Biodiversity: Yellowstone bison get more room to roam

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
bison, buffalo

A bison grazes near a highway in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — A long-running battle over Yellowstone bison was at least partly resolved this week, as a Montana judge upheld a state policy allowing the animals to roam outside Yellowstone National Park without facing harassment and death.

The state rules were challenged by ranchers opposed to allowing bison to graze in the Gardiner Basin, just north of the park, important habitat in the winter and early spring. Federal and state biologists decided last year to allow bison seasonal access until May 1 of each year, opening critical foraging lands when higher elevations in the park lack spring grasses for bison and other grazing animals.

“Today’s ruling represents a victory for all those who want to see wild bison as a living part of the Montana landscape,” said Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso, who defended the bison policy in the case on behalf of the Bear Creek Council, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and Natural Resources Defense Council. “The Yellowstone region’s bison herds are the descendants of the last wild bison in the American West, and today they stand as some of the last genetically pure bison in the world.  The court rejected the idea that the law requires slaughtering these magnificent animals whenever they cross the park boundary.”   (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment, national parks, public lands, wildlife | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Climate: Bark beetles invading high-elevation forests

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Whitebark pines are in imminent danger of extinction, and global warming is one of the most significant threats to the species. Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service.

Whitebark pines are in imminent danger of extinction, and global warming is one of the most significant threats to the species. Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service.

Researchers see threat to whitebark pines

By Summit Voice

FRISCO —Bark beetles have already killed millions of acres of mid-elevation forests across the West, and warming temperatures are enabling the tree-killing bugs to invade higher elevations, where they are attacking trees that haven’t evolved with strong defenses to repel them.

Global warming is essentially giving the insects a huge advantage, as the trees, with their long lifespans, have no chance to develop biological resistance, according to researchers from the the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who report a rising threat to the whitebark pine forests of the northern Rocky Mountains. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, Forest health, forests, global warming, pine beetles and wildfires | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Wolves spur rebirth of Yellowstone ecosystems

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Study documents new tree growth and improving riparian ecosystem

A wolf in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo courtesy of Yellowstone National Park)

Young aspen trees are now recovering in Yellowstone National Park, after wolves that were re-introduced in 1995 helped to limit elk browsing that had been killing young trees. The older trees seen here date to the last time there were wolves in the park 70 years ago. (Photo by William Ripple, courtesy of Oregon State University)

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The reintroduction of wolves has resulted in profound ecoystem changes in the Greater Yellowstone region.

For the first time in 70 years, the over-browsing of young aspen and willow trees has diminished. Trees and shrubs are recovering along some streams, providing improved habitat for beaver and fish.

“Yellowstone increasingly looks like a different place,” said William Ripple, a professor in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University, and lead author of a recent study documenting some of the changes. (more…)

Filed under: Environment, national parks, Summit County news, biodiversity, endangered species | Tagged: , , , , , , | 12 Comments »

Global warming: More fires, fewer lodgepole pines

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Increasing temps and fire frequency could drive rapid and dramatic changes in subalpine and boreal forests

Lodgepole pine forests like this one in the Black Hills of South Dakota could see big changes in just a few decades as temperatures and fire frequency increase.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Warmer temperatures in the West will increase the frequency of fires in Yellowstone’s vast lodgepole pine stands, which could result in dramatic changes to the region’s forest landscapes in the next few decades.

“What surprised us about our results was the speed and scale of the projected changes in fire in Greater Yellowstone,” said Anthony Westerling, a professor of environmental engineering and geography at University of California, Merced. “We expected fire to increase with increased temperatures, but we did not expect it to increase so much or so quickly. We were also surprised by how consistent the changes were across different climate projections.”

The results suggest that  subalpine and boreal forests in other parts of the West could also see dramatic changes within just a few decades. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, forest fires, Forest health, forests, global warming, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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