Ecological Dynamics On Yellowstone S Northern Range

Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range discusses the complex management challenges in Yellowstone National Park. Controversy over the National Park Service's approach of "natural regulation" has heightened in recent years because of changes in vegetation and other ecosystem components in Yellowstone's northern range. Natural regulation minimizes human impacts, including management intervention by the National Park Service, on the park ecosystem. Many have attributed these changes to increased size of elk and other ungulate herds. This report examines the evidence that increased ungulate populations are responsible for the changes in vegetation and that the changes represent a major and serious change in the Yellowstone ecosystem. According to the authors, any human intervention to protect species such as the aspen and those that depend on them should be prudently localized rather than ecosystem-wide. An ecosystem-wide approach, such as reducing ungulate populations, could be more disruptive. The report concludes that although dramatic ecological change does not appear to be imminent, approaches to dealing with potential human-caused changes in the ecosystem, including those related to climate change, should be considered now. The need for research and public education is also compelling.

Schullery's book details the ecological history of Yellowstone National Park.

Wagner, one of our most distinguished wildlife biologists, is a strong critic of ecological practices in the national parks. This book provides an assessment of the ecological history of Yellowstone's northern range, since before the park existed, showing the impact of US Park Service policies on the health of the areas they oversee. He demonstrates that elk had been historically rare throughout the region and that overgrazing by elk has seriously degraded the landscape and altered the structure of the area. This is a major contribution to reconstructing the ecology of this region over the course of the past 500 years. It is also a critique of US Park Service management policies and their stewardship of the nation's most cherished natural areas. Wagner's book will generate substantial attention and debate both in the scientific and policy/management communities.

A new and integrative analysis of the concept of ecosystem functioning, providing guidance for its application in conservation practice.

In 2006, one of the hottest years on record, a “pizzly” was discovered near the top of the world. Half polar bear, half grizzly, this never-before-seen animal might be dismissed as a fluke of nature. Anthony Barnosky instead sees it as a harbinger of things to come. In Heatstroke, the renowned paleoecologist shows how global warming is fundamentally changing the natural world and its creatures. While melting ice may have helped produce the pizzly, climate change is more likely to wipe out species than to create them. Plants and animals that have followed the same rhythms for millennia are suddenly being confronted with a world they’re unprepared for—and adaptation usually isn’t an option. This is not the first time climate change has dramatically transformed Earth. Barnosky draws connections between the coming centuries and the end of the last ice age, when mass extinctions swept the planet. The differences now are that climate change is faster and hotter than past changes, and for the first time humanity is driving it. Which means this time we can work to stop it. No one knows exactly what nature will come to look like in this new age of global warming. But Heatstroke gives us a haunting portrait of what we stand to lose and the vitality of what can be saved.

Whittlesey shares tales of "the great Geyserland" as told by the earliest tour guides of America's first and most unique national park.

Schullery's heartfelt reflections on his relationship to the wildness of Yellowstone Park.