Yellowstone National Park

50 Nifty Finds #38: A Germ of an Idea

A lot of articles have been written about the history of the National Park Service (NPS) arrowhead emblem. Many recycle…

50 Nifty Finds #36: Taking Flight

If asked about a symbol or emblem for national parks today, most visitors would probably envision the National Park Service…

My Park Story: Jill Riggins

Some NPS rangers don't wear a uniform or a flat hat! Find out what Jill does everyday as an Administrative…

Mather High School Visits Western Parks

Students from the Stephen T. Mather High School in NYC spent 3 weeks during the summer camping and working on…

Methods for the Interagency Whitebark Pine Monitoring Program in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

The Interagency Whitebark Pine Monitoring Program in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem follows a published protocol to track whitebark pine conditions.…

Whitebark Pine Conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Whitebark pine conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been a collaborative effort spanning multiple jurisdictions and involving public and…

Whitebark Pine Mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – Data Summary of Monitoring in 2023

Several stressors are lethal to whitebark pine, a declining keystone species of the western US. NPS scientists track these stressors,…

Whitebark Pine Recruitment in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – Data Summary of Monitoring in 2023

The persistence of whitebark pine forests in the face of current stressors is influenced by the recruitment of seedlings into…

Interagency Whitebark Pine Monitoring Program in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem - Overview

Changes to whitebark pine forests in the western US over the past several decades have led to a multiagency collaboration…

Water Resources Monitoring in the Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana, 2022

With headwaters in Yellowstone National Park, the Madison River is a renowned recreation destination. The Greater Yellowstone Network monitors water…

Water Resources Monitoring in the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana, 2022

The Yellowstone River has relatively high water quality. It flows through Yellowstone National Park and is the longest undammed river…

Dinosaurs of the National Park Service

Dinosaur fossils have been discovered at or are associated with at least 27 NPS units. Geographically, their finds are concentrated…

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act support range-wide efforts to rescue disease-addled whitebark pine forests

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funds enable whitebark pine recovery work at 10 national parks. In addition to…

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding ensures long-term success of native plants in Western U.S. national parks

Thanks to funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, NPS projects in the West hope to collect native seeds to aide…

SHORT: An Uncertain Future: the Persistence of Whitebark Pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

If ever I was to love a tree, this is the tree (figure 1) that would own my heart. Enduring…

Outside Science (inside parks): Studying Hydrology in Yellowstone National Park

In this episode of Outside Science (inside parks), follow Scientists in Parks intern Abby as she studies the unique geology…

My Park Story: Julie Lindsay

Julie Lindsay shares her story of first visiting NPS parks and a little bit of her journey to achieving her…

Women Who Were There

No comprehensive data has been compiled about women government employees working in national parks before the NPS was founded on…

NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in…

Population Viability Analysis

This study confirms that management of DOI bison herds in isolation promotes the loss of genetic diversity within all herds.…

Dragonfly mercury studies uncover unexpected atmospheric delivery pathways

Read the abstract and get the link to a published paper on how dragonfly mercury studies uncover unexpected atmospheric delivery…

Updated Species Database Will Help Boost Amphibian Conservation Across the National Park System

To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance…

50 Nifty Finds #48: Canned Plants

Although the National Park Service (NPS) History Collection doesn’t include natural science specimens, it does have objects that reflect how…

50 Nifty Finds #47: Bumper Views

Travel any distance on America’s road system today and you will see vehicles of every size and shape decorated with…

50 Nifty Finds #45: Holding the Line

The National Park Service (NPS) was only 26 years old when the United States entered World War II. The young…

Water Resources Monitoring in the Lamar River near Tower Ranger Station, Wyoming, 2022

The Lamar River is the largest tributary to the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. The Greater Yellowstone Inventory and…

Guide to the Harold P. Fabian Papers

This finding aid describes the Harold P. Fabian Papers, part of the NPS History Collection.

50 Nifty Finds #50: Buttoning It Up

Good design stands the test of time, which may be why the National Park Service (NPS) standard uniform button has…

Fossils of the 2022 National Fossil Day Artwork

The 2022 National Fossil Day Artwork features a scene from Yellowstone in the Early Eocene (50 million years ago), during…

“Cracking the code” on mercury bioaccumulation

Read the abstract and get the link to a published paper on a model to predict mercury risk park waterbodies:…

How Parks’ Popular Webpages Can Benefit the Climate Conversation

Many Americans are reluctant to talk with one another about climate change. This may have a chilling effect on addressing…

Pollinators in peril? A multipark approach to evaluating bee communities in habitats vulnerable to effects from climate change

Can you name five bees in your park? Ten? Twenty? Will they all be there 50 years from now? We…

24 in 2024: An Explore Nature Year in Review

As we reflect on 2024, we offer you a list of 24 interesting and exciting science and nature events from…

Guide to the E.B. Thompson Negative Collection

This finding aid describes the E.B. Thompson Negative Collection, part of the NPS History Collection.

Fossil Inventories Uncover Permian Sharks in Western National Parks

A recent survey of the National Park Service shows records of shark fossils from at least 46 units across the…

50 Nifty Finds #21: A Good Trip

One of the first Congressional committees to conduct an inspection tour of national parks was the US House of Representatives…

50 Nifty Finds #27: A Distinction Without a Difference

The 1920 National Park Service (NPS) uniform regulations included sleeve insignia to identify the job and rank of the person…

Staff Spotlight: Elizabeth LaRochelle

Meet Elizabeth Larochelle, a Volunteer Program Coordinator with the National Parks of New York Harbor!

50 Nifty Finds #12: Glamping Gear

The word “glamping” was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016. For many, it combines the love of…

Archeology & Adaptation to Climate Change in Yellowstone

The effects of climate change may pose the greatest threat to the integrity of natural and cultural resources that Yellowstone…

Volcanic Ash, Tephra Fall, and Fallout Deposits

Volcanic ash, pumice, and tephra ejected in volcanic eruptions ultimately falls back to Earth where it covers the ground. These…

Water Quality Criteria for the Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana

The Madison River is classified as a B-1 water body. This means it is suitable for drinking after being treated,…

Water Flow in the Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana

Water flow on the Madison River has been monitored since 1913. The hydrograph for the monitoring site near West Yellowstone,…

Water Monitoring Methods for the Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana

We collect water samples from the Madison River and send them to a lab to analyze the chemical composition. In…

Water Quality in the Madison River Near West Yellowstone, Montana

The Madison River has high quality water. There are some arsenic exceedances that are likely naturally occurring from the geothermal…

The Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana

The Madison River is a renowned recreation destination for fishing birding, and wildlife viewing. The river begins in Yellowstone National…

Ultra-Plinian Eruptions

These caldera-forming eruptions are the largest of all volcanic eruptions. These eruptions have higher eruption rates that form higher eruption…

