The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem - Mountains and Plains: The Ecology of Wyoming Landscapes - page 256

town of Kelly was swept away, and a 20-foot wall of
water hit Wilson 2 hours later, 25 miles downstream.
A new alluvial fan was created in the Kelly area, but
the water level was back to normal the next day. Kelly
has been rebuilt at the same location, and new shrub-
lands and riparian vegetation have developed over the
past 85 years. A trip to the Gros Ventre Slide provides a
reminder of what could happen again, and is another
illustration of how the geology of an area influences
plant distribution.

author was A. Starker Leopold, son of Aldo Leopold—
the inherent dynamics of natural ecosystems were
explicitly recognized . 39 e arlier assumptions about the
desirability of stable population sizes and vegetation
condition were challenged. instead of suppressing dis-
turbances, the parks were advised to accept and even
encourage change driven by herbivory, predation, and
fire. this new natural regulation policy called for let-
ting such ecological processes operate to the greatest
degree possible, with human intervention allowed as
needed for safety or to correct problems caused by pre-
vious human activities. More research was also recom-
mended, recognizing the many uncertainties about
whether specific ecological changes in the parks were
driven by natural phenomena or human interference.
there also were debates about the long-term effects of
native Americans. 40
Whether natural regulation can really be an effective
management approach in any ecosystem is still a topic
of considerable discussion. consider, for example, the
challenges associated with the Yellowstone “elk prob-
lem,” the 1988 fires, the decline of whitebark pine, and
the reintroduction of wolves.

Management Issues in the GYE

Management concerns and priorities in the GYe have
changed dramatically since YnP was established in
1872 . 37 initially, the objectives for YnP seemed simple
and straightforward: protect the geothermal features
from vandalism, protect the wildlife from predators
and poaching, and protect the vegetation from fire
and overgrazing. Do these things and the park would
be preserved. All fires, whether ignited by lightning or
humans, were actively suppressed when possible; preda-
tors were shot; and elk and bison were managed inten-
sively, as though they were domestic livestock.
By the 1960s, however, it had become increasingly
clear that this approach to park preservation was overly
simplistic and ineffective. With much less predation,
the elk population increased rapidly and appeared to
threaten the persistence of aspen, willows, and grass-
lands on their winter range. Fire-dependent species
were declining, and the iconic grizzly bear was on the
verge of local extinction. throughout the park's his-
tory some scientists had argued that the greatest value
of Yellowstone lay in preservation of its wild nature,
and had questioned programs of intensive control and
manipulation of the park's ecosystem. For example,
theodore comstock celebrated the park as one of the
few remaining places where one could study the evo-
lution and natural selection of animals “in a state of
nature,” and George Wright and Aldo Leopold famously
advocated protection and restoration of predators in
Yellowstone and other national parks. 38 never theless,
major changes in management philosophy were not
made until the 1960s, as proposed in a 1963 report
titled “Wildlife management in the national parks.”
Known as the Leopold report—because the senior

The Elk Problem

By the late 1800s, unregulated hunting of elk and other
wild game drastically reduced herds throughout the
West . 41 to counter this trend, animals were fed and
predators were systematically eliminated, especially
wolves. By 1912 the summer elk population in YnP
was crudely estimated at more than 30,000. 42 concern
shifted from fears of elk extirpation to worries that elk
were damaging their winter range. in response, manag-
ers began trapping and shipping excess animals to other
places. When the demand for such animals declined,
rangers reduced herd sizes by shooting the animals,
even inside the park . 43 S till, elk numbers remained high,
and concerns began to mount about overgrazing on the
northern winter range, located between Mammoth and
cooke city. For example, ecologist charles Kay com-
pared historic and modern photographs, noting an
abundance of tall willows and a lack of browsing-caused
scars on aspen bark in the 1800s, but few willows and
almost ubiquitous scars on aspen bark in modern views
of the same locations (fig. 15.12). 44