors. This is particularly important in amenity gateway communities where the relationship between public lands management and local community development have become increasingly complex in recent decades. Findings suggest that not only does community proximity and dependence on Yellowstone National Park and its policies influence perceptions of the actors and agents of change, but also perceptions directly influence how gateway communities address the challenges they face.

Future climate projections of warming, drying, and increased weather variability indicate that conventional agricultural and production practices within the Northern Great Plains (NGP) will become less sustainable, both ecologically and economically. As a result, the livelihoods of people that rely on these lands will be adversely impacted. This is especially true for Native American communities, who were relegated to reservations where the land is often vast but marginal and non-tribal operators have an outsized role in food production. In addition, NGP lands are expected to warm and dry disproportionately relative to the rest of the United States. It is therefore critical to identify models of sustainable land management that can improve ecological function and socio-economic outcomes for NGP communities, all while increasing resilience to a rapidly changing climate. Efforts led by Native American Nations to restore North American Plains bison (Bison bison bison) to tribal lands c...

Use of metapopulation modelling in conservation of threatened plants has been demonstrated in this article taking Paris polyphylla Smith as an example. The metapopulation data collected from Sikkim Himalaya over a period of four years were analysed using RAMAS Metapop 5.0 software. Demographic projection, assessment of extinction probability, population viability analysis, and analysis of impact of disturbance on the metapopulation were undertaken. The metapopulation had 11 populations of which seven were in continuous forest (CF) and four were in forest fragments (FF). All the analyses were done in two model scenarios, viz. base-model (M1) representing the disturbed condition, and alternate model (M2) representing the undisturbed condition for three distinct layers of P. polyphylla populations, i.e. CF, FF in isolation, and collectively as metapopulation. The outputs of the deterministic population models in respect of CF and FF populations revealed that both the populations had contribution of growth and survival of plants to such decline was greater than the fecundity in both the models. Stochastic simulations revealed an extinction risk of >10% in 100 years in M1 scenario, which put the species under vulnerable category. The extinction risk of metapopulation significantly varied between the two models (M1 = 0.85; M2 = 0.42), conforming the hypothesis that disturbance and forest fragmentation have detrimental effect on the persistence of P. polyphylla. Recovery of species was most promising when reproductive individuals were introduced to the M2 model. Thus, both introduction of individuals in the field and protection of the populations with emphasis on the reproductive subset would result in achieving minimum viable population size or low threat status of the species.

Past research indicates that whitebark pine seeds are a critical food source for Threatened grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). In recent decades, whitebark pine forests have declined markedly due to pine beetle infestation, invasive blister rust, and landscape-level fires. To date, no study has reliably estimated the contribution of whitebark pine seeds to the diets of grizzlies through time. We used stable isotope ratios (expressed as δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S values) measured in grizzly bear hair and their major food sources to estimate the diets of grizzlies sampled in Cooke City Basin, Montana. We found that stable isotope mixing models that included different combinations of stable isotope values for bears and their foods generated similar proportional dietary contributions. Estimates generated by our top model suggest that whitebark pine seeds (35±10%) and other plant foods (56±10%) were more important than meat (9±8%) to grizzly bears sampled ...

Future climate projections of warming, drying, and increased weather variability indicate that conventional agricultural and production practices within the Northern Great Plains (NGP) will become less sustainable, both ecologically and economically. As a result, the livelihoods of people that rely on these lands will be adversely impacted. This is especially true for Native American communities, who were relegated to reservations where the land is often vast but marginal and non-tribal operators have an outsized role in food production. In addition, NGP lands are expected to warm and dry disproportionately relative to the rest of the United States. It is therefore critical to identify models of sustainable land management that can improve ecological function and socio-economic outcomes for NGP communities, all while increasing resilience to a rapidly changing climate. Efforts led by Native American Nations to restore North American Plains bison (Bison bison bison) to tribal lands c...