Keeping Up With the Johnsons

Hitch a historical ride on a 1923 national park road trip! Travel with Pete and Flo Johnson in their 1920…

50 Nifty Finds #13: The Artistry of Adult Coloring

They say that coloring provides stress relief for adults as well as children. For artists at the National Park Service…

Sprinkler save at Canyon Visitor Education Center, Yellowstone National Park

On January 4, 2023, a boiler fire (Boiler 2) occurred at the Canyon Visitor Education Center at Yellowstone National Park.…

50 Nifty Finds #15: The Art of Politics

Political cartoons have long been a way for artists and their editors to bring attention to important social issues or…

2021 National Park Service Aviation Awards

In 2021, the National Park Service Aviation Program awarded the Excellence in Mentorship Aviation Award, the Tom Clausing Aviation All…

The Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Program Brings BSA Scouts and National Parks Together

To connect more youth to their local communities, NPS created the Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Program in partnership with the…

Guide to the Thomas J. Allen Photograph Collection

Finding aid for the Thomas J. Allen Photographs in the NPS History Collection.

Irene M. Wisdom

Irene M. Wisdom officially began her National Park Service (NPS) career as a temporary park ranger in 1924. As the…

50 Nifty Finds #4: Getting In the Zone

For more than a century the National Park Service (NPS) has won awards and honors for its work preserving cultural…

Multi-year defensible space project in Lake Village of Yellowstone protects from threat of wildfire

Park staff initiated a multi-year defensible space project, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to protect human life, modern and…

Taking the Pulse of U.S. National Parks

How do we know if parks are healthy? We measure their vital signs, of course! Across the country, there are…

Resurgent Calderas

Resurgent calderas are substantially larger than summit calderas with diameters of many tens of miles (kms). Although they form in…

Calderas

Calderas are large collapse features that can be many miles in diameter. They form during especially large eruptions when the…

Explosive Calderas

Explosive calderas result from violent eruptions of great quantities of silicic magmas. These eruptions produce massive eruption columns that extend…

Crater Lakes

Water lakes may exist in craters and calderas (large collapse features) as these depressions can become filled by rainwater or…

Fumaroles

Fumaroles are places where steam and volcanic gases are emitted. They are present on most active volcanoes. The occurrence of…

NPS Recognizes International Firefighters' Day

The National Park Service Structural Fire Branch took time away from their busy annual Structural Firefighting Leadership Council seminar to…

Explore Careers: Yellowstone National Park 2021 #WhatWeDoWednesdays

From investigating wolf kill sites, to grooming park roads in winter, to monitoring climate sites, there are many types of…

50 Nifty Finds #23: Second Wind

Many people begin second careers later in life, but few can claim to have defined a professional field and influenced…

Making an Impact: Long-Term Monitoring of Natural Resources at Intermountain Region National Parks, 2021

Across the Intermountain Region, Inventory & Monitoring Division ecologists are helping to track the effects of climate change, provide baseline…

50 Nifty Finds #24: Fire Away!

In the 1930s the National Park Service (NPS) fire suppression policy received a boost from Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) funding.…

50 Nifty Finds #25: Ranger Spies?

As far as we know there weren’t any real ranger spies operating in national parks, but the National Park Service…

“Super Volcanoes”

"Supervolcanoes" are very large calderas that have had eruptions at magnitude 8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), meaning that…

Women in Landscape-Scale Conservation: Jodi Hilty

Jodi Hilty is the Chief Scientist and President of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. See how important it is…

Girl Scouts Use Girl Scout Cookie Boxes to Create National Park Designs

Have you ever considered how Girl Scout cookie boxes could be used for something other than the cookies themselves? In…

50 Nifty Finds #18: Portable Posters

Many visitors to national parks today collect passport stamps, magnets, or other items to recall their trip and to show…

50 Nifty Finds #19: A Lens on History

Ezra B. Thompson was a well-respected commercial photographer, lecturer, government employee, and contractor. He was also the first employee to…

A “New” First Permanent Woman Ranger

For almost a century Marguerite Lindsley (later Arnold) was believed to be the first permanent woman park ranger, appointed to…

Grant and Yellowstone

On March 1, 1872, Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, which made the area “a public park or…

How to Name a New Species from Badlands National Park

Paleontologist Ed Welsh details the discovery and description of a new mammal species from Badlands National Park, along with the…

The Montana-Yellowstone Archeological Project at Yellowstone Lake

Native Americans who lived within the northwestern Great Plains, the northern Rocky Mountains, and the far northeastern edge of the…

50 Nifty Finds #6: Something Fishy

How do fish get up the mountain? By horse, of course! When is a plant not a plant? When you…

The Winds of Change

The history of women rangers in the National Park Service (NPS) was believed to start with Yosemite and Mount Rainier…

Ranger Roll Call, 1930-1939

Few women worked in uniformed positions in the 1930s but those who did weren't only ranger-checkers or ranger-naturalists. Jobs as…

Ranger Roll Call, 1940-1949

Only a small number of women held temporary ranger positions in national parks during World War II. Carlsbad Caverns National…

Women in Landscape-Scale Conservation: Cheryl Decker

Cheryl Decker works hard to keep invasive plants from moving across boundaries.

Composite Volcanoes (Stratovolcanoes)

Composite volcanoes are made up of both lava flows and pyroclastic deposits and usually experience multiple eruptions over long periods…

The Women Naturalists

Only two early women park rangers made the transition to park naturalists. Having resigned her permanent ranger position after her…

Cinder Cones

Cinder cones are typically simple volcanoes that consist of accumulations of ash and cinders around a vent. Sunset Crater Volcano…

Shield Volcanoes

Shield volcanoes are typically very large volcanoes with very gentle slopes made up of basaltic lava flows. Mauna Loa and…

Yellowstone Developed Area Fuels Management

In 2021, Yellowstone National Park continued and completed mechanical fuel treatments that began in 2020 on 262 acres in and…

Human dimensions of winter use in Yellowstone National Park: A research gap analysis

Social scientists review the winter use literature of Yellowstone, identifying recurring themes of inquiry and areas lacking investigation.

Mine tailings reclamation project improves water quality in Yellowstone’s Soda Butte Creek

Contaminated with heavy metals for more than 80 years, Yellowstone’s Soda Butte Creek was recently recommended for removal from Montana’s…

Parks, pikas, and physiological stress: Implications for long-term monitoring of an NPS climate-sensitive sentinel species

Baseline values of physiological stress can be incorporated into monitoring plans for pikas, providing park managers with additional information related…

Lake trout–induced spatial variation in the benthic invertebrates of Yellowstone Lake

Invasive lake trout indirectly increased biomass and body mass of amphipods.

Patterns of Pathogen Exposure in Gray Wolves

Read the abstract and link to a new published article on wolf pathogens across North America: Brandell, E. E., P.…

PARKS...IN...SPAAAACE!!!

