20th anniversary of catastrophic Yellowstone fires forces a look forward

ARLINGTON, VA — August 20, 2008 — Twenty years ago today, more than 150,000 acres of Yellowstone National Park burned in a 24-hour period deemed “Black Saturday,” part of the worst fires in the park’s history that consumed 800,000 acres total. Looking back, the fires did little or no long-term damage to the park’s plants and animals – almost nothing compared to the threats the park faces today.

While the heart of the Greater Yellowstone region is protected in 2.5 million acres of national parks, the winter habitat surrounding the park – the land most critical to the survival of much of Yellowstone's wildlife – is under-protected and disappearing rapidly.

According to demographic and scientific trends, in the last two decades, the Greater Yellowstone region has experienced twice the nation’s population growth rate and six times the rate of land conversion and habitat loss. While only 27,000 houses were located within 50 miles of the park in 1940, today that number exceeds 88,000 and scientists predict we could reach 143,000 in the next two decades.

“This is the biggest crisis Yellowstone faces since it was created. At the current rate of permanent habitat loss, the extraordinary wildlife that characterizes the region will not be maintained for future generations,” said Paul Hansen, director of the Greater Yellowstone program at The Nature Conservancy. “Very few of the millions visiting have any sense of that.”

Winter range is found primarily in the lower elevation river valleys, places also popular with home owners and the increasing number of residents who move to the region for its natural beauty. When significant portions of the park are covered in 50 feet of snow, as can be typical in the winter months, animals need room to move to less harsh conditions. Their usable space is rapidly shrinking.