INSIDER
Y E L LO W S TO N E F O R E V E R FALL | WINTER 2021
Bugling elk NPS/Neal Herbert
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PROJECTS MADE POSSIBLE BY YOU
BISON PROJECT Thanks to generous support from donors like you, Yellowstone Forever reached its goal of raising $250,000 by the June 2021 deadline for the Yellowstone Bison Conservation and Transfer Program! These funds, along with an additional $250,00 raised by our friends at the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, will match the $500,000 allocated by Yellowstone National Park for the project. Donations to this program contribute to an expansion project that will significantly increase the current capacity of holding pens and fund infrastructure improvements that will allow nearly three times as many bison to enter the program. This will divert more bison from being shipped to slaughter and allow the transfer of disease-free bison from Yellowstone to their historic native ranges. Continued support for this program will fund internships for Native American students to work alongside National Park Service (NPS) staff in caring for, handling, and testing bison held within the park’s quarantine facilities. Student interns will learn valuable skills that they can bring back to their tribes to support the completion of the brucellosis quarantine process of bison transferred from Yellowstone. TRAILS AND BOARDWALKS Since the early days of Yellowstone National Park when the Northern Pacific Railroad marketed it as Wonderland, people have been compelled to visit. Today, millions of visitors come to Yellowstone National Park each year to experience the vast beauty and wonder the park has to offer. Hiking, backpacking, and sightseeing by foot offer park enthusiasts a chance to be immersed in nature. There are over 1,000 miles of
A 2021 Yellowstone Youth Conservation Corps member shows off his badge PHOTO YF/SARAH SANTOS
backcountry and front-country trails and boardwalks throughout the park, and substantial foot traffic, severe weather, and debilitating soil erosion have taken their toll. Record-breaking visitation to Yellowstone has resulted in heavy wear on the park’s extensive trail and boardwalk system and a mounting list of needed repairs. Yellowstone Forever is committed to helping fund the restoration and repair of Yellowstone’s trails and boardwalks. As the park tackles the work of the trail and boardwalk restorations, unique and innovative partnerships have provided help. NPS partners with youth trail corps to address the trail maintenance backlog while instilling park stewardship principles in future generations. Youth crew involvement includes enlisting seasonal members of the Yellowstone Youth Conservation Corps and Montana Conservation Corps programs. These programs, funded in part by Yellowstone Forever’s members, inspire young people through hands-on conservation service to be leaders, stewards of the land, and engaged citizens who improve their communities. Partnerships with youth corps provide additional muscle power and, in turn, offer young people the opportunity to gain valuable work skills and experience with resource stewardship. Thanks to their hard work the park is able to refurbish more trails, address safety issues, improve accessibility, and increase enjoyment for a variety of recreational users that are drawn to the area.
Projects like the Bison Conservation and Transfer Program, Youth Conservation Corps, and others highlighted in Insider are only possible thanks to the generous support of members like you. Bison with a frozen beard walks through the Lamar Valley PHOTO YF/MATT LUDIN
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SPOTLIGHT GERRY SMITH AND DAVID SYFERT
Long-time supporters Gerry Smith and David Syfert grew familiar with the work of Yellowstone Forever as both Institute program participants and volunteers. Gerry and David now make monthly contributions as members of the Yellowstone Society and have included a sizable bequest to the organization in David’s will. Recently, we asked them about their connection to Yellowstone. What is your connection to Yellowstone? David: I worked in Yellowstone nine seasons, first as a summer employee of the Yellowstone Park Company while a college student, and then as a volunteer at the Yellowstone Association Institute after retirement. During the sixties, I drove tourists on the scenic cruisers “Dean N” and “Adelaide” from the West Thumb boat dock. Decades later, I noticed an advertisement for Institute volunteers to maintain the Lamar Buffalo Ranch campus, support instruction, and bus students to field sites. Gerry urged me to accept the Lamar opportunity and, while she was still employed, visited several times.
Gerry Smith and David Syfert PHOTO COURTESY OF GERRY SMITH AND DAVID SYFERT
when untold thousands stampeded in the past. The earth shook as they passed beneath the overlook from which I watched. Gerry: My special moment came atop Mount Washburn, tracing the miles of caldera rim and realizing its immensity.
What are some of your treasured park memories? Gerry: We hiked special trails that Dave wanted to share— Avalanche Peak, Hayden Valley, and Specimen Ridge—always with bear spray. We enrolled in Institute courses and loved them, especially those taught by Julianne Baker and George Bumann. Dave began to learn watercolor painting. After I retired, I joined Dave as a volunteer at the 2010 Roosevelt Rendezvous.
