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Taking The Pulse Of Yellowstone National Park's Natural Resources

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Do we know enough about Yellowstone to properly manage it? And from what we do know, are we properly managing it? Photo of hot spring runoff in Norris Geyser Basin by Kurt Repanshek.

Nearly 140 years after Yellowstone became the world's first national park, we still don't know enough about it to properly manage all its natural resources. But then, as a dynamic, multi-faceted ecosystem, one affected by many internal and external drivers, is that surprising?

Perhaps it should be, for the park isn't a newcomer to scientific research or monitoring. Much has been explored when it comes to Yellowstone's geothermal plumbing, to its bison and elk herds, to its forests and streams, its air quality. And that research has in the past led to clarion calls for action, calls that have not always been heeded.

Nearly a decade ago, in one of the most comprehensive self-analyses ever compiled on Yellowstone, then-Superintendent Mike Finley was blunt in summing up how the park was faring.

It is unfortunate that this report does not reflect better on our government's ability to protect Yellowstone. The problems it describes, many of which are the result of years of chronic underfunding, are not the fault of any one Congress, political party,or administration. We must all accept responsibility for allowing the nation's first national park to deteriorate. Rather than point fingers and determine responsibility, we must commit ourselves to correct the deficiencies and honor our obligation to future generations. ... Mr. Finley wrote in the executive summary to The State of the Park report.

Is Yellowstone at risk? The answer is yes. Will it remain at risk? Only if the American public ceases to care, if budgetary needs are not met, or if the many county, state, and federal jurisdictions whose decisions affect Yellowstone do not recognize and act upon our collective interest in safeguarding essential resources beyond the park's boundary, resources without which the park itself will be tragically diminished.

For whatever debates we may have about how Yellowstone should be managed, few can question the merits of the enormous commitment that the world's first national park represents and the importance of continuing to support that investment. The gift this country gave itself and the world when the Yellowstone idea took hold has multiplied in value a hundredfold, and its assets will become more precious in the future, if we let them.

Today, in a report focused on the "vital signs" of Yellowstone's natural resources, Superintendent Suzanne Lewis isn't as blunt -- indeed, her public affairs staff's spin is that "Yellowstone National Park is doing well, but is experiencing impacts from changes taking place both inside and outside the park’s boundaries" -- but what she has to tell us indicates that Mr. Finley's warning was not entirely taken to heart by his intended audience -- the politicians, the administrators, the public at large.

* Today Yellowstone's pronghorn antelope population is fewer than 300 individuals, far, far below the estimated 1,000-1,5000 that roamed the park's northern range in the 1800s;

* While 34 nesting bald eagles were counted in 2005 and 2007, in 2008 that tally had dropped to 19;

* Just six resident trumpeter swans, one of the most graceful birds you'll ever see, were counted in the park in 2008;

* Arctic grayling, one of 11 fish species native to Yellowstone, can no longer be found in their traditional fluvial, or stream-dwelling, populations, existing only in lake-stocked populations;

* While an estimated 641 miles of stream in the park once were home to native Westslope Cutthroat Trout, the species has been wiped out of 36 percent of those stream miles "and exists in a hybridized form in most of the remaining habitat";

* Native Yellowstone cutthroat trout are also in great decline, largely due to the illegal introduction of larger, non-native, and voracious lake trout;

* Ground-level ozone levels in Yellowstone "may be high enough to cause biomass loss in sensitive species such as aspen";

* Climate change is stretching out the park's growing season. While that period ran 88 days, on average, from 1985-1996, it now averages 115 days.

Not everything is on a downswing, though. Yellowstone's bighorn sheep population is up to 353 as of 2008, versus 150-225 cited in Mr. Finley's 2000 report. The park's grizzly bear population is estimated at 596, greatly up from the 136 individuals counted in 1975. And gray wolves, which declined 27 percent from 2007 to 2008 due to disease an in-fighting among packs, still number above 120 in a dozen packs.

Just the same, Superintendent Lewis's report gives reason for pause, for out of 27 "vital sign" categories, six were deemed to be below adequate baseline levels while park managers had not yet determined adequate baselines for 21 due to a lack of monitoring data. Among the unknowns: The impacts of oversnow vehicles on the park's air quality, soundscapes and wildlife; the impacts of pine beetles and blister rust on whitebark pine trees; the extent of aquatic invasive species; what to do with the estimated 174--225 mountain goats, which don't seem to be native to the park; how many visitors can the park reasonable handle without great impacts to its resources.

"I didn't see it as a glowing report," says Patricia Dowd, Yellowstone program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. "The issues that stood out for me are the areas of concern where NPCA has been focusing our work in Yellowstone. Obviously, bison, winter-use, the pronghorn migration outside the park, whitebark pine as it relates to grizzly bears. And then climate change. Those are some of our priority issues that we work on. It's not really a surprise that the report findings showed issues of concern related to those areas."

Regarding bison, the vital signs report shows the park's population to be "within reference condition." However, NPCA and other groups continue to remain concerned over how the iconic animals are treated once they leave the park, such as in winter when they head to traditional wintering grounds.

"The numbers for bison are pretty stable," agrees Ms. Dowd. "And so, in terms at looking at bison population and management, we're continuing to look at places outside the park where bison can be, whether that's the Royal Teton Ranch (north of the park) or some of the places on the Gallatin National Forest (west of the park) where there's no conflict with cattle."

While the superintendent's report notes, in terms of air quality, that the park "is in compliance with federal air quality standards for human health in regard to ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter," Ms. Dowd responds that "that's kind of a low bar to set."

"It's a national park. It's a Class 1 airshed," she points out. "So I think saying they haven't exceeded (federal air quality standards), the Park Service can't exceed those standards. It's obviously an improvement from where things were ten years ago, but things are still significantly higher in the winter than in the summer."

Just as Mr. Finley hoped his report of nearly a decade ago would help Yellowstone receive much-needed help in terms of funding and on-the-ground manpower, Ms. Dowd hopes the Park Service "will look at this report and use it as a resource for priortizing" management issues in Yellowstone. The report, she said, outlines the "opportunities for managing the park for its natural resources first."

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