Yellowstone Center for Resources 2008 Annual Report

Yellowstone Center for Resources

Introduction Yellowstone’s unique geological and biological resources inspired its creation as the world’s first national park in 1872. The National Park Service (NPS) is legally responsible for preserving, unimpaired, the park’s natural and cultural resources and values for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Yellowstone Center for Resources (YCR) works to fulfill these responsibilities for the resources we are mandated to manage and protect. In 2008, we report on the activities of the Environmental Quality and Resource Operations programs, which were added to the YCR in 2007. The Environmental Quality Branch completed the Wireless Communication Services Plan Environmental Assessment, and the Servicewide Benefits-Sharing Final Environmental Impact Statement went through a lengthy internal review and neared completion. Science communication staff collaborated to host the 10th Biennial Scientific Conference, The ’88 Fires: Yellowstone and Beyond, which had approximately 450 attendees and featured more than 140 presentations. The University of Montana archeological field school surveyed several tipi ring clusters, one of which is more than 4,000 years old and thought to be one of the earliest radio carbon dates for a tipi in the Northern Plains. On June 5, park managers conducted an Intergovernmental-Intertribal Information Exchange meeting in the park, where the primary topic was bison management. With NPS Centennial Challenge funding, 70 items in the museum collection were sent off site to be professionally cleaned, stabilized, and rehoused. The number of people using the Heritage and Research Center library bookmobile increased 150% in 2008 over 2007. In 2008, a record number of nonnative lake trout (76,136) were removed from Yellowstone Lake. The northern portion of the lake experienced a swarm of almost 900 earthquakes with magnitudes up to 3.9, which was well above typical activity but not unprecedented. Many of the 218 known, established non-native plant species continued expanding their ranges, and 841 hazardous trees were removed. The estimated population of grizzly bears in the GYE was 596 one year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed this population from threatened status under the Endangered Species Act. Only two pairs of nesting trumpeter swans were found in the park, and their decline is cause for concern and under investigation. When the estimated 2007 summer population of 4,700 bison encountered heavy winter snowfall, a total of 1,728 bison were removed from the population, including 166 that were taken by hunters outside the park and 112 calves that were sent to quarantine. The year-end wolf population declined to 124 wolves with 6 breeding pairs. The YCR’s partnerships and agreements with other federal and state agencies, academia, and public organizations continued to be critical to our successes in stewardship. The YCR also continued to benefit from the hard work of many volunteers and cooperators. Research Permit Office staff authorized almost 200 research permits to investigators from across the U.S. and foreign countries. For more information, readers may contact us at (307) 344-2203, visit the park’s website at www. nps.gov/yell, or visit the Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center website at www.greateryellowstonescience. org. Tom Olliff Chief, Yellowstone Center for Resources