You are annual Yellowstone Society supporters. What motivated you to also include Yellowstone in your estate?
What are your favorite sites or experiences in the park? David: I remember the wild beauty and emptiness of Lake Yellowstone shorelines, guiding a tourist family as they caught their limit of cutthroat trout and cooking dinner at the Flat Mountain campsite. I especially recall a hot summer day, when hundreds of bison ran the full length of Lamar Valley and I imagined what it must have been like
Gerry: Yellowstone remains special to us. We return when possible and remain in touch with friends from shared days. We have committed ourselves to support the park as Yellowstone Forever contributors, and we regard our commitment to Yellowstone Forever much as we do a commitment to our church. After all, some of our closest experiences with the sacred occurred on Yellowstone trails. Gerry and Dave live in the Southern Appalachians near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Dave’s watercolors are offered in several galleries and can be viewed at DaveSyfertArt.com.
150th Anniversary Society Event
OCTOBER 2–4, 2022 | LAKE YELLOWSTONE HOTEL
Commemorate Yellowstone’s 150th anniversary with us! •
Private access to Lake Yellowstone Hotel as it closes for the season
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Welcome reception Sunday evening
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Presentations by National Park Service staff about projects directly funded by your support
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Educational field trips
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Private banquets and entertainment in the Lake Yellowstone Hotel dining room
For more information contact Marisa Cleary at mcleary@yellowstone.org or 406-384-6168
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FEATURE Keeping Yellowstone Here, Forever BY ERIN FITZGERALD
One-hundred and fifty years ago on March 1, 1872, Congress designated Yellowstone as the country’s first national park, created for the “benefit and enjoyment of the people.” A century and a half later, the people keep coming. Yellowstone remains a place where you can escape the speed of daily life to share the landscape with wildlife like bison, bears, wolves and elk. It’s a place where the land defies expectations, collecting in breathtaking colors and bubbling above the surface. But it’s also a place that is seeing an exponential increase in visitation and the very real effects of climate change. “Climate change, by far, is the single biggest threat to Yellowstone and its ecosystem,” Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly told the Billings Gazette in October 2021. “We need to know and understand what we can control and mitigate to protect the species and the ecosystem health in this park that are under threat from climate change.”1 As we look toward the park’s next 150 years and beyond, we must take action to ensure Yellowstone really is here forever.
French, Brett, “Dry summer emphasizes threat of climate change to Yellowstone National Park,” Billings Gazette, October 3, 2021.
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Energy Yellowstone National Park is composed of 2,221,766 acres, with over 2,000 miles of streams, more than 25 square miles of lakes, and almost 400 different animal species. But despite the park’s distinction of being one of North America’s most intact wild ecosystems, it takes a lot of energy to maintain Yellowstone. In fact, Yellowstone National Park is the largest consumer of energy in the entire National Park Service. In 2019 alone, the park used 34,682,641 kWH (kilowatt hours) of energy. To put that into context, the average American household uses 10,649 kWH of energy each year. The energy used in Yellowstone in 2019 could provide electricity to 3,256 homes.2 Yellowstone is working with companies that provide energy in the park to shift their portfolio to renewable energy sources. But to truly become a leader in sustainability in the National Park system it’s not just about updating the grid, it’s also about finding ways to use less. As Yellowstone National Park looks to the future, it is finding ways to reduce and offset energy use, identifying new building Frequently Asked Questions”, U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov, (Accessed October 5, 2021)
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and renovation projects that could achieve net-zero energy, and seeking out renewable energy opportunities. The park and their energy partner are also looking at the potential to develop area micro-grids that would integrate energy storage to provide system resilience.
all who visit Yellowstone National Park to conserve our limited natural resources. In 2019, the National Park Service used 169,519,318 gallons of water. If you include the park’s lodging and concessions companies, Xanterra and Delaware North, all operations in the park used 271,213,835 gallons. That water use is mainly from activities like flushing, washing, and drinking.
One of the ways Yellowstone is looking to reduce energy use is through the replacement of lightbulbs in more than 25,000 light fixtures and lamps inside park buildings. Replacing the existing bulbs with LED bulbs would result in an energy saving of 1,285,000 kWH per year. There is also potential for energy savings through the replacement of 960 outdoor light fixtures — to the tune of 360,000 kWH saved annually.
Yellowstone has made some progress in recent years by identifying leaking underground pipes, upgrading existing fixtures to low-flow options, and retrofitting sprinkler systems with smart controllers. Many of the steps people take at home can also be applied to their time in the park. When staying in park facilities, take shorter showers—it’s supposed to be rustic! Guests can also turn off the faucet when washing up or brushing teeth, and use refillable bottles instead of single-use plastic bottles for hydration.