NASA astronauts have quite literally an out-of-this-world view of national parks and take some pretty stellar pictures to share. Travel…

Climate Smart Conservation Planning for the National Parks

In response to climate change, park managers are having to rethink how they plan for the future. Climate Smart Conservation…

Volcanic Processes—Lahars

Lahars are volcanic mudflows and are among the most destructive of volcanic phenomena. Lahars present significant geohazards since they can…

Yellowstone National Park & United States Naval Academy Partnership: Student Designs for Improved Shoreline Access at Lake Yellowstone Hotel

Coastlines are dynamic and processes such as erosion and accretion challenge coastal managers and nearby infrastructure. A unique partnership between…

Patterns of Primary Production & Ecological Drought in Yellowstone

Photosynthesis converts sunlight into stored energy in millions of leaves, flowers, and seeds that maintain the web of life in…

Archeology Along the Nez Perce National Historic Trail

When Yellowstone National Park (YNP) was created in 1872, much of the western Great Plains and Rocky Mountains remained uncharted…

A Brief History of Archeology at Yellowstone National Park

The fact that Native Americans used the landscape of present-day Yellowstone National Park (YNP) for millennia was evident to the…

National Park Service Commemoration of the 19th Amendment

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment the National Park Service has developed a…

Collaborative Vital Signs Monitoring in Yellowstone National Park

Central to understanding and promoting the health of national parks is the availability of regularly-collected, high quality, long-term ecological information…

Monitoring Methods for the Lamar River near Tower Ranger Station, Wyoming

The Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network monitors water resources in parks, including the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park.…

Birds and Observing Them

Birds are found just about everywhere. Even when you can’t see them, you can often hear them. Bird diversity changes…

Wildland Fire in Lodgepole Pine

The bark of lodgepoles is thin, which does not protect the trunks from scorching by fire. They die easily when…

“Girls” in Uniform

Yellowstone National Park’s Superintendent Horace M. Albright was one of a few superintendents hiring women park rangers in the 1920s.…

The First Woman Ranger at Hawai’i National Park

Yellowstone wasn’t the only park to have a woman ranger in 1922. That same year, M. Lydia Barrette became the…

The Unisex Uniform

R. Bryce Workman’s book National Park Service Uniforms: Breeches, Blouses, and Skirt 1918-1991, published by the NPS in 1998, has…

More Than “Just” A Secretary

If you’re only familiar with modern office practices, you may not recognize many of jobs necessary to run an office…

Advancements in Analytical Approaches Improve Whitebark Pine Monitoring Results

A recent evaluation of the monitoring protocol for whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem revealed limitations in the original…

Isabel Bassett Wasson

In 1920, Isabel Bassett Wasson was the first woman hired as a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park. Although she…

Mary A. Rolfe

Mary A. Rolfe spent over a year in France near the close of World War I, working with the American…

Interagency Scientists Use Monitoring to Assess Greater Yellowstone’s Amphibians

Amphibians are cryptic and charismatic animals. Because they depend on land and water habitats, their presence or absence in a…

Ranger Roll Call, 1916-1929

Recent research demonstrates that there were more women rangers and ranger-naturalists in early National Park Service (NPS) history than previously…

Did You Know We Never Hire Women?

In 1920, as Ranger Isabel Bassett Wasson arrived at Yellowstone, Dr. Harold C. Bryant and Dr. Loye Holmes Miller launched…

Scientist Profile: Andrew Ray, Ecologist

Meet Andrew Ray, ecologist with the Greater Yellowstone Inventory & Monitoring Network! Andrew is fascinated by aquatic habitats and wetland…

Dare to Imagine: Erin Stahler

Meet Erin Stahler, a Biological Science Technician with the Yellowstone Wolf Project who found her dream job. In addition to…

Studying the Past and Predicting the Future Using Rat Nests

In the western United States, packrat middens are one of the best tools for reconstructing recent environments and climates. These…

50 Nifty Finds #9: Green Stamps

Described by some as "the greatest propaganda campaign ever launched by the federal government to exploit the scenic wonders of…

Pyroclastic Flows and Ignimbrites, and Pyroclastic Surges

Pyroclastic flows and surges are among the most awesome and most destructive of all volcanic phenomena. Pyroclastic flow deposits are…

The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana

The Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states. It flows northwest through Yellowstone National Park…

Water Flow in the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana

A U.S. Geological Survey gaging station (USGS 06191500) has measured daily flow on the Yellowstone River most years since 1890.…

Water Monitoring Methods for the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana

We collect water samples monthly during ice-free periods following depth and width-integrated protocols outlined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).…

Water Quality in the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana

The Yellowstone River has relatively high water quality and much of the watershed upstream from the monitoring location is managed…

Water Quality Criteria for the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana

Exiting the park at Gardiner, MT, the Yellowstone River has been classified as a B-1 water body. This means the…

Audrey Calhoun

The first Black woman in the United States to graduate with a degree in forestry, Audrey Calhoun committed to a…

Yellowstone's 2018 Sustainability Spotlight Projects

Here are three highlights of sustainability projects that occurred within Yellowstone National Park in 2018.

Surrogate Species: Piecing Together the Whole Picture

National parks, such as Yellowstone National Park (YNP), are ecologically and socially important resources conservatively valued at $92 billion (Haefele…

Park Managers look to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law projects to break cycle of fire-driven ecosystem losses in the West

Park managers look to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to break the cycle of fire-driven ecosystem losses in the West. The project…

Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks

Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad…

When Wildfire Makes the Forest Understory the Star

Life on the forest floor is diverse, verdant, and plays a supporting role to the larger, flashier celebrities of the…

50 Nifty Finds #39: An NPS Art Factory

Between 1938 and 1941 the National Park Service (NPS) Western Museum Laboratories (WML) created many iconic posters. Often described as…

50 Nifty Finds #31: Going in Circles

One of the highlights of the National Park Service (NPS) History Collection is the leather hatband that belonged to Horace…

50 Nifty Finds #30: So Funny It Hurt

Humor is a form of commentary that often reveals serious truths. Cartoonists combine artistic talents with razor-sharp wits to shine…

Crawlies That Aren't Creepy

Join Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in celebrating our very important volunteer, VIP Bob Stoltz! Bob recently received the President’s…

Lava Flow Forms

Young lava flows also have structures and textures that reveal information about their eruptions. Basaltic lava flows come in two…

Cenozoic Era

The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began…

Volcanic Domes

Lava domes are steep-sided rounded accumulations of highly viscous silicic lava over a vent. Some domes are part of composite…

Project Profile: Produce Seed for Intermountain Grasslands

The National Park Service and organizations of the Southwest Seed Partnership will implement the National Seed Strategy and associated revegetation…

