We Are Transforming Yellowstone And Only Hard Human Choices Will Keep Ecosystem Intact

March 22, 2023

by Lance Olsen

A bull elk near Yellowstone's Fawn Pass Trail

In this guest essay, Lance Olsen notes that our best hope of safeguarding America's first national park and its natural character rests with our species consuming less land. Can we tame our appetite?

Are Western Mountain Towns Ready For The Coming Flames?

March 21, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

Can't happen here? The Bridger Foothills Fire was Bozeman's WUI wake-up call

Rural sprawl is expanding the "wildland-urban interface." It is elevating the costs and perils of dealing with wildfire, and taxpayers are footing the bill. Part 2 in our ongoing series

Protected Islands In The Stream Help Keep Mighty Yellowstone Wild

March 15, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

Yellowstone magic: vision of protected islands in a healthy wild braided river

Investing in nature = smart ecosystem thinking: Beartooth Group and state of Montana preserve pair of wildlife-rich islands that now provides legal access to those who savor Yellowstone River by boat

Wolverines: Barometers For Pondering Impacts Of The Anthropocene

March 12, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

Plight of wolverines a test of human willingness to give them protected space

Changes in habitat and rising human pressures leave many wondering how long just 300 or so wolverines can persist in the West

In Jackson Hole, Good News About CWD—For Now

March 5, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

Thousands of elk bunched up over artificial feed at the National Elk Refuge

Senior biologist with National Elk Refuge says Chronic Wasting Disease hasn't shown up there yet. But any sense of solace is probably short lived

Checkerboard: Do Laws In Greater Yellowstone Favor Private Rights Over Public Interest?

March 3, 2023

by Susan Marsh

The Hoback River flows toward the Gros Ventre Range

Award-winning writer and longtime Forest Service veteran Susan Marsh writes a parable for our time that underscores how we must take action to save our fragile ecosystem

Mayor Ghosts Nature In Bozeman's Annual State Of The City Address

March 1, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

Elk find solitude on an undeveloped hillside in the Gallatin Valley outside Bozeman

It's strange how so few elected officials in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are willing to speak out for our world-class wildlife. And that does not bode well

Montana, In The Wake Of 'Yellowstone' and 'A River Runs Through It'

February 27, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

Is all the attention destroying last, best places?

Thirty years after Norman Maclean's novella was brought to big screen, many are lamenting how it, and the TV melodrama 'Yellowstone' have fueled an inundation of western Montana

It's Too Soon To Delist Grizzly Bears

February 21, 2023

by Lance Olsen

Grizzlies facing massive threats to secure habitat in Northern Rockies

In this op-ed, longtime grizzly bear conservationist Lance Olsen notes how threats to the bear's fragile ecological recovery are expanding and intensifying

The Big Picture: Pondering Greater Yellowstone's 'Elephants In The Room'

February 17, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

A coyote and griz in wild northwest Wyoming

Test your ability to detect subtle changes that often seem invisible. Then apply your newfound insight to thinking about Greater Yellowstone's rapid transformation