The replacement of outdoor bulbs would have the added benefit of making Yellowstone eligible to be designated as an International Dark Sky Park — a win for energy savings and natural ecosystem protection.
As for the park, a big next step is the installation of water-efficient faucet aerators. Aerators, or flow regulators, mix air into the flow of water to decrease the amount of water passing through the tap. These aerators save 30-50% more water on each faucet. By installing more of these efficient faucets and aerators, Yellowstone National Park can save millions of gallons of water.
Water In 2015, the World Economic Forum ranked water crises as number one in its review of global risks. As the world’s population grows and temperatures rise, conserving water will be a challenge with which we are all tasked.
Transportation
Yellowstone National Park is home to some of the most pristine rivers and lakes in North America, and there is a responsibility of
Almost every visitor that enters Yellowstone National Park does so in a vehicle. It seems impossible to the modern visitor that a little more than 100 years ago, in 1912, concessionaires were fighting to keep automobiles out of Yellowstone.3 Visitors at that time saw the park by horse-drawn carriage. Today, the millions of park visitors are largely using personal vehicles, tour buses, or private guiding services to see the park. According to the United State Environmental Protection Agency, the typical passenger vehicle uses 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.4 Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas emitted from human activity, and the large increase of carbon dioxide produced from human use substantially contibutes to global warming. As the park and its partners look toward Yellowstone’s future, they are adapting to clean transportation alternatives. The National Park Service has more than 500 vehicles used for a variety of purposes, from maintenance to snow removal to wildlife and visitor safety operations. The park is evaluating its large fleet with the goal of transforming the size, types of vehicles, and technologies used in the fleet to increase efficiency to the extent practical and economically feasible. In addition, the park is looking at alternative transportation options for visitors. This past summer the park piloted two automated
TOP LEFT Grand Prismatic Spring BOTTOM RIGHT The Milky Way Yellowstone’s dark sky PHOTOS YF/MATT LUDIN, NPS/NEAL HERBERT
“Chapter V: From Wagons to Autos 1912-1918, Historic Resource Study: The History of the Construction of the Road System in Yellowstone National Park, 1872-1966, https://www.nps.gov, (Accessed October 5, 2021). 3 “Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle,” United Stated Environment Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov, (Access October 5, 2021) 3
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electric shuttles at Canyon Village. These shuttles, named TEDDY or The Electric Driverless Demonstration in Yellowstone, were free, driverless transportation options that took visitors around the Canyon Village area, including the visitor center and campground. The pilot’s goal was to collect data on how the technology could be used in national parks, and how visitors reacted to them. New technology like the TEDDY shuttles could decrease vehicle use in heavily trafficked areas.
Solar panels at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch PHOTO YF/MATT LUDIN
Yellowstone National Park and Yellowstone Forever are also making it easier for visitors with energy efficient cars to visit the park. Thanks to a program sponsored by The Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition, there are a number of electric vehicle charging stations in and around Yellowstone. This includes a station at Yellowstone Forever’s Gardiner, Montana headquarters. These stations are free to use and take about four hours to charge from empty to full.
Moving forward together Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan said in 2001,”Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract — sustainable development — and turn it, too, into a daily reality for all the world’s people.” As we look to the park’s next century and beyond, we know that our decisions—both personally and financially—will play a role in what the daily reality of Yellowstone will look like for future generations.
TEDDY shuttle at the Canyon Visitor Center PHOTO NPS/JACOB FRANK
Make the Most of Your Holiday Purchases with Amazon Smile! Support Yellowstone when shopping on Amazon by using AmazonSmile. It’s easy! Visit smile.amazon.com, search for and choose Yellowstone Forever as your charity of choice. That’s it! The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to Yellowstone Forever. 6
As Yellowstone National Park’s enters this 150th year, its leaders are looking beyond the past to plan ahead for a changing climate. And as the park’s official nonprofit partner, Yellowstone Forever and its members are working in partnership to support the park’s efforts to become the leader in sustainability in the National Park Service. Learn more about the park’s sustainability work at nps.gov/yell/ getinvolved/sustainability.htm.
1. Visit smile.amazon.com. 2. Sign in with the same account you use for Amazon.com 3. Select Yellowstone Forever as your charity 4. Start shopping! Remember to checkout at smile. amazon.com to generate donations for your chosen charity. Tip: Add a bookmark to make it easier to shop at smile.amazon.com.