The objectives of this study were: (1) to document spatial and temporal distributions of large woody debris (LWD) at watershed scales and investigate some of the controlling processes; and (2) to judge the potential for mapping LWD accumulations with airborne multispectral imagery. Field surveys were conducted on the Snake River, Soda Butte Creek, and Cache Creek in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA. The amount of woody debris per kilometer is highest in 2nd order streams, widely variable in 3rd and 4th order streams, and relatively low in the 6th order system. Floods led to increases in woody debris in 2nd order streams. Floods redistributed the wood in 3rd and 4th order streams, removing it from the channel and stranding it on bars, but appeared to generate little change in the total amount of wood throughout the channel system. The movement of woody debris suggests a system that is the reverse of most sediment transport systems in mountains. In 1st and 2nd order tributaries, the wood is too large to be moved and the system is transport-limited, with floods introducing new material through undercutting, but not removing wood through downstream transport. In the intermediate 3rd and 4th order channels, the system displays characteristics of dynamic equilibrium, where the channel is able remove the debris at approximately the same rate that it is introduced. The spatial distribution and quantity of wood in 3rd and 4th order reaches varies widely, however, as wood is alternatively stranded on gravel bars or moved downstream during periods of bar mobilization. In the 6th order and larger channels, the system becomes supply-limited, where almost all material in the main stream can be transported out of the central channel by normal stream flows and deposition occurs primarily on banks or in eddy pool environments. Attempts to map woody debris with 1-m resolution digital four-band imagery were generally unsuccessful, primarily because the imagery could not distinguish the narrow logs within a pixel from the surrounding sand and gravel background and due to problems in precisely coregistering imagery and field maps.

We examine the historical relationship between humans and wolves as illustrated through stories of North American Indigenous Peoples, especially the Great Plains and Intermountain West, exemplified by Cheyenne, Lakota, Blackfoot, Pawnee, and Shoshone peoples. Indigenous stories have not been employed in scholarly examinations of the origins of 'dogs'. These tribal peoples were tough and resilient and wanted companion animals as tough and resilient as themselves. All Plains tribes examined closely have stories that describe wolves as guides, protectors, or entities that directly taught or showed humans how to hunt after humans arrived in the Americas. Indigenous stories provide insights into the process of domestication of wolves, and such stories may indicate at what stage different peoples were in their relationship with wolves. There appears to have existed a reciprocal relationship in which both species provided food for each other or shared food. This is important because it is often assumed by scholars from the Eurocentric tradition that the first wolves associated with humans scavenged or hung around camps waiting for scraps; thus, from this perspective, the process of domestication began with wolves being dominated by humans. In contrast, we argue for a coevolutionary reciprocal relationship between Homo sapiens and Canis lupus that existed from the early days of tribes until at least the nineteenth century. Our results do not mean that many tribes lacked fully domesticated dogs that were not wolflike in phenotype, but that the process of domestication may have taken a different path than is generally assumed.

We examine the historical relationship between humans and wolves as illustrated through stories of North American Indigenous Peoples, especially the Great Plains and Intermountain West, exemplified by Cheyenne, Lakota, Blackfoot, Pawnee, and Shoshone peoples. Indigenous stories have not been employed in scholarly examinations of the origins of 'dogs'. These tribal peoples were tough and resilient and wanted companion animals as tough and resilient as themselves. All Plains tribes examined closely have stories that describe wolves as guides, protectors, or entities that directly taught or showed humans how to hunt after humans arrived in the Americas. Indigenous stories provide insights into the process of domestication of wolves, and such stories may indicate at what stage different peoples were in their relationship with wolves. There appears to have existed a reciprocal relationship in which both species provided food for each other or shared food. This is important because it is often assumed by scholars from the Eurocentric tradition that the first wolves associated with humans scavenged or hung around camps waiting for scraps; thus, from this perspective, the process of domestication began with wolves being dominated by humans. In contrast, we argue for a coevolutionary reciprocal relationship between Homo sapiens and Canis lupus that existed from the early days of tribes until at least the nineteenth century. Our results do not mean that many tribes lacked fully domesticated dogs that were not wolflike in phenotype, but that the process of domestication may have taken a different path than is generally assumed.

