Crowding at Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk near Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park. © NPS Testimony before the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Hearing on “Lessons from the Field: Overcrowding in National Parks” Main Points Recent visitation growth in some national parks comes with real management challenges for ensuring […]
[…] Barbara and a Master’s in Applied Economics from Montana State University. Explore Dr. Leonard’s recent work: A Plan to Solve the Colorado River Crisis The Role of Private Lands in Conserving Yellowstone’s Wildlife in the Twenty-First Century Conservation Groups Should Be Able to Lease Land to Protect It Allow “Nonuse Rights” to Conserve Natural Resources
[…] policy encourages negative-sum litigation and political conflict. On private land, similar conflicts can be—and often are—resolved through collaboration and voluntary means. For instance, PERC and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition recently partnered with a rancher in Paradise Valley, MT, on an “elk occupancy agreement” under which the conservation groups compensated the landowner for managing 500 […]
This paper identifies the necessary conditions for a successful expansion of private-lands conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
This paper identifies the necessary conditions for a successful expansion of private-lands conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
© Yellowstone National Park This article was originally published in The Hill. The historic 1,000-year flood that caused widespread damage in and around Yellowstone National Park was truly unprecedented. Floodwaters wiped out bridges, washed away miles of roads and flooded or destroyed hundreds of homes in surrounding communities, leaving large portions of the park inaccessible to […]
[…] years of this century, there have already been 35—seven in 2021 alone. The 2020 August Complex Fire in Northern California became the nation’s first “gigafire” since the Yellowstone Fire of 1988, consuming more than 1 million acres across three national forests. Drought, fire weather, and climate change are all contributing factors. Less discussed, however, […]
[…] in the West are essential for the survival of migratory elk, pronghorn, and mule deer. Private land covers 6 million acres, or 30 percent, of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and elk spend as much as 80 percent of their time on private land during the winter. Yet while landowners provide essential habitat during the […]
[…] Private partners are pursuing innovative agreements to conserve these landscapes and habitats. In the Paradise Valley of Montana, the Property and Environment Research Center and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition have partnered with a ranching family to conserve 500 acres of their ranch for elk winter range. This elk occupancy agreement is entirely voluntary, privately funded, […]
As Yellowstone National Park commemorates its 150th anniversary this week it’s worth remembering what it took to establish this icon of conservation.