MESSAGE LISA DIEKMANN, PRESIDENT & CEO
Yellowstone Forever had an extremely successful summer season, despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of our Park Stores were able to open within the park’s Visitor Centers, and our educational programming resumed (with COVID mitigation measures in place). Yellowstone National Park saw record visitation, and I’m pleased we were able to help deepen visitor’s connections to the park through these educational programs and services. The important work we fund in the park continued, thanks to your generosity and support. In June we reached our goal of raising $250,000 for the Bison Conservation and Transfer Project, which will allow the park to expand the quarantine facilities at Stephens Creek and increase the number of bison eligible for transfer to Tribal lands. We were also able to fund the park’s critical need to acquire new stock for the Annual Stock Purchase program thanks to the generous support of members. We eclipsed our goal of $60,000, raising $76,000 for the purchase of horses and mules to help rangers and research staff access
the park’s backcountry. These are ongoing projects so we’re continuing to accept donations for these efforts to get a head start for next year. We are now seven months into our fiscal year, and I am happy to report we are outpacing our financial projections. The Park Stores that were open this past summer outperformed 2019 numbers. Thanks to generous donors like you, Yellowstone Forever is on target to raise $3.9 million this fiscal year for priority park projects (our current fiscal year ends February 28, 2022). Your steadfast support is vital to Yellowstone and greatly appreciated. Next year will commemorate Yellowstone National Park’s 150th anniversary, and we are already hard at work planning outreach and events for 2022. I hope you will join us next year as we mark this occasion at our fall Society Event, which will take place at the historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Together, we can ensure Yellowstone thrives for another 150 years and beyond for the benefit and enjoyment of all. Thank you for your commitment to protecting and preserving Yellowstone into the future.
PHOTO NPS/DIANE RENKIN
FALL IN YELLOWSTONE AMANDA HAGERTY, INSTITUTE DIRECTOR
Greek philosopher Heraclitus once noted, “Change is the only constant in life.” From drastic color shifts across the varied landscape to the onset of peculiar animal behavior, fall in Yellowstone epitomizes the idea of change. While each season in Yellowstone offers a unique adventure, fall is truly an enchanting time to experience the park. One of the things that makes Yellowstone so spectacular in fall is the elk mating season, known as the rut. High pitched screams fill the brisk Yellowstone air as bull elk challenge other males to secure breeding opportunities with nearby female elk herds. This same haunting sound has echoed throughout this landscape for centuries. Tribal Nations
long sought out and used the area now known as Yellowstone where elk were—and still are—an important part of their culture. Although the behavior of elk may change over the span of a year, some things remain constant; park visitors still flock to the northern section of the park to witness elk during the rut. If you find yourself visiting the park during this time, be sure to give elk their space and listen to NPS staff, as elk become significantly aggravated and unpredictable during the rut. Safety is critical in viewing wildlife in the park, especially during the fall as animals prepare for the next big change ahead—winter!
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: UP E S S CLO GAR U CO
COUGAR PROJECT PREPS FOR WINTER FIELD SEASON
to provide exciting footage of cougar behaviors, including females interacting with young kittens. Additionally, the cameras document numerous other carnivores including wolves, bears, foxes, coyotes, members of the weasel family (including a wolverine!), and nearly all large ungulate species using cougar habitat.
While summer is considered Yellowstone’s busy season for visitors, the busy season for the Yellowstone Cougar Project is now just beginning. The Cougar Project team monitors the habitat of Yellowstone’s elusive cougar population. Biologists estimate up to 45 cougars inhabit northern Yellowstone.
The team will also replace the GPS collars on several cougars this winter to swap out older batteries with new ones. In addition, biologists are hoping to collar up to four new adult males and females to fill gaps in the study area left by recently deceased collared cougars.
This winter, project staff will reinstall 120 remote cameras at previously established stations throughout the northern Yellowstone study area. These remote cameras detect recognizable GPS-collared cougars, as well as uncollared individuals using the landscape. Collectively, this data is used to help estimate the annual population of cougars across their northern Yellowstone home ranges.
Project staff will also continue to work with the Yellowstone Wolf Project to find animals killed by predators. Data found at these sites provide valuable insight into carnivore competition for food, impacts on prey, and changes in choice of prey through the winter season.
This winter the team plans to increase the number of cameras to provide better coverage in higher density winter use areas of the Yellowstone River corridor. These cameras continue
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NPS REMOTE CAMERAS
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The Yellowstone Cougar Project continues to provide new information about these ecologically important top predators. The success of the project relies greatly on the passion and commitment of Yellowstone Forever’s members. Learn more at Yellowstone.org/cougar.