We conducted a systematic conservation assessment of the 10.8-million-ha Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), integrating three basic approaches to conservation planning: protecting special elements, representing environmental variation, and securing habitat for focal species (grizzly bear [ Ursus arctos ], wolf [ Canis lupus ], and wolverine [ Gulo gulo ]). Existing protected areas encompass 27% of the GYE but fail to capture many biological hotspots of the region or to represent all natural communities. Using a simulated annealing site-selection algorithm, combined with biological and environmental data based on a geographic information system and static (habitat suitability) and dynamic (population viability) modeling of focal species, we identified unprotected sites within the GYE that are biologically irreplaceable and vulnerable to degradation. Irreplaceability scores were assigned to 43 megasites (aggregations of planning units) on the basis of nine criteria corresponding to quantitative conservation goals. Expert opinion supplemented quantitative data in determining vulnerability scores. If all megasites were protected, the reserved area of the GYE would expand by 43% (to 70%) and increase protection of known occurrences of highly imperiled species by 71% (to 100%) and of all special elements by 62% (to 92%). These new reserves would also significantly increase representation of environmental variation and capture critical areas for focal species. The greatest gains would be achieved by protecting megasites scoring highest in irreplaceability and vulnerability. Protection of 15 high-priority megasites would expand reserved area by 22% and increase the overall achievement of goals by 30%. Protection of highly imperiled species and representation of geoclimatic classes would increase by 46% and 49%, respectively. Although conservation action must be somewhat opportunistic, our method aids decision-making by identifying areas that will contribute the most to explicit conservation goals.

Future climate projections of warming, drying, and increased weather variability indicate that conventional agricultural and production practices within the Northern Great Plains (NGP) will become less sustainable, both ecologically and economically. As a result, the livelihoods of people that rely on these lands will be adversely impacted. This is especially true for Native American communities, who were relegated to reservations where the land is often vast but marginal and non-tribal operators have an outsized role in food production. In addition, NGP lands are expected to warm and dry disproportionately relative to the rest of the United States. It is therefore critical to identify models of sustainable land management that can improve ecological function and socio-economic outcomes for NGP communities, all while increasing resilience to a rapidly changing climate. Efforts led by Native American Nations to restore North American Plains bison (Bison bison bison) to tribal lands c...

Flavobacteriosis poses a serious threat to wild and propagated fish stocks alike, accounting for more fish mortality in Michigan and its associated state fish hatcheries than all other pathogens combined. Although this consortium of fish diseases has primarily been attributed to Flavobacterium psychrophilum, F. columnare, and F. branchiophilum, herein we describe a diverse assemblage of Flavobacterium and Chryseobacterium spp. isolates recovered from diseased as well as apparently healthy wild, feral, and farmed fish of Michigan. Among 254 fish‐associated flavobacterial isolates recovered from 21 fish species during 2003–2010, 211 were identified as Flavobacterium spp., whereas 43 were identified as Chryseobacterium spp. according to ribosomal RNA partial gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Although F. psychrophilum and F. columnare were indeed associated with multiple fish mortality events, many previously uncharacterized flavobacteria were recovered from systemically infect...

Aim of the study: To analyze the recovery pattern of carbon pools in terms of size and the relative contribution of each pool to total ecosystem C along a fire chronosequence of tropical mixed pine-hardwood forest. Area of study: Las Joyas Research Station (LJRS), core zone of Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (SMBR) in the state of Jalisco, central western Mexico. Materials and methods: Carbon stored in aboveground plant biomass, standing dead trees, downed woody debris, forest floor, fine roots and mineral soil, was compared with a nested analysis of variance (ANOVA) in post-fire stands of eight-year-old, 28-and 60-year-old stands of mixed Pinus douglasiana-hardwood forest. Main results: The total ecosystem carbon in eight-year-old stands was 50% lower than that of 60-year-old stands. Carbon content in the biomass and mineral soil increased with stand age. The carbon in the biomass recovered to the undisturbed forest in the 28 years of suc cession. The main C storage in the eight-year-old stands were the mineral soil (64%) and downed woody debris (18%), while in the 28-and 60-year-old stands, live tree biomass and mineral soil were the two largest components of the total C pool (43% and 46%, respectively). Research highlights: We found a significant effect of high-severity fire events on ecosystem C storage and a shift in carbon distribution. The relatively fast recovery of C in ecosystem biomass suggests that mixed Pinus douglasiana hardwood forest possess functional traits that confer resilience to severe fire events.