Some bears ride the green wave

Read the abstract and get the link to an article that looks at whether or not brown bears (grizzly bears)…

Project Profile: Produce Seed for Intermountain Sagebrush Systems

The National Park Service will build in-house capacity for four strategically located parks to scale up their collection, production, and…

Project Profile: Increase Native Seed Production for Upper Colorado Basin

This project will assist these three parks in building climate resilience and increasing biodiversity in threatened WBP forest ecosystems by…

Shared History

Not all National Park Service (NPS) history is in the NPS! There are many public, corporate, and private collections with…

Women in Science: Fisheries

Yellowstone National Park presents a unique opportunity for young professionals pursuing a career in fisheries management and research. Every year…

Zehra Osman

Zehra Osman has been a Landscape Architect with the National Park Service since 2001. Through her work at a variety…

Forest Fires in Yellowstone: the Science of Burning and Regrowth

It was the fall of 1988. Dr. Monica Turner, a 29-year-old staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, flew out…

Geoscientists-in-the-Parks: Geologic Resource Assistants

Read about the work Megan Norr and Jacob Thacker did as Geologic Resource Assistant GIPs in Yellowstone National Park in…

Lone Star Fire

Smoke from the new Lone Star fire temporarily closes road in Yellowstone National Park. A lightning-ignited wildfire was reported on…

25 Years of Wolves in Yellowstone

The 2019-2020 winter marked the 25th anniversary of the wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone. To commemorate this event, we spent five…

Horace Albright's National Park Service Legacy

Take a brief journey through the National Park Service career of Horace Albright.

Wildland Fire in Sagebrush

Sagebrush will burn when the surrounding grasses are dry. With strong winds, fire spreads rapidly with flames sometimes reaching over…

NPS Launches Projects in Crater Lake and Yellowstone to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Protect Structures

NPS Launches Projects in Crater Lake and Yellowstone to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Protect Structures.

Walking in the Steps of History: Retaking Panoramic Lookout Photographs

Ian Grob, of the US Forest Service, collaborated with the NPS to retake panoramic lookout images ¾ of a century…

Protecting Yellowstone's Water: A Story Map about the Restoration of Soda Butte Creek

Five miles outside the boundary of Yellowstone National Park in Montana, a ghost from the past plagued the park for…

Old Faithful Geyser

Old Faithful Geyser is one of the most iconic geysers in the world. Its eruptions are also fairly predictable, happening…

A Day in the Field, Collaboration is Key to Upper Gibbon Fishery Restoration

In September 2017, a collection of 35 biologists and ecologists, interns, and park volunteers from several parks, agencies, and non-governmental…

Protecting the Ranger Image

In 1926, five women rangers worked in Yellowstone National Park. Marguerite Lindsley was the only permanent ranger and supervised the…

Two for the Price of One

Companion, assistant, confidant, ambassador, host, nurse, cook, secretary, editor, field technician, wildlife wrangler, diplomat, and social director are some of…

What Did You Call Me?

Only 17 women park rangers are documented from 1918 to 1927. Perhaps another three or four are hinted at in…

How Would You Like to be a Park Ranger?

Between 1920 and 1927, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Horace M. Albright hired nine women as park rangers. Some years two…

Substitute Rangers

As the 1940s dawned, the United States was still dealing with the economic woes of the Great Depression and trying…

The Job is His, Not Yours

In the early 1950s, park wives continued to function as they had from the 1920s to the 1940s. The NPS…

Paleogene Period—66.0 to 23.0 MYA

Colorful Paleogene rocks are exposed in the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park and the badlands of Badlands and Theodore…

Paleozoic Era

During the Paleozoic Era (541 to 252 million years ago), fish diversified and marine organisms were very abundant. In North…

Pennsylvanian Period—323.2 to 298.9 MYA

Rocks in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park represent vast Pennsylvanian-age swamps. Plant life in those swamps later became coal found…

Quaternary Period—2.58 MYA to Today

Massive ice sheets advanced and retreated across North America during much of the Quaternary, carving landscapes in many parks. Bering…

The Precambrian

The Precambrian was the "Age of Early Life." During the Precambrian, continents formed and our modern atmosphere developed, while early…

Cambrian Period—541 to 485.4 MYA

The flat layers of rock exposed in Grand Canyon National Park encompass much of the Paleozoic, beginning in the Cambrian…

Mississippian Period—358.9 to 323.2 MYA

The extensive caves of Mammoth Cave and Wind Cave national parks developed in limestone deposited during the Mississippian. Warm, shallow…

The Lamar River Site

The Lamar River is the largest tributary to the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. About three quarters of the…

Water Quality in the Lamar River near Tower Ranger Station, Wyoming

Each year, we collect water from across the entire width of the river and at multiple depths to test for…

Water Flow in the Lamar River near Tower Ranger Station, Wyoming

Daily flow measurements on the Lamar River are recorded from a U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gage near Tower Ranger Station,…

Water Quality Criteria for the Lamar River near Tower Ranger Station, Wyoming

Links to federal and state water quality standards that apply to the Lamar River are found here.

Crystal Clear: McLaren Tailings Restoration

Soda Butte Creek downstream of the McLaren Tailings is listed by Montana as an impaired water body for contamination by…

Discovering Life in Yellowstone Where Nobody Thought it Could Exist

Small scale views in Yellowstone are compelling, especially the colors in hot pots and deep pools. But far from being…

Soda Butte Creek - A Success Story!

Soda Butte Creek was removed from the Clean Water Act 303(d) impaired waters list after an extensive reclamation of the…

Research Report: Using Radio Collars to Study Yellowstone Wolves

Since the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and 1996, radio collars have been used as…

Five Questions

Three scientists at the forefront of wolf ecology answer the same questions about wolf biology and management. Read more about…

Lessons Learned from the Yellowstone Wolf Restoration Project

Bruce Babbit, former Secretary of the Interior, writes about his role in wolf reintroduction.

A Look Back, Howard Eaton's Yellowstone Tour

Howard Eaton was one of Yellowstone National Park’s (YNP) most famous and beloved concessioners who introduced hundreds of tourists to…

Archeological Significance of Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake is considered by many to be the heart of Yellowstone National Park. As North America’s largest, high-elevation natural…

A Volunteer's Impressions

My introduction to the field of archeology was fortuitous for me and came late in my life. The field of…

Debunking the Myth, America's Eden

Excerpt from “Engineering Eden” by Jordan Fisher Smith To early Euro-American visitors, in comparison to New England, Yellowstone certainly looked…

Debunking the Myth, Fear of Yellowstone

One of the persistent myths about Native American attitudes regarding Yellowstone is that they were afraid of this place and…

Debunking the Myth, Seasonal Use of Yellowstone

Historically there have been narratives that Yellowstone was either sparsely occupied by Native American groups or never inhabited by them…

Dendrochronology - The Study of Tree Rings

The science of dendrochronology can be used to estimate when a tree was felled or naturally died, if the calendar…

Archeology Facts

The Heritage & Research Center in Gardiner holds 611,196 cultural and natural history objects, as of October 2017. Learn more...

