'Huge Mortality': Winterkill Hitting Wildlife In Northern Rockies Hard

April 7, 2023

by Todd Wilkinson

A bull elk in Yellowstone left haggard by the winter

Grizzlies are out and wildlife is severely stressed. States issue warnings that recreationists need to be smart and, most importantly, respect space of animals or they could perish

The Gray Ghosts Of Change: Can The Grizzly 'Bear Tree' Be Saved?

April 3, 2023

by Laura Lundquist

A grizzly on the hunt for food moves through a Northern Rockies forest

The whitebark pine tree is receiving federal protection at same time states are pushing to remove grizzlies from imperiled list. A story about how fate of trees and bears is intertwined

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

The Usual Suspects: In Colorado, Wolves Blamed For Losses They Didn't Cause

March 13, 2023

by Story Warren

Experts say wolves have a rap sheet they don't deserve

Story Warren, in this personal essay for Writers on the Range, notes how an investigation shows 40 recent cattle deaths can't be pinned on lobos

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