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R ural areas in the American West are undergoing a dramatic transition in demography, economics, and ecosystems. Long known as the "Wild" West, the region has been characterized by low human population densities and vast tracts of unsettled or undeveloped land (Wilkinson 1993, Power 1998). For most of the 1900s, the population of many rural areas in the West grew very slowly or even decreased. Because local economies were based on natural resource industries such as mining, logging, farming, and ranching, many residents of the region considered conservation strategies on public lands detrimental to local economic development. Efforts to establish nature reserves and to preserve public lands from commercial development were seen as restricting the use of vital natural resources. In recent decades, parts of that Wild West have given way to the "New" West (Riebsame et al. 1997). People from throughout the United States have been migrating to the Rocky Mountains and the inland West. With a population growth rate of 25.4%, the mountain West was the fastestgrowing region of the country during the 1990s. Surprisingly, rapid population increases are occurring not only in urban areas such as Denver and Salt Lake City but also in rural counties, many of which are gaining population even faster than urban areas (Theobald 2000). Some 67% of the counties in the Rocky Mountains grew faster than the national average during the 1990s (Beyers and Nelson 2000). Consequently, small cities such as Bozeman, Montana, and Moab, Utah, are beginning to experience traffic congestion and sprawl. Some of the rural population growth in the New West represents an intraregional redistribution of people from the high plains, which continue to lose population (Johnson 1998), to more mountainous areas. Many of the new residents, however, are in-migrants from other regions throughout the United States (Riebsame et al. 1997). The residents of a rural subdivision in a boom county in Montana might include recent arrivals from big East Coast cities, midwestern farms, and the nearest small town. Among the in-migrants are retirees, wealthy young adults, and professionals in computer technology, real estate, and other service industries (Nelson 1999).

Progress in grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) conservation in the Rocky Mountains of Canada and the United States is urgently needed. Human-caused mortality is the appropriate focal point for understanding the problem. This issue has a number of dimensions, but the human dimensions are by far the most complex and difficult to analyze. Conducting analyses and implementing conservation plans at the site or local level makes optimal use of humans' limited cognitive capabilities. Neither maintaining the status quo in grizzly bear conservation nor relying solely on major reform is a viable strategy. Instead, concerned people should take a pragmatic approach to developing innovative processes for forming reason-based public opinions that in turn inform effective public policies. There are many benefits to such an approach and, given the lack of viable alternative~, it should be tested with a pilot project by the appropriate people and organizations.

Whole-genome sequencing has provided fundamental insights into infectious disease epidemiology, but has rarely been used for examining transmission dynamics of a bacterial pathogen in wildlife. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), outbreaks of brucellosis have increased in cattle along with rising seroprevalence in elk. Here we use a genomic approach to examine Brucella abortus evolution, cross-species transmission and spatial spread in the GYE. We find that brucellosis was introduced into wildlife in this region at least five times. The diffusion rate varies among Brucella lineages (∼3 to 8 km per year) and over time. We also estimate 12 host transitions from bison to elk, and 5 from elk to bison. Our results support the notion that free-ranging elk are currently a self-sustaining brucellosis reservoir and the source of livestock infections, and that control measures in bison are unlikely to affect the dynamics of unrelated strains circulating in nearby elk populations.

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

The familiar view of job creation is that business location is largely a function of traditional economic values such as tax structure and cost of doing business. This paper examines the role of other values that may be important to the business location decision. These include the role of a quality environment, scenic beauty, low crime rate, and recreation opportunities. Four general categories of values are examined in this study of businesses within the boundaries of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The four categories are: Economic values, Qualitative values, Community values, and Recreation values. Comparisons are made between long-time resident business owners (Old-timers) and relative newcomer business owners (Newcomers). The findings indicate that values that reflect the quality of the living environment are important to the business location decision by rural business owners. Further, those who have lived in the study region for more than five years tended to rate the importance of the quality of life values more highly than did newcomer business owners. These findings imply that policy makers, and those concerned with expansion of the stock of businesses in a community, will want to consider quality of life values as important to business location behavior and subsequent recruitment of new businesses.

