The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Globally Significant

With Yellowstone National Park as its core, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is a 20 million acre expanse of mountainous wildlands in a complex matrix of public and private lands spread over three states: Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

The GYE is a Unique Cradle of Life:

With the only remaining large biologically intact temperate ecosystem in North America, a globally renowned 'mecca' for native wildlife, the greatest area of geothermal activity and most most unique extreme environment live forms in the world, the GYE- like no other part of the planet- provides critical clues to the origin, current complexity, and future of life on earth, and, indeed about the possiblities for life elswhere in the universe.

The GYE is a Grand Experiment:

The GYE is the world's first protected wildlands, an intact mountain region that plays a signifacant role for climate and hydrology for much of North America as well as a diverse and growing human landscape with prosperous communities. The GYE is thus the first and longest ongoing experiment of modern humans intending a compatible integration of society and wildlands- the outcome of the experiment is unknown and continues to unfold.

The GYE offers Lessons of Global Relevance:

The future of lives in the American West and the future of wildland protection worldwide are connected to the long-term success of closing the gap between science and application in the GYE. From policy and land use to ecosystem change and specific ecological events, the world takes notice of the GYE.

Interested in finding out more about the plants, animals, culture, and geography of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  BSI helped to create the Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center for just that purpose!