Historical Archeology

Public perceptions of archeological sites in the Northern Rocky Mountains are heavily geared towards prehistoric sites, such as lithic scatters,…

Obsidian: The MVP of Yellowstone's "Stones"

Obsidian is a volcanic glass formed when magma is extruded from the earth’s crust and cools very rapidly, with little…

Shorts (YS 26-1)

Learn more about ongoing research and findings in this reoccurring series of short articles.

Sneak Peek (YS-26-1)

In medicine, vital signs, such as blood pressure and pulse rate, are simple routine measurements used to assess human health.…

The Yellowstone Story

Little did Philetus Norris know that when he picked up Native American artifacts and sent them off to the Smithsonian…

Bechler Ranger Station Solar Array

Yellowstone National Park is now powering the Bechler Ranger Station with energy from the sun. A portable solar array has…

Wolf Restoration in Yellowstone: Reintroduction to Recovery

Anthony R.E. Sinclair, long-time researcher in the Serengeti of Africa, suggests that to understand an ecosystem, one also must know…

Yellowstone Wolf Facts

Did you know a wolf howl can be heard over 9 miles away in open areas? Learn the facts about…

A Peak Experience Watching Wolves in Yellowstone National Park

After 18 summers of working as a seasonal naturalist in Denali National Park and Glacier National Park, I transferred to…

YS 25-1-Shorts

Shorts are articles that summarize the results of recent scientific publications or highlight human interest stories occurring in the GYE.…

Douglas W. Smith

Douglas W. Smith is a supervisory wildlife biologist whose programs include wolves, elk, and birds.

Hillary L. Robison

Hillary L. Robison is the Deputy Chief of the Yellowstone Center for Resources. Her special interests include conservation, ecology, brown…

Research Report: Going on a Snail Hunt

Yellowstone National Park recently hosted a team of five researchers from Russia who are exploring the role of the Bering…

Research Report:Using Seismic Waves to Map the Ground Below Old Faithful Geyser

Continuing fieldwork conducted in 2015 and 2016, researchers from the University of Utah and the University of Texas El Paso…

Research Report: Revealing Mysteries of the Microbial World

How do microscopic heat-loving organisms not only live, but thrive, in the extreme conditions found in and around thermal features?…

Temporal Variation in Wolf Predation Dynamics

Beginning with the pioneering work of Adolph Murie (1944) in Mount McKinley (now Denali National Park) in 1939-1941, ecologists have…

The Big Scientific Debate: Trophic Cascades

Wolves generate controversy. Usually it’s of a cultural kind, like how they should be managed or should we have them…

The Plight of Aspen: Emerging as a Beneficiary of Wolf Restoration on Yellowstone's Northern Range

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is the most widely distributed tree in North America and is native to Yellowstone National…

Why Wolves Howl

It was a deep-freeze January morning, with mist peeling back in strands off the open riffles of the Lamar River…

Wolf Turf: A Glimpse at 20 Years of Wolf Spatial Ecology in Yellowstone

Territoriality is one of several well-known characteristics of wolf natural history that has presumably evolved in response to selection for…

Sneak Peek (YS-24-1)

Following the recession of glaciers some 8,000-10,000 years ago, native fish began dispersing to the Yellowstone region. By the late…

YS 24-1 Shorts

Shorts are articles that summarize the results of recent scientific publications or highlight human interest stories occurring in the GYE.…

Infectious Diseases of Wolves in Yellowstone

The summer of 2005 began with such promise for wolves in Yellowstone. The population had been at an all-time high…

A Look Back, Botanical Adventures in Yellowstone, 1899

On June 24, 1899, a sentry on routine patrol discovered a party of six camped on the Madison River just…

A Look Back, Historic Relief  Model Helped the Public Understand the Human Relationship to Yellowstone Geology

In the Yellowstone Justice Center in Mammoth, Wyoming, is a historic 1897 geologic relief model of Yellowstone National Park and…

Water Quality and Flow Monitoring in the Yellowstone, Lamar, and Madison Rivers

Yellowstone National Park contains 2,500 miles of streams and rivers. Water quality is largely high in the park, but the…

Status & Conservation of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in the GYE

Yellowstone cutthroat trout are native to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and surrounding drainages, including the Yellowstone River, Snake River,…

Westslope Cutthroat Trout & Fluvial Arctic Grayling Restoration

The Madison and Gallatin rivers, two major headwaters of the Missouri River, originate in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) along the…

Non-native Lake Trout Induce Cascading Changes in the Yellowstone Lake

The mountainous region within and bordering southeastern Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is among the most remote in the contiguous United…

An Approach to Conservation of Native Fish in Yellowstone

In the late 1800s, the waters of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) supported an abundance of fish. Twelve species (or subspecies)…

Effects of Rotenone on Amphibians and Macroinvertebrates in Yellowstone

NPS Photo - J. Fleming

Environmental DNA: A New Approach to Monitoring Fish in Yellowstone National Park

The waters of Yellowstone National Park are among the most pristine on Earth. Here at the headwaters of the Missouri…

Native Trout on the Rise

The waters of Yellowstone National Park are among the most pristine on Earth. Here at the headwaters of the Missouri…

Preservation of Native Cutthroat Trout in Northern Yellowstone

The northern portion of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is a valuable stronghold for native fish; it presents many opportunities to…

A Day in the Field: Of Mice and Hantivirus

Yellowstone’s northern range, undoubtedly one of the prime wildlife viewing spots in North America, harbors impressive bison herds, wolf packs,…

News and Notes YS-25-1

Dr. Fred Allendorf, professor emeritus at the University of Montana and member of the University’s Fish and Wildlife Genomics Group,…

Suppressing Non-native Lake Trout to Restore Native Cutthroat Trout in Yellowstone Lake

The suppression of lake trout via netting has been ongoing in Yellowstone Lake since 1994 when this non-native species was…

Yellowstone Lake Working Group Established to Enhance Native Fish Conservation

Native coldwater species, such as Yellowstone cutthroat trout, westslope cutthroat trout, fluvial Arctic grayling, and mountain whitefish, are especially important…

Fish Population Responses to the Suppression of Non-native Lake Trout

Unprecedented actions are being taken on Yellowstone Lake to suppress lake trout, recover native cutthroat trout, and restore the natural…

Fly Fishing Volunteers Support Native Fish Conservation in Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Fly Fishing Volunteer Program was conceived in 2002 as a way Yellowstone’s biologists could acquire information about fish…

Research Report: Pollinator Hotshot Crews

Pollinator Hotshot Crews, funded through the National Science Foundation travel to parks across the country, including Yellowstone to document insects…

