This statistic shows the most visited national parks in the United States in 2021.

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FILE - In this July 6, 2011, file photo, a grizzly bear roams near Beaver Lake in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. On Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, a federal judge restored federal protections to grizzly bears in the Northern Rocky Mountains and blocked the first hunts planned for the animals in the Lower 48 states in almost three decades. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen's order Monday came after he had twice delayed hunts in Wyoming and Idaho just as they were set to begin. Wildlife advocates argue the bears face continued threats from climate change and loss of habitat. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart, File) FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2013, file photo, a grizzly bear cub searches for fallen fruit beneath an apple tree a few miles from the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Mont. On Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, a federal judge restored federal protections to grizzly bears in the Northern Rocky Mountains and blocked the first hunts planned for the animals in the Lower 48 states in almost three decades. (Alan Rogers/The Casper Star-Tribune via AP, File) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Thirty years ago, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) concept and ecosystem management surfaced as key to preserving this legally fragmented region’s public lands and wildlife in the face of mounting development pressures. Yellowstone’s grizzly bears were in sharp decline and wolves were absent from the landscape, while bison and elk management issues festered. The GYE’s national forest lands were subject to extensive logging, energy leasing, and other commercial activities that cumulatively threatened the region’s ecological integrity. In the face of extreme jurisdictional complexity and a strong commitment to agency discretion, a high-profile federal “Vision” effort to improve and better coordinate resource management practices cratered under intense political pressures. Since then, however, much has changed in the GYE. This article, drawing upon extensive personal interviews, official documents, and other materials, updates my 1989 study of the GYE and emergent ecosystem management concepts. After describing regional economic, social, and other changes, the article examines the principal resource management issues confronting the GYE during the past thirty years, focusing on national park, national forest, and wildlife management controversies as well as the emerging role of private lands in regional conservation efforts. Although these issues have primarily been addressed piecemeal, intensive development activities have mostly been held at bay on the GYE national forests while most GYE wildlife populations are in better shape today than thirty years ago. The article analyzes how this has come to pass, highlighting the role of science, law, and advocacy in safeguarding the GYE’s natural heritage and promoting ecosystem management principles. It concludes that the GYE concept is now widely accepted, but related ecosystem. management principles have yet to be fully embraced by the responsible agencies. Looking forward, the article identifies several difficult new problems confronting the GYE: escalating park visitation, mounting recreation pressures, private land development, chronic wasting disease, and climate change. To address these looming problems, GYE ecosystem management efforts must be expanded to a larger landscape scale, while federal resource management coordination efforts must be intensified and extended to include the three GYE states. The law—including state law—will continue playing a prominent role in GYE nature conservation efforts. Absent enhanced coordination efforts, contested GYE natural resource management issues will continue to be addressed piecemeal in this legally complex environment. And the prospect of litigation and political intervention will lurk in the background, as has been the case during the past thirty years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General Yellowstone info provided by the government. Includes "find a park," "history & culture," "news," & more!

This article discusses the past episodes of climate change and weather projections in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Topics covered include evidences and technological innovations showing the shift in the Earth's climate patterns, and the use of the Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model and Topography Weather to characterize the changes in the weather in the GYE as a result of the climate change.

Yellowstone is not only home to one of the world's most powerful volcanoes, but is the only remaining place in the United States where large packs of wolves and bison roam freely. However, this will soon change for the snow-covered national park, with experts warning that rising global temperatures will soon put a halt to this. Researchers who have spent years studying the 8800 square kilometres say the next few decades will see decreased snowfall, increased fires, less forest and more grassland.