Back to StoriesScientific Conference on Greater Yellowstone Comes to Big Sky
August 26, 2024
Scientific Conference on Greater Yellowstone Comes to Big Sky Conservation stakeholders converge Sept. 3-4 to share research, advance conservation awareness and efforts in GYE
For 16 years, scientists, citizens and public officials have been convening for the Biennial Scientific Conference to discuss issues in Greater Yellowstone. Here, GIS Technician Ben Banet downloads data from a climate monitoring site. Photo by Jacob W. Frank/NPS
by Sophie Tsairis
The 16th Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem is coming to Big Sky, Montana, from September 3-5. This
year’s gathering, according to host Yellowstone Forever, Yellowstone National
Park’s official nonprofit, is looking to advance the field of conservation and
spotlight recent research on Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and
the collaborative efforts of the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee.
Since its inception in 1991, the
conference has been a critical forum for interdisciplinary dialogue and sharing
of science between researchers, land resource managers, conservation groups,
Tribal communities, and public stakeholders. This year, it will also mark the
60th anniversary of the coordinating committee.
In 1964, this complex partnership of agencies with differing
and sometimes inconsistent objectives took charge of managing Greater Yellowstone’s
15 million acres of federal lands. The U.S. Forest Service, the
Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, signed a memorandum of understanding and formed the GYCC to foster
cooperation and coordination of management across the region.
In 1964, this Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee took charge of managing Greater Yellowstone’s 15 million acres of federal lands.
The committee now includes managers from two national
parks, five national forests, two national wildlife refuges, and three BLM
districts and state wildlife departments across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
In 2022, Mountain Journal explored the committee's success and shortcomings in
"Is the GYCC Part of the
Solution or the Problem?"
Charissa Reid, science communications specialist
for Yellowstone National Park told Mountain
Journal that the main goal of this year’s
conference is to focus on the collaboration between all the different agencies
managing the GYE's landmass and hold discussions around sometimes difficult and complex topics.
“People are always surprised by the amount of in-depth
science taking place in Yellowstone,” Reid said. “I’m expecting a lot of
important conversations and sharing of worthwhile information.”
This year’s conference will include
keynote speakers and multiple panel presentations on topics including growth
and recreation management, improving the conservation of wildlife corridors and
habitats, and wildlife movement and migration.
In its announcement of this year’s event, YNP said “Conference
participants will convey scientific findings, discuss management needs, share
perspectives and propose solutions to improve future landscape-scale
coordination and ensure the GYE continues to thrive over the next 60 years.”
The public is encouraged to register and
attend the event. Registration closes August 31. Following the event, panel
discussions will be available for viewing on YNP’s YouTube channel.
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