Protecting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from Aquatic Invasive Species

Perhaps no greater threat exists to public recreation, infrastructure, and aquatic resources in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) than that…

Yellowstone Wolf Project Report 2016

There were at least 108 wolves in 11 packs (7 breeding pairs) living primarily in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) through…

2019 Connecting with our Homelands Awardees

Hopa Mountain, in partnership with the National Park Service, is pleased to announce the 2019 awardees of the Connecting with…

Sneak Peek: 60 Years of Archeology in Yellowstone

Wild, pristine, untrammeled. When thinking about Yellowstone, a vast and amazing backcountry, large carnivores, ungulates, iconic geysers, and geothermal features…

World War II Plane Crashes in National Parks

During WWII, more than 7,100 air crashes involved US Army Air Force (USAAF) aircraft occurred on American soil. Collectively these…

Sidebar: Reclamation work at McLaren Mill and Tailings

Sidebar article discussing the reclamation work done the McLaren Mill and Tailings

Sidebar: Mining history of the region

Sidebar article discussing the mining history of region

Sidebar: Environmental legacy

Sidebar discussing the environmental legacy of McLaren Mill

Bison Bellows: A Case Study of Bison Selfies in Yellowstone National Park

Learn from this case study: a selfie with a bison is a big mistake.

Characteristics of Bears in Yellowstone

Review the key differences between the two bear species found in Yellowstone National Park: grizzly bears and black bears.

Food Habits of Bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem

Bears are omnivores that have relatively unspecialized digestive systems similar to those of carnivores. The primary difference is that bears…

Bison Bellows: Yellowstone National Park

Meet the herd of Yellowstone National Park!

Stop Aquatic Invaders

Aquatic invasive species, including fish, snails, mussels, algae and disease are primarily spread from water to water by human activity,…

SHORT: How Have Yellowstone Backpackers Changed?

Yellowstone National Park, comprises 3,472 square miles, is known for its beauty, diversity of flora and fauna, and recreation opportunities…

SHORT: Improving Visitor Preparedness and Safety in the Bear Country of Yellowstone National Park

On August 23, 2018, a grizzly mother attacked a 10-year-old boy who was hiking the Divide Trail southeast of Old…

SHORT: Insects as a Vital Sign in the GYE

Insects far outnumber vertebrates in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), North America, and worldwide. In fact, 80% of all named species…

SHORT: Invasive Plants as Indicators of Ecosystem Health

Healthy, native plant communities provide sustainable habitat for wildlife, insects, and soil biota. They can persist through drought and contribute…

News & Notes

Yellowstone National Park (YNP) supports one of the most significant aquatic ecosystems in the U.S. Headwater streams and rivers emerge…

Nowcasting & Forecasting Fire Severity in Yellowstone

Climb any mountain in the spring, and you will find that Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is made almost entirely in…

SHORT: Past Warm Periods Provide Vital Benchmarks for Understanding the Future of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

The wildlife, vegetation, and ecosystems discussed in this issue of Yellowstone Science are vital signs of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem…

The Spatial Footprint and Frequency of Historic Snow Droughts in Yellowstone

In the face of climate change and increasing human pressures, monitoring and characterizing environmental change is increasingly important in national…

Sneak Peek

The grassland and sagebrush-steppe habitats in and near Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have been referred to as America’s Serengeti because…

SHORT: Taking the Pulse of Wetlands

Why indeed care about tiny frogs, with so many spectacular and elsewhere-rare animals inhabiting Yellowstone National Park (YNP)?...

SHORT: The Yellowstone River Fish-Kill

Trout are socioeconomically and ecologically important in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA), yet these fish face numerous threats. Disease may…

Tribute: Tom Henderson

Tom Henderson, a friend and colleague of Yellowstone National Park, passed away unexpectedly in October 2018. Tom was a devoted…

SHORT: Yellowstone bats important indicator ecosystem health

The popularity of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is often gauged by the abundance of wildlife that calls it home, but…

SHORT: Yellowstone Birds Are Vital

Traveling through Yellowstone National Park (YNP), visitors frequently stop to enjoy the park’s birds: small songbirds flitting about the willows,…

Yellowstone Science 27(1) - Vital Signs

Download a PDF of the entire issue.

A Day in the Field: Citizen Science Engagement

Understanding long-term environmental change and documenting patterns in nature requires rigorous protocols, dedicated observers, and a long-term commitment. Increasingly citizen…

SHORT: Aquatic Vascular Macrophytes as Vital Signs

Large, readily visible plants (macrophytes) are central species of aquatic ecosystems. Macrophytes have diverse morphological and ecological strategies for living…

Assessing the Ecological Health of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Species declines and extinctions are occurring at rates that are unrivaled in human and geological history (Ceballos et al. 2017).…

2002 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2002 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2004 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2004 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2005 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2005 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2006 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2006 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Understanding Dynamic Ecosystems: The Pursuit of the Greater Yellowstone Network

The year 1999 was a pivotal year for the National Park Service (NPS). Inspired by the book Preserving Nature in…

SHORT: What We’re Listening To: How Sound Inventories Can Contribute to Understanding Change

Do you want to get off the beaten track and experience Yellowstone in an entirely new way? If you answered…

2008 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2008 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2009 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2009 Environmental Achievement Awards

2010 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2010 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2011 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2011 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2012 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2012 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2014 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2014 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

2015 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Recipients of the 2015 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Pollinators - Bumble bee

Get the buzz on bumblebees! There are approximately 46 species of bumble bees (genus Bombus) native to North America and…

America's Best Idea: Featured National Historic Landmarks

Over 200 National Historic Landmarks are located in national parks units. Some historical and cultural resources within the park system…

News and Notes (YS-26-1)

Yellowstone Science shares information from scientists and researchers with the public to highlight in-depth, science-based knowledge about the Greater Yellowstone…

Yellowstone National Park Staff Manage Multiple Fires with Flexible Strategy

Yellowstone National Park managers agreed to manage the Druid Complex fires by monitoring and providing point protection to infrastructure while…

Specialized Helicopter Rescue Skills Prove Valuable

Yellowstone National Park's helicopter, Lama 230 US, and crew completed a successful short-haul extrication of an injured smokejumper on August…

2015 Freeman Tilden Award Recipients

Meet the recipients of the 2015 Freeman Tilden Awards, the highest National Park Service honor for interpretation, and learn more…

2016 Freeman Tilden Award Recipients

In 2016, six rangers were awarded a national or regional Freeman Tilden Award for excellence in interpretation. Learn more about…

What’s the Buzz? How Bees Interrelate with Birds, Wildflowers, and Deer

Ecosystems are complex and intricate and sometimes have a surprising web of relationships. Learn how deer, bees, birds, and wildflowers…

Park Air Profiles - Yellowstone National Park

Air quality profile for Yellowstone National Park. Gives park-specific information about air quality and air pollution impacts for Yellowstone NP…

Army Couple Visits 59 National Parks

When you’re a dual-military couple, it can be a challenge to try to find things to do together, especially when…

Yellowstone National Park, 1988: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective

August 20, 2013, marks the 25th anniversary of Black Saturday, the most significant single day of fire growth to occur…

Wildland Fire History — Blazing New Trails for Wildland Fire Management

The historic 1988 Yellowstone area fires will have a significant effect on NPS fire management program thanks to widespread public…

Wildland Fire History — The History of National Park Service Fire Policy

Article presents a short history of fire management policy on NPS lands.Scientists know that fire plays a number of essential…

Wildland Fire History — The Endless Summer of ’88 at Yellowstone: Madness, Macintoshes, and Mail

Yellowstone park ranger describes education and outreach efforts to schools in the wake of the historic 1988 wildfires. The park…

Wildland Fire History — Fire Is Fire—Or Is It?

The historic fires in the Greater Yellowstone Area in 1988 brought issues at the wildland-urban interface to the forefront. This…

Wildland Fire History — Are Your Bags Packed?

An NPS interpretive specialist recounts her experiences during the historic 1988 Greater Yellowstone Area fires.

Wildland Fire History — Media Coverage of the 1988 Yellowstone Fires

The Yellowstone wildfires were a media event. Many Americans were left with the impression that Yellowstone had burned down, and…

Wildland Fire History — A Summer to Remember

A park ranger in Yellowstone during the 1988 fires remembers how the park’s interpretive message changed throughout the summer. He…

History — Yellowstone is Burning: Communicating the Story

In 2008, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Yellowstone fires, NPS commissioned an oral history project to capture knowledge,…

History — Yellowstone is Burning: Managing Yourself and the Fires

In 2008, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Yellowstone fires, NPS Fire and Aviation Management, in partnership with the…

Wildland Fire History — Yellowstone’s Fire Regime

Article discusses Yellowstone ecology (mainly geology, vegetation, and climate) and how it affected which areas burned in the historic fires…

Wildland Fire History — The Yellowstone FIRE Team

Discusses the Yellowstone Fire Interpretation and Resource Education (FIRE) outreach team created in the wake of the 1988 fires to…

Wildland Fire History — Yellowstone: The Smoke Clears

In this article originally published in 1989, Yellowstone’s superintendent and technical writer argue that to refer to the park as…

Wildland Fire History — Under the Orange Sky

A park ranger in Yellowstone National Park during the historic 1988 fires recounts her experiences with evacuating the public, leaving…

Yellowstone Fire 1988: What Did We Learn?

An area commander of the historic 1988 Greater Yellowstone Area fires offers lessons learned about tactics and equipment in an…

Pikas in Peril

The National Park Service stewards pika populations in more than a dozen parks and seeks to understand the vulnerability of…

Bat Projects in Parks: Yellowstone National Park

If only bats were as easy to see as other wildlife in Yellowstone National Park. Find out how they are…

Wildland Fire in Douglas Fir: Western United States

Douglas fir is widely distributed throughout the western United States, as well as southern British Columbia and northern Mexico. Douglas…

When the River Breaks

In the aftermath of the devastating 2022 Yellowstone floods, we examined historical river flows. Could our insights help predict future…

50 Nifty Finds #46: Feeding the Habit

Most visitors to national parks today know that wild animals are dangerous and should be enjoyed from a distance. For…

Guide to the Herbert Maier Photo Albums

This finding aid describes the Herbert Maier Photograph Albums, part of the NPS History Collection.

Understanding Dynamic Ecosystems: Science for Parks in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

National parks are the guardians of our unique American natural and cultural history. But parks are part of a rapidly…

Explore Careers: Yellowstone National Park 2019 #WhatWeDoWednesdays

From studying archeological sites, to maintaining boardwalks, to predicting the next Old Faithful eruption, there are many types of positions…

Explore Careers: Yellowstone National Park 2023 #WhatWeDoWednesdays

From mitigating aquatic invasive species, to repairing heavy equipment in the field, to collaring cougars, there are many types of…

Plan Like a Park Ranger: Top 10 Tips for a Summer Visit to Yellowstone National Park

Are you planning a summer visit to Yellowstone National Park? Learn how to "Plan Like a Park Ranger" by exploring…

Plan Like a Park Ranger: Top 10 Tips for a Winter Visit to Yellowstone National Park

Planning a winter visit to Yellowstone National Park? Explore insider tips from park rangers on how to have a memorable…

Yellowstone Science 28(1): The Grazing Issue

xxx

Horns versus Antlers

Ever wonder about the difference between horns and antlers?

The Devoted People behind Big Data in National Parks

Citizen science volunteers collect massive amounts of crucial scientific information. They gather it from sources as varied as oceans, mountainsides,…

Series: Intermountain Park Science 2021

Integrating Research and Resource Management in Intermountain National Parks

Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Paleozoic Era

During the Paleozoic Era (541 to 252 million years ago), fish diversified and marine organisms were very abundant. In North…

Series: Research in Badlands National Park

Scientists often look to the Badlands as a research subject. Many studies have been conducted in the park on a…

Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Cenozoic Era

The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began…

Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 2018

All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing…

Series: National Fossil Day Logo and Artwork – Prehistoric Life Illustrated

Celebrate the wonderful diversity of fossils!

Series: Parks in Science History

Parks in Science History is a series of articles and videos made in cooperation with graduate students from various universities.…

Series: Crystal Clear: A Call to Action

In 2016, the nation celebrates the centennial of the National Park Service (NPS) as the steward of special places that…

Series: Yellowstone Science - Volume 24 Issue 1: Celebrating 20 Years of Wolves

Read more about the fascinating 20 years of research that have occurred since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.

Series: Research Reports

Learn more about the ongoing research going on in the park; both by NPS biologists and outside permitted researchers.

Series: Yellowstone Science - Volume 25 Issue 1: Native Fish Conservation

In this edition of Yellowstone Science, we describe the significant progress that has already been made, along with the challenges…

Series: Yellowstone Science - Our Scientists

The Yellowstone Center for Resources (YCR) was created in March 1993 to centralize the park's science and resource management functions.…

Series: Park Air Profiles

Clean air matters for national parks around the country.