I just saw the movie Wild Life about Doug and Kris Thompkins's efforts to protect wildlands in Patagonia. Doug and Kris Tompkins at Renihue Chile. Photo George Wuerthner I am very familiar with that effort as I worked for Doug and Kris for more than ten years and made numerous visits to Patagonia. Unfortunately, with Doug's tragic death kayaking, we lost one of the world's most ardent supporters of wildlands.

Njeri WF, Githaiga JM, Mwala AK. 2018. The effects of fires on plant and wildlife species diversity and soil physical and chemical properties at Aberdare Ranges, Kenya. Asian J For 2: 25-38. This study was aimed to determine the effects of fires on species diversity (plants, animals, birds), and soil physical and chemical properties at the Aberdare Ranges forest, Kenya. Data were collected on five sites that experienced fires in 2002, 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2014 from both burnt and unburnt areas. Point Centered Quarter and quadrant methods were used for woody vegetation sampling and herbaceous vegetation sampling, respectively. Foot count was done for animal census and point count for birds. The data showed that the herbaceous vegetation in burnt sites had significantly higher species diversity than the unburnt sites in the areas that experienced fire before 2014. The fire had triggered the regeneration of the herbaceous plants. The burnt sites had a significantly higher percentage c...

The mesothermal outflow zones (50-65°C) of geothermal springs often support an extensive zone of green and orange laminated microbial mats. In order to identify and compare the microbial inhabitants of morphologically similar green-orange mats from chemically and geographically distinct springs, we generated and analyzed small-subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicons from six mesothermal mats (four previously unexamined) in Yellowstone National Park. Between three and six bacterial phyla dominated each mat. While many sequences bear the highest identity to previously isolated phototrophic genera belonging to the Cyanobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Chlorobi phyla, there is also frequent representation of uncultured, unclassified members of these groups. Some genus-level representatives of these dominant phyla were found in all mats, while others were unique to a single mat. Other groups detected at high frequencies include candidate divisions (such as the OP candidate clades) with no cultured representatives or complete genomes available. In addition, rRNA genes related to the recently isolated and characterized photosynthetic acidobacterium Kimberly A. Ross and Leah M. Feazel contributed equally to the work.

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Indigenous stewardship contributes to ecological biodiversity and ecosystem resiliency. Restoring reciprocal relationships between American Indians and traditional lands can improve ecosystem health and cure social ills through the restoration of traditional foods, medicines, and culturally utilized plants. Federal regulations and failure to recognize tribes near Yosemite National Park threaten endangered cultures and languages as well as traditionally utilized native plants. The societal understanding of the term natural, meaning without human influence, is becoming more complicated. Human-induced climate change and recognition of landscapes previously thought absent of human influence are now understood to have been shaped in part by Indigenous people, mainly through anthropogenic fire. Preserving public lands without Indigenous stewardship does not protect natural and cultural resources from impairment for future generations of Indigenous children.

The central Rocky Mountain region of North America lies at the biogeographic crossroads of the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Great Basin. Here, we examine genetic patterns in an abundant, widely distributed, and ecologically important rodent species, the long-tailed vole (Microtus longicaudus), across this climatically and tectonically dynamic landscape. We examine patterns of genetic diversity in relation to the species' overall phylogeographic distribution using mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences from modern, historic, ancient, and published samples. Our analyses reveal extensive genetic diversity in the central Rockies, a lack of population structure, and a lack of concordance between genetic and morphological subspecies distributions. Patterns of genetic variation in late-Holocene and modern populations are similar. We conclude that geographical features such as the Continental Divide, previously isolated glacial cover, and major rivers do not result in persistent genetic structure within the long-tailed vole. We also conclude that the central Rocky Mountain region is a zone of secondary contact for divergent mitochondrial lineages of the long-tailed vole.

