About YERC

The Yellowstone Ecological Research Center is committed to long-term, large-scale, multi-disciplinary research and education in the Yellowstone Ecosystem. We are an independent, private, non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the role of science at the decision-making table.

YERC is currently conducting 27 research projects encompassing a wide variety of ecosystem inhabitants, processes, and indicators. Those projects include modeling elk migration across biologically complex boundaries; fusion of hyperspectral and radar imagery to identify and monitor indicators of ecosystem health; wetland and amphibian surveys to understand their declines; investigating the interactive role of predation and habitat structure in declining pronghorn antelope populations; mapping the diseases of whitebark pine--a crucial fall food source for grizzlies; understanding the long-term effects of the ’88 fires on streams and small mammal communities; and, of course, the continuation of our long-term study of Yellowstone’s three canids: wolves, coyotes, and red foxes.

We appreciate your interest in YERC and encourage your participation in our numerous research initiatives and education programs.

Whether you are a potential future collaborator, staff member, or intern; someone interested in YERC's science or education programs; or would like to make a purchase from our store or donation to our research efforts, we'd love to hear from you.

Phone	(406) 556-1414
Fax	(406) 556-1405
Address	2048 Analysis Drive, Suite B Bozeman, MT 59718

YERC conducts the majority of its field research within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The group's permanent field station is located in Cooke City, MT, just a few miles from the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park and its home offices are in Bozeman, MT, on the northwest edge of the GYE. These facilitiies provide ideal access to the Lamar Valley, Yellowstone’s Northern Range, Yellowstone Lake, the Absaroka Wilderness, the Beartooth Mountains, Grand Teton National Park, Red Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuges, and six units of the US Forest Service.

Yellowstone: A Magnificent Living Laboratory!
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) provides YERC scientists and collaborators with a magnificent, living laboratory for biological and ecological research. The GYE’s pristine core contains two national parks and wilderness-dominated federal lands, all with diverse native plant communities and relatively intact large-scale processes (e.g., fire, floods, and animal migrations).

The GYE contains the full suite of large carnivore species present prior to European settlement, including fox, wolverine, coyotes, lynx, wolves, mountain lions, black bears, and grizzly bears. It also provides the headwaters for surface and ground water flow to a large section of the U.S., and hosts the last stronghold of two native cutthroat trout species (Yellowstone [Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri] and the closely related Snake River [O. c. spp.]).

The GYE lies at the interface of several major North American eco-regions, and as such includes a diverse mix of forests and grasslands, mountains and high plains, and wet and arid regions. These diverse ecotypes are representative of landscapes across the northern and central Rockies, plus the western edge of the Great Plains. Thus the GYE serves as an excellent proxy for many areas.

Ecosystem Science in the 21st Century--Biocomplexity Beyond Borders

Ecosystem science in the 21st Century should mirror the complexity of the ecosystems it seeks to understand. Ecosystems are composed of inextricably linked components, patterns and processes. YERC's research programs reflect this linked structure with a programmatic approach and a paradigm of long-term, large scale, and multi-disciplinary studies. Furthermore, YERC's private sector, cooperative and programmatic approach, provides a fact-based decision-making process with sound, unbiased information.

Underpinning every major conservation and environmental concern today is the essential need for protection of large, healthy ecosystems. Declining carnivore populations, migrating ungulate and salmonid populations, widespread dispersal of non-native species and disease, interruption of natural fire regimes, climate change, underground water contamination, and airborne pollutants are some of the dominant conservation and environmental challenges that occur at large scales.

We need an understanding of how large-scale ecosystems work. Scientists, conservationists, and elected officials are beginning to find themselves in unanimous agreement: an understanding of how large-scale systems work is needed. It is also becoming clear that the cost of not understanding ecosystem-scale components and processes is inestimably great. Healthy ecosystems provide us with the basic biological support services—clean air, clear water, and other natural resources—necessary to sustain humanity, as well as supporting the highest levels of biodiversity.

Inextricably linked to the large area requirement is the need to study ecosystems over long time periods. This is the premise of biological complexity: multiple processes and taxa that occur and interact across various spatial and temporal scales. Unfortunately, our view of ecosystems come from relatively small scales—short term, small area, and often myopic in nature. What kind of understanding can a typical two to three year study provide about 30 year grizzly bear life times, 300 year old forests, and 10,000 year old streams? Yet, botanical studies are typically conducted on study plots of less than 100 meters. We know ecosystems are governed by rules and processes that occur at scales sometimes smaller, and often much larger, that those of traditional approaches. Thus, the concept of biocomplexity must be embraced by ecosystem science if we are to understand and sustain healthy ecosystems.

Beyond the purely scientific issues of ecosystem science, lie political issues. Currently, research and monitoring conducted in U.S. ecosystems is largely performed by the land management agencies. Such in-house activities often lack independence—a basic premise of impartiality and credibility. Too often controversial issues become politicized and give rise to ill-conceived studies that lack scientific controls (e.g., pre-impact data), and which are susceptible to politically driven agendas. The public sector, already weary and critical of both scientists and governmental regulation, perceives these conflicts of interest, and lose faith in the system. Blue-ribbon panel reviews, governmental inquiries, and books and reports on this subject have abounded during the last ten years. A review of such publications with regard to our national parks, for example, found two overriding themes, the need:

for better, and more objective, impartial science; and
to improve the scientific basis for decision-making.

Finally, the information base with which to manage, restore, and protect ecosystems is either absent, deficient, or eroding. Basic inventories of species and resources are lacking. Effective monitoring is rare. With an already declining research budget and a recent restructuring of research in the Department of Interior, federal land management agencies are facing drastic reductions in research and resource monitoring funds. In academia, the classic stronghold of science, researchers often pursue non-programmatic research. Because of the pressure to publish frequently and to secure funding, the typical duration of these studies is two to three. Additional incentives are centered around the duration of a graduate student's degree program. YERC provides the antidote to these problems inherent in academia, while building on its strengths.

The idea of YERC was conceived in 1993, based on a bold vision of conducting research and education in the Greater Yellowstone region with a goal of increasing the role of science at the decision-making table. To accomplish this goal, YERC's founders recognized that we can best must understand the nature of ecosystems through:

examining whole landscapes, not just small portions of them;
studying ecosystems in extended time frames, not in two- or three-year snapshots; and
collaborating with other researchers in multi-disciplinary teams, rather than as disconnected units.

We developed goals to act as an independent, private, non-profit organization that attracted researchers from the worlds of academia, government, and business to bridge fragmented disciplines, bureaucratic boundaries, and disparate approaches to science. We hoped to empower all ecosystem stakeholders with the facts and knowledge to make informed decisions about the sound stewardship of Yellowstone, one of the world's crown jewel ecosystems.

Today, following those goals set out over ten years ago, we are conducting 27 long-term, ecosystem-wide, interdisciplinary research and education projects. These projects provide a sound basis for wise decision-making and the effective protection of our natural heritage for future generations. We are happy to state that our accomplishments are many and our commitment to our original ideals and goals remains unshakeable.

During the last 11 years, with your support, we have raised a total of over $8 million to support our programs. We have had wide-ranging impacts on individuals, organizations, and agencies. We have also ventured out with a variety of educational ideas and programs; for example, nearly 600 individuals completed our Ecological Adventures Research Expeditions program. We have produced a plethora of publications, popular articles, and lectures and presentations. We have collaborated with 22 colleges and universities, 13 corporations, and 11 federal and state agencies.