Yellowstone's Northern Range - Greater Yellowstone Science ...

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Aspen, willows, and biodiversity ............................................. 56 Cottonwoods ............................................................................. 57 Research recommendations: cottonwoods ................................ 58 Chapter Five: Soil, erosion, sediments, and watersheds ................... 61 Recent erosion research ............................................................ 61 Fisheries and other aquatic resources ....................................... 63 Conclusions .............................................................................. 64 Research recommendations: erosion and sedimentation ......... 64 Chapter Six: Elk population issues ................................................... 67 Is Yellowstone a complete ecosystem for elk? ......................... 67 Carrying capacity of the northern range ................................... 68 Is the northern elk herd naturally regulated? ............................ 71 Is natural regulation a threat to biodiversity? ........................... 74 Conclusions .............................................................................. 76 Research recommendations: elk population issues ................. 78 Chapter Seven: Elk and other wildlife species ................................. 81 Elk and other ungulates: research summary ............................ 81 Bison ......................................................................................... 82 Moose ....................................................................................... 85 Mule deer .................................................................................. 86 Pronghorn ................................................................................. 88 Research recommendations: pronghorn .................................. 89 Bighorn sheep ........................................................................... 90 Research recommendations: bighorn sheep ............................ 92 White-tailed deer " .. "" .. "."" .. "".""""."."."." .. ".""." .............. 92 Research recommendations: white-tailed deer ....................... 92 Mountain goats ......................................................................... 93 Research recommendations: mountain goats .......................... 93 Beaver ....................................................................................... 93 Research recommendations: beaver ........................................ 97 Predators ................................................................................... 97 Research recommendations: predators .................................... 99 Chapter Eight: Conclusions ............................................................ 10 1 Acknowledgments ........................................................................... 107 Appendix A. Conferences, meetings, and workshops relating to the northern range .................................................. 108 Appendix B. Ungulate counts and estimates .................................. 109 References ....................................................................................... 132 vi
FOREWORD Yellowstone's northern range has inspired one of this century's most productive, if sometimes bitter, dialogues on the management of a wildland ecosystem. This book contains a vast amount of new scientific research about the range and forever changes that dialogue because it synthesizes a vast amount of new information that has previously been available only in highly specialized and technical journals. This book interprets and summarizes the work of dozens of ecologists and other researchers from across the scientific community, and it provides you with the formal administrative position of Yellowstone National Park on the northern range grazing issue. This is an enormously exciting and challenging time for all of us who care about Yellowstone's northern range and the spectacular assortment of wildlife that inhabit the range. As knowledge accumulates, and as we better understand just how complex and subtle nature can be in a large wildland ecosystem, our job becomes more difficult rather than less. More new research on the northern range has been published in the leading scientific journals in the past 15 years than in the entire previous history of this worldfamous landscape, and that research has shaken the foundations of traditional ideas, not only about Yellowstone, but about other similar wildland ecosystems. In time, we think this research will be of benefit to managers of other kinds of ranges as well, including livestock ranges; Yellowstone serves us in many ways, but one of the most important is as a "control site" against which we can measure OUf effects on other landscapes managed for other purposes. Recent research may have changed many things, but it will not change the controversial nature of the northern range, which will always attract people with differing values that they would prefer to have applied to the management of this unique resource. Though it is far from the last scientific word on the northern range, this report can serve all viewpoints by elevating the dialogues to a previously impossible level of knowledge. It is only through a common awareness of the range's history and ecology that we will work together to give it the best care possible. Mike Finley, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park
Page 1: YELLOW"STONE'S NORTHERN RANGE COMPL
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Page 32 and 33: THE NORTHERN RANGE 16 Northern rang
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Page 36 and 37: THE NORTHERN RANGE 20 Figure 2.4 Tr
Page 38 and 39: THE NORTHERN RANGE 22 dendrochronol
Page 40 and 41: THE NORTHERN RANGE 24 Figure 2.7. A
Page 42 and 43: THE NORTHERN RANGE 26 et al. (1991)
Page 44 and 45: THE NORTHERN RANGE 28 earlier time,
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Page 48 and 49: THE NORTHERN RANGE 32 systems-range
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Figure 4.1. Northern range, showing
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Figure 4.2. Willow distribution in
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 48 Figure 4.4. I
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 50 public lands,
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THE NORTIlERN RANGE 52 Figure 4.5.
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 54 able uncertai
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 56 to confirm an
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 58 RESEARCH RECO
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SOIL, EROSION, SEDIMENTS, AND WATER
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SOIL, EROSION, SEDIMENTS, AND WATER
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ated with ungulate winter ranges. T
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ELK POPULATION ISSUES IS YELLOWSTON
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ange grazing issue, Yellowstone man
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ELK POPULATION ISSUES 71 ... Other
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ELK POPULATION ISSUES 73 1996d), so
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ELK POPULATION ISSUES 75 the northe
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ELK POPULATION ISSUES 77 It has evo
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 82 Competition t
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Figure 7.3. Bison winter range. Sin
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THE NORTHERN RANGE Figure 7.7. Envi
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 88 not aware of
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 90 tion size, an
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 92 activity (95
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 94 pursue the su
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 96 factors were
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 102 complex set
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 104 practically
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THE NORTHERN RANGE 106 appear suppr
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AppendixA. Conferences, Meetings, a
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lJO Year Estimate Comment Source 19
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lJ2 , Estimated # of Elk Year Date
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lJ4 Winter Total Count 1967-68 397
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116 Year Date of Count Parkwide Par
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118 Counts and estimates of mule de
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120 Northern Yellowstone winter ran
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122 Population estimates and reduct
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124 Actual count Inside Outside Est
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Pronghorn counted during spring sur
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128 Year 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1
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Ground and aerial counts of bighorn
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REFERENCE LIST NOTES ON THIS REFERE
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Pages 199-210 in Carbyn, L.N., S.H.
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Yellowstone National Park. Technica
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mammal mortality in the 1988 Yellow
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National Park. International Journa
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Mehus, C.A. 1995. Influences ofbraw
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__ , and __ . 1996a. Preburn root b
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Pages 127-138 in F.J. Singer, ed. E
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some northern Yellowstone elk. M.S.
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I I I I I
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