Exurban development is a prevalent cause of habitat loss and alteration throughout the globe and is a common land-use pattern in areas of high natural amenity value. We investigated the response of bird communities to exurban development in two contrasting North American regions, the Adirondack Park (New York) in the eastern US, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Montana) in the Rocky Mountain West. We combined social and ecological data collection methods to compare the effects of exurban development on avian communities between the two landscapes, and, in exurban residential areas within them, to compare the relative roles of habitat structure, resource provisioning, and human disturbance in influencing avian habitat use. Contrasting with an earlier pilot study, we found differential effects of exurban development in the two regions, with birds generally more responsive in the Adirondack Park. Characteristics of habitat context and structure had larger influences on bird habit...

Pathogen and pest outbreaks are recognized as key processes in the dynamics of Western forest ecosystems, yet the spatial patterns of stress and mortality are often complex and difficult to describe in an explicit spatial context, especially when considering the concurrent effects of multiple agents. Blister rust, a fungal pathogen, and mountain pine beetle, an insect pest, are two dominant sources of stress and mortality to high-altitude whitebark pine within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). In whitebark pine populations infested with blister rust or mountain pine beetle, the shift from green to red needles at the outer-most branches is an early sign of stress and infestation. In this analysis, we investigated a method that combines field surveys with a remote sensing classification and spatial analysis to differentiate the effects of these two agents of stress and mortality within whitebark pine. Hyperspectral remotely sensed images from the airborne HyMap sensor were classified to determine the locations of stress and mortality in whitebark pine crowns through sub-pixel mixture-tuned matched-filter analysis in three areas of the GYE in September 2000 and July 2006. Differences in the spatial pattern of blister rust and mountain pine beetle infestation allowed us to separate areas dominated by mountain pine beetle versus blister rust by examining changes in the spatial scale of significant stress and mortality clusters computed by the Ripley's K algorithm. At two field sites the distance between clusters of whitebark pine stress and mortality decreased from 2000 to 2006, indicating domination by the patchy spatial pattern of blister rust infestation. At another site, the distance between significant stress and mortality clusters increased from 2000 to 2006, indicating that the contiguous pattern of mountain pine beetle infestation was the primary source of disturbance. Analysis of these spatial stress and mortality patterns derived from remote sensing yields insight to the relative importance of blister rust and mountain pine beetle dynamics in the landscape.

Once tribes received the horse, hunting efficiency increased. In the mountain valleys west of the Continental Divide, bison herds were smaller than on the Great Plains and more vulnerable to local extinction.There are numerous references to observations of abundant bison in western Wyoming and Southeast Idaho up until the 1840s. Bison were killed for food and hides, an important trade item for Indian tribes. However, by the 1840s bison were essentially extinct west of the Continental Divide, primarily due to Indian hunting. This was well before the major commercial hide hunting that occurred in the 1870s that led to the final extirpation of bison on the Great Plains.

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem contains the rare combination of an intact guild of native large carnivores, their prey, and differing land management policies (National Park versus National Forest; no hunting versus hunting). Concurrent field studies on large car- nivores allowed us to investigate activities of humans and carnivores on Yellowstone National Park's (YNP) northern boundary. Prior to and during the backcountry big-game hunting season, we monitored movements of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), wolves (Canis lupus), and cougars (Puma concolor) on the northern boundary ofYNP. Daily aerial teleme- try locations (September 1999), augmented with weekly telemetry locations (August and October 1999), were obtained for 3 grizzly bears, 7 wolves in 2 groups of 1 pack, and 3 cougars in 1 family group. Grizzly bears were more likely located inside the YNP bound- ary during the pre-hunt period and north of the boundary once hunting began. The cougar family tended to be found out...

Graphs showing relations between mean ecosystem elevations and mean annual precipitation and actual evapotranspiration, and potential evapotranspiration and climatic water deficit, Spring Mountains and Sheep Range, Clark County, Nevada ......20 climatic water deficit is the best predictor of ecosystem distribution (R 2 = 0.92). Computed water balances indicate that substantially more recharge is generated in the Spring Mountains than in the Sheep Range. A geospatial database containing compiled and developed hydroclimatic data and other pertinent information accompanies this report.

