Yellowstone National Park: Natural and Cultural Resources Vital Signs 2013
Yellowstone Center for Resources (ed). 2013. Yellowstone National Park: Natural and Cultural Resources Vital Signs 2013. YCR-2013-03. National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming USA
Why We Monitor the Park’s Vital Signs Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 primarily to protect geothermal areas that contain about half the world’s active geysers. At that time, the natural state of the park’s other landscapes, waters, and wildlife was largely taken for granted. As development throughout the West increased, however, the park’s 2.2 million acres of forests, meadows, river valleys, and lakes became an important sanctuary for the largest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48 states. The abundance and distribution of these animal species depends on their interactions with each other and on the quality of their habitat, which in turn is the result of thousands of years of volcanic activity, forest fires, changes in climate, and more recent natural and human influences. Most of the park is above 7,500 feet in elevation and underlain by volcanic bedrock, a terrain that is covered with snow for much of the year and supports forests dominated by lodgepole pine and interspersed with alpine meadows. Sagebrush steppe and grasslands on the park’s lower-elevation northern range provide essential winter range for elk, bison, and bighorn sheep. One of the management goals for Yellowstone is to minimize human interference with its ecological processes. To determine whether changes that take place in the park are a result of its ecology or of human influences (within or outside the park) requires systematic monitoring. The survival of some animal species depends on seasonal migration or other use of habitat that extends beyond the park’s boundaries. Within the park, plant and animal species that have been introduced deliberately or accidentally can reduce the presence of native species through competition, predation, or disease. To monitor changes in the condition of the park’s resources, we pay particular attention to certain vital signs that are considered key ecosystem indicators. Although the data that have been collected for some of these vital signs may be too short term to indicate significant trends, this report summarizes 26 vital signs for which information is available for use in decisions about managing the park.
- Type
- Published Report
- Date of Issue
- 2013
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park
- Units
- GRYN , YELL
- Keywords
- air quality, archeological sites, birds, climate, fire, fish, geothermal system, historic structure, invasive species, land use, landscapes, museum collections, subsurface geology, visitor use, vital signs, water quality, wildlife, wildlife disease, winter soundscapes