As the bears head off to hibernation, we hope that you, too, are excited to unwind and reflect on 2023 with anticipation for what the New Year holds. YERC has been hard at work this year, and we are excited to share our accomplishments with you!
RiverNET Keeps on Flowing!
RiverNET has completed its sixth year on the Upper Yellowstone River! From operating our 21 sensors stations along tributaries of the Upper Yellowstone, to monitoring riparian songbird abundance and macroinvertebrate abundance, the RiverNET project continues to help monitor and predict changes to the health of the Upper Yellowstone River ecosystem. We are grateful for the tremendous community support and input we've received to make this program effective for the community!
This past summer, YERC interns Grace Campbell and Auggie Tupper from Montana State University continued to develop an AI method to identify and classify specific habitat types and monitor their change…
Montana has recently adopted two new methods to determine the population size (abundance) of wolves for statewide management decisions, including where and how many wolves can be hunted each year. The methods are…
This semester, DIABLO capstone team, or Drone In ABox for Large-scale Optimization, is further developing a self-regulating enclosure, known as a skybox, to house, protect, and recharge a drone…
The Smart FishNET originally prototyped by a MSU capstone team in 2021 will complete a production-ready system. The system features a built-in Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) reader that interfaces…
LOOKING AHEAD: THE NORTHERN YELLOWSTONE PARTNERSHIP
Photo credit: V.C. Wald
YERC has recently conducted a workshop of thought leaders and undertaken surveys of private landowners to begin the planning and design phase needed to launch our new initiative, called the Northern Yellowstone Partnership (NYP), as a new way of collaborating to restore ecosystems. This year, we received a grant from the Rangeland Foundation to fund the creation of this initiative in 2024, and to fundamentally answer the question: What can we do to reverse the current downward spiral of degraded ecosystems using the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that, by all standards of comparison, is quite healthy?
The mission of the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center is to empower communities and individuals with data-driven science and technology to activate land, water, and wildlife stewardship across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
SUPPORT OUR MISSION
We can’t do this without you! Consider donating to show your support of our land, water, and wildlife monitoring programs.
All donations of $50 or greater will receive a map of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem - custom made by Raven Maps.