Salmonid whirling disease, caused by the myxozoan parasite, Myxobolus cerebralis, has caused considerable difficulty for fisheries managers and fish rearing facilities in Colorado since its introduction in 1987. Loss of year-classes of wild rainbow trout, leading to population collapse, has occurred in many previously robust rainbow trout fisheries in the state, including the Gunnison,

Inferences about sources and routes of colonization are important to understanding and managing introduced species. The Southern Red-backed Vole (SRBV; Myodes gapperi), not native to Newfoundland, was recently discovered in the western interior of the island, and its range is rapidly expanding. Theories regarding the origin of these animals include migration from an earlier release on a small coastal island, accompaniment of pulpwood imports, or an unsanctioned release as part of Newfoundland Marten (Martes americana atrata) recovery efforts. To determine the source, route, and potential timing of introduction to the island, we analyzed mitochondrial control-region sequences of 155 animals from Newfoundland and the two most likely sources, Cape Breton and Labrador. Although Cape Breton and Labrador contain phylogenetically distinct suites of haplotypes, both regions are part of the "eastern" clade of SRBV, indicating that the northeastern-most part of the range was recolonized from an eastern forest refugial lineage isolated during the Pleistocene. The Newfoundland population of SRBV contained only two haplotypes, one found in 89 individuals from multiple sampling locations that clusters with the Cape Breton subclade, and the other found in three individuals from Mine Pond and five from Labrador. We conclude that there have been at least two introductions to the island, with the Cape Breton-sourced introduction occurring earlier than the Labrador event; low diversity is consistent with recent timing of these events. Success of introduced voles in Newfoundland, despite little genetic diversity, probably reflects an exploitable niche for a broadly adapted boreal small mammal.

Spillover impacts pose challenges for the management of protected areas (PAs). The issue of external threats encroaching on PAs has long been recognized, but a corollary-that PA conservation can increase costs borne by neighboring governments or landowners-is less well appreciated. In some contexts, basic principles of fairness and cooperation suggest that PA users should help pay these costs. Several countries have developed mechanisms for distributing the costs of spillover impacts to PA users, but not the United States. Here, we investigate whether and how US park visitors could help address one type of spillover, the need for wildlife conservation efforts beyond park boundaries, using a case study of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). We examine a "conservation fee" recently proposed in the Wyoming legislature, along with tax-based alternatives. After exploring some costs of wildlife conservation in GYE, we estimate that a fee of up to $10 per vehicle could generate up to $13 million annually, and tax-based approaches considerably more. We consider legal, political, and governance challenges, and ways to mitigate them. The GYE could serve as a demonstration site for visitor funding of cooperative, large-landscape conservation, for potential future expansion in the US and beyond.

In this heart-warming and insightful memoir, Sylvie Brieu brings the seasoned eyes of an experienced outsider to capture a portrait of a rebellious America where women play a prominent role and where natural beauty is the best antidote to despair. A fresh and unique perspective on America, almost 200 years after Alexis de Tocqueville’s famous journey.
Land of adventure and freedom, the American West fascinates with its wide-open spaces, the traditions of its emblematic tribes and the eternal myth of the cowboy. It is where America has forged its legend and reinforced it through movies, television and literature. Montana is at the heart of this great legend.
From the Rockies to the Great Plains and from Yellowstone to the Little Bighorn, distinguished author and journalist Sylvie Brieu leads us on a captivating road trip to encounter Native Americans, rodeo champions, authors, artists and wildlife specialists, such as Backfeet spiritual leaders, Darnell and Smokey Rides At the Door, legendary eco-warrior Doug Peacock and inspiring photographer Brad Orsted. Their unconditional love for a now threatened but exquisite natural environment fuels their deep sense of community and resilience. Far from the clichés of an individualistic nation, these colorful personalities join together to create a new environmental age. Is it possible that the future of the United States is being played out on the wild frontier?

« ... In "The Soul of America", Sylvie Brieu has provided the literary equivalent of the sunlight, the moisture, the scents and sounds that dominate and define the American West but natives like me often get too busy to appreciate. Her years of research included endless miles on dusty roads, going horseback through sacred Blackfeet lands, kayaking the Yellowstone River, and wearing out a few pairs of shoes. Now distilled into this fine book, Brieu’s fresh approach will give pause to Montanans and other Westerners... » - Scott McMillion, Editor in Chief, Montana Quarterly