Series: GIP Participants and Project Highlights [8 Articles]

Participants selected for the GIP program have a unique opportunity to contribute to the conservation of America's national parks. Participants…

Series: Intermountain Park Science: The Human Dynamics of Park Preservation

This issue of Intermountain Park Science highlights research projects that address a few of the human dynamics in parks. People…

Series: Water Resources Monitoring in the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana, 2021

The Yellowstone River flows northwest from its headwaters in the Absaroka Range on Younts Peak, Wyoming, through Yellowstone National Park,…

Series: Water Resources Monitoring in the Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana, 2021

The Madison River has high water quality and is a popular recreation destination. The river begins in Yellowstone National Park…

Series: Water Resources Monitoring in the Lamar River near Tower Ranger Station, Wyoming, 2021

The Greater Yellowstone Network monitors water quality and analyzes river discharge in the Lamar River between April and November each…

Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 14, No. 2, Fall 2022

All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing…

Series: NPS Environmental Achievement Awards

Since 2002, the National Park Service (NPS) has awarded Environmental Achievement (EA) Awards to recognize staff and partners in the…

Series: Yellowstone Science - Volume 26 Issue 1: Archeology in Yellowstone

Little did Philetus Norris know that when he picked up Native American artifacts and sent them off to the Smithsonian…

Series: Yellowstone Science 27(1) Shorts

Series: Yellowstone Science - Volume 27 Issue 1: Vital Signs - Monitoring Yellowstone's Ecosystem Health

The early proponents of wildland conservation exercised extraordinary vision when they proposed the establishment of America’s first national park. In…

Series: Wildlife in the Badlands

Ever wonder what kind of wildlife could survive the harsh climate of the Badlands?

Series: Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils

The National Park System contains a magnificent record of geologic time because rocks from each period of the geologic time…

Series: Volcanic Features

Volcanoes vary greatly in size and shape. Volcanoes also may have a variety of other features, which in turn, have…

Series: Volcano Types

Volcanoes vary in size from small cinder cones that stand only a few hundred feet tall to the most massive…

Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 14, No. 1, Spring 2022

All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing…

Series: Yellowstone Science - Volume 28 Issue 1: The Grazing Issue

We are happy to announce that Yellowstone Science 28(1): The Grazing Issue, is now available for download. The grassland and…

Series: Volcanic Eruption Styles

Categories in this traditional classification are based on the eruption styles of particular volcanoes. These magmatic eruption styles are listed…

Series: The Odyssey of Ulysses

An unknown 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S.-Mexican War later resigns the army. He rejoins and goes on to become lieutenant…

Change in Alpine Vegetation in the U.S. Rocky Mountains: Analysis of Data from Five GLORIA Sites, 2003–2021

NPS scientists are monitoring vegetation at the tops of some of our parks’ most beautiful peaks. The monitoring is part…

Explore Careers: Yellowstone National Park 2020 #WhatWeDoWednesdays

From designing exhibits, to monitoring hydrothermal features, to researching cougars, there are many types of positions that help preserve the…

Glacier and Yellowstone fire management crews keep water flowing at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS

In May 2025, fire staff from Glacier and Yellowstone national parks assisted Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site with burning irrigation…

Ranger Roll Call, 1950-1959

In the 1950s, women in uniform continue to work as guides, historians, and archeologists. Few women had permanent positions. A…

Geologic Overview of a Bison-Carcass Site at Norris Geyser Basin

Geologic Overview of a Bison-Carcass Site at Norris Geyser Basin

Irrigation controls in Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District

Irrigation controls in Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District were updated to conserve water, while continuing to maintain the historic landscape.

Yellowstone Re-introduces Hydro-electric Power

After more than a century, the Mammoth Hot Springs Micro-hydro Project brought water-generated power back to Yellowstone.

Mammoth Hot Spring Historic District Acorn Lights Improvement Project

This project improved energy efficiency of lamps in the National Historic District by removing old mercury vapor lamps and replacing…

Idle-Free Campaign with Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition

The Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition of the US Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program developed an Idle-Free campaign for the…

Electric Vehicles in Yellowstone

Yellowstone now has a network of charging opportunities for visitors driving electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and for staff conducting…

Yellowstone Raptor Initiative

The Yellowstone Raptor Initiative was a five-year (2011–2015) program designed to provide baseline information for golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), red-tailed…

Science Plan in Support of Ecosystem Restoration, Preservation, and Protection in South Florida

The Florida Everglades is a complex ecosystem of diverse, interconnected subtropical habitats. Once comprised of over 4 million acres, today…

Wolf Predation on Trout in the Gibbon River

Throughout their range in North America, gray wolves (Canis lupus) prey primarily on bison, moose, elk, and deer (Mech and…

White Pine Blister Rust Infection in Whitebark Pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – Data Summary of Monitoring in 2023

White pine blister rust has caused widespread damage to whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. NPS scientists track its…

The Positive Impacts of Policy Implementation on Wintertime Air Quality in Yellowstone National Park through 2024

Motorized access to Yellowstone National Park during the winter season has been historically contentious, with continual concerns regarding potentially affected…

Visit Parks with Remarkable Wetlands

Wetlands, where the land meets water, are some of the most important ecosystems in our world. Discover these unique, often…

Dark Night, Safe Flight

At night, birds use the stars to find their way. But bright lights from buildings can confuse them. That's why…

Internship Opportunities for Students in National Parks

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units created additional internship opportunities that mutually benefit parks and students while increasing agency capacity and preparing…

Guide to the Nature Notes Collection

This finding aid describes the "Nature Notes" Collection, part of the NPS History Collection.

Lessons Learned from Parkwide Visitor Use Modeling

Estimates of visitor use levels are important for informing park management decisions. The spatial and temporal extent and resolution of…

Unlocking Earth's Secrets, Layer by Layer

Those splendid rocks in our national parks aren’t just scenic wonders; they’re scientific and cultural treasures. A new geological inventory…

Series: Whitebark Pine Monitoring in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Whitebark pine trees are vital to the health of subalpine environments throughout the western US. Their persistence is threatened, however,…

Guide to the NPS Wildlife Division Photo Cards

This finding aid describes the National Park Service (NPS) Wildlife Division Photo Cards, part of the NPS History Collection.

Guide to the Henry G. Peabody Photograph Collection

Finding aid for the Henry G. Peabody Collection

Guide to the NPS Slide Collection

This finding aid describes the National Park Service (NPS) Slide Collection, part of the NPS History Collection.

Guide to the Louis A. Hendrickx Papers

This finding aid describes the Louis A. Hendrickx Papers, part of the NPS History Collection.

Guide to the Allyn F. Hanks Papers

This finding aid describes the Allyn F. Hanks Papers, part of the NPS History Collection.

2014 Freeman Tilden Award Recipients

Introducing the national and regional recipients of the 2014 Freeman Tilden Awards, given in recognition of new and innovative programs…

Guide to the Charles A. Heath Lantern Slide Collection

This finding aid describes the Charles A. Heath Lantern Slide Collection, which is part of the National Park Service (NPS)…

Collaborating to Save Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

An ongoing partnership with Yellowstone Forever is protecting the park’s iconic cutthroat trout—and, in turn, many other animals too.

Guide to the Stephen Tyng Mather Film Collection

This finding aid describes the Stephen Tyng Mather Film Collection, part of the NPS History Collