Yellowstone's Destabilized Ecosystem: Elk Effects, Science, and Policy Conflict Frederick H. Wagner . Yellowstone's Destabilized Ecosystem: Elk Effects, Science, and Policy Conflict. Oxford, United Kingdom. Oxford University Press. 2006. xii +. 371 US$ 64.50. ISBN: 0-19-514821-5 (original) (raw)

What is ?natural?? : Yellowstone elk population?A case study

Integrative Biology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 1998

Ecology analyzes the structure and function of ecosystems at all points along the continuum of human disturbance, from so-called pristine forests to urban backyards. Undisturbed systems provide reference points at one end of the spectrum, and nature reserves and parks are highly valued because they can provide unique examples of such ecosystems. Unfortunately the concept of "natural" or pristine is not that easy to define. Indeed, although ecologists have considered pre-Columbian, western-hemisphere ecosystems to have been largely unaltered by human action, and have termed their state "natural" or "pristine," evidence from archaeology challenges this view. U.S. and Canadian national parks are charged with preserving the "natural," and thus need to be able to understand and manage for the "natural." A pivotal "natural" question in Yellowstone National Park management is the size of the northern-range, wintering elk population at Park establishment in 1872, argued both to have been small and large. Integrating and quantifying several sources of evidence provides a consistent picture of a low population (ca. 5,000-6,000), largely migrating out of the northern range in winter, with little vegetation impact. If we accept this conclusion about what is natural for the Yellowstone ecosystem, then it dramatically alters how we view management alternatives for the Park, which currently supports a northern wintering herd of up to ~ 25,000 elk.

Elk management and policy in southern Greater Yellowstone: Assessing the constitutive process

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA, is recognized globally as a model for land and wildlife conservation, management, and policy. A major policy problem in the region is the highly contentious winter feeding of elk (Cervus elaphus) on 23 government feed grounds in western Wyoming through cooperative management under several state and federal agencies. Numerous non-governmental groups and concerned citizens are also affected by elk management or seek to contribute to management policies. The long-term controversy shows that this issue centers on how management and policy should be made and who should be involved in decision-making—the constitutive policy process. This paper examines and appraises the constitutive process in this case, including how competency, authority, and control are allocated. It also looks at how institutions, analytic techniques, procedures, and people are structured, selected, and included or excluded in decision-making processes. Our data come from a multi-method approach over the past decade, including participant-observation, historical literature, interviews, media analysis, and technical reports. Our analysis shows that institutional dynamics severely constrain the scope of deliberations, the production of practical problem definitions, and the search for improvements in elk management. We recommend that participants focus on the constitutive level of policy making, i.e., the underlying structure and functioning of policy processes, learn how these elements function and affect processes and outcomes, and learn to configure them in ways that embody democratic principles, serve common interests, and resolve policy problems.

Recovering aspen follow changing elk dynamics in Yellowstone: evidence of a trophic cascade?

Ecology, 2015

To investigate the extent and causes of recent quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) recruitment in northern Yellowstone National Park, we measured browsing intensity and height of young aspen in 87 randomly selected aspen stands in 2012, and compared our results to similar data collected in 1997-1998. We also examined the relationship between aspen recovery and the distribution of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison) on the Yellowstone northern ungulate winter range, using ungulate fecal pile densities and annual elk count data. In 1998, 90% of young aspen were browsed and none were taller than 200 cm, the height at which aspen begin to escape from elk browsing. In 2012, only 37% in the east and 63% in the west portions of the winter range were browsed, and 65% of stands in the east had young aspen taller than 200 cm. Heights of young aspen were inversely related to browsing intensity, with the least browsing and greatest heights in the eastern portion of the range, corresponding with recent changes in elk density and distribution. In contrast with historical elk distribution (1930s-1990s), the greatest densities of elk recently (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) have been north of the park boundary (;5 elk/km 2 ), and in the western part of the range (2-4 elk/km 2 ), with relatively few elk in the eastern portion of the range (,2 elk/km 2 ), even in mild winters. This redistribution of elk and decrease in density inside the park, and overall reduction in elk numbers, explain why many aspen stands have begun to recover. Increased predation pressure following the reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in 1995-1996 played a role in these changing elk population dynamics, interacting with other influences including increased predation by bears (Ursus spp.), competition with an expanding bison population, and shifting patterns of human land use and hunting outside the park. The resulting new aspen recruitment is evidence of a landscape-scale trophic cascade in which a resurgent large carnivore community, combined with other ecological changes, has benefited aspen through effects on ungulate prey.

Aspen, Elk and Wolves in Yellowstone: Are Aspen Recovering Since the Return of Wolves

University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center Annual Report, 2012

We assessed aspen stand conditions in 2012 in 87 stands randomly located across the northern winter ungulate range of Yellowstone National Park (YNP), and compared these data to baseline conditions measured in 1997-98 shortly after wolves were reintroduced. In 1997-98, browsing rates (the percentage of leaders browsed annually) in aspen stands were consistently very high, averaging 88% of stems browsed; only 1% of young aspen in sample plots were taller than 100 cm and none were taller than 200 cm, the height at which aspen begin to escape from browsing by elk. Using the same methods in 2012, 17 years after wolf reintroduction, browsing rates were much lower averaging 44%, 34% of sampled young aspen were taller than 100 cm, and 5% taller than 200 cm. Mean heights of young aspen in 2012 were inversely correlated with browsing intensity (R2=0.64, p=

Twenty Years After the 1988 Yellowstone Fires: Lessons About Disturbance and Ecosystems

Ecosystems, 2011

The 1988 Yellowstone fires were among the first in what has proven to be an upsurge in large severe fires in the western USA during the past 20 years. At the time of the fires, little was known about the impacts of such a large severe disturbance because scientists had had few previous opportunities to study such an event. Ecologists predicted shortand long-term effects of the 1988 fires on vegetation, biogeochemistry, primary productivity, wildlife, and aquatic ecosystems based on scientific understanding of the time. Twenty-plus years of subsequent study allow these early predictions to be evaluated. Most of the original predictions were at least partially supported, but some predictions were refuted, others nuanced, and a few postfire phenomena were entirely unexpected. Post-1988 Yellowstone studies catalyzed advances in ecology focused on the importance of spatial and temporal heterogeneity, contingent influences, and multiple interacting drivers. Post-1988 research in Yellowstone also has changed public perceptions of fire as an ecological process and attitudes towards fire management. Looking ahead to projected climate change and more frequent large fires, the welldocumented ecological responses to the 1988 Yellowstone fires provide a foundation for detecting and evaluating potential changes in fire regimes of temperate mountainous regions.

The People in Yellowstone: Reassessing a National Park

Although a number of Native American groups interacted with the Yellowstone region, the Sheep Eater band of Shoshone (or Tukudika), as the only year-round residents, present an opportunity to explore the role of humans in the ecological history of the world’s first national park. In this paper I consider how they lived before the creation of the park, their relationship to the land, and how well-suited their lifeways were to it. Next, I review the factors that led to the creation of Yellowstone National Park and the forcible displacement of the Sheep Eaters. I then contemplate the implications of these events along with the larger debate over a sustainable human relationship with nature. Finally, I discuss where Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service (NPS) are today, as well as opportunities for co-management and reintegration of the Sheep Eaters and their story into the future of Yellowstone. In keeping with recognition of a greater potential role for the National Park Service, I conclude that the NPS could promote sustainable lifeways beyond the parks by drawing on lessons learned from the past in its interpretive features, as well as encouraging localized adaptations to the places where we each live.

Wolves, Elk, Bison, and Secondary Trophic Cascades in Yellowstone National Park

The Open Ecology Journal, 2010

Wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995/96, likely reestablishing a trophic cascade involving wolves, elk, and woody browse species. The return of wolves may have also triggered a secondary trophic cascade involving bison, which are generally a minor prey species for wolves in northern Yellowstone. We hypothesize a sequence of events in northern Yellowstone where: 1) wolves prey on elk, changing elk behavior and reducing elk numbers, 2) causing reduced elk herbivory and more forage available to bison, and 3) allowing higher bison densities and additional bison effects on the ecosystem. This secondary trophic cascade, whereby wolf predation may have indirectly allowed bison numbers to increase through a reduction in inter-specific competition with elk, may represent an example of an alternative top-down pathway by which predators can influence multiple trophic levels through mediating the competitive interaction between two prey species. Both wolves and bison can have important effects on ecosystems, and there is growing interest in restoring these animals to wider portions of their former range. However, there are many potential routes for interactions between species and it is important to consider the conservation implications of other cascading effects when reintroducing such ecologically influential species into wild landscapes. The potential benefits of bison to their native ecosystems may not be realized in situations with low predation pressure, high bison densities, and constraints on bison movement and migration, thus likely contributing to impairment of resources.

Addressing a Persistent Policy Problem: The Elk Hunt in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Society & Natural Resources, 2015

The elk reduction program (elk hunt) in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, has been controversial since its inception in 1950. We interviewed 35 stakeholders and surveyed literature to understand participant perspectives in relation to ongoing conflict. Stakeholders held conflicting perspectives, problem definitions, and value orientations. Hunt opponents felt their interests were not reflected in decision making, while hunt proponents were dissatisfied with federal agency management. Agency officials focused on technical aspects of elk management (e.g., overpopulation, objectives) and did not address conflict driven by underlying value dynamics. Decisions made by the agencies (National Park Service, Wyoming Game and Fish Department) through the institution of wildlife management failed to integrate diverse interests. As a result, many nonagency participants felt disrespected by current decision-making arrangements. The longterm controversy has caused a persistent policy problem. We offer recommendations for how the social process could be better organized to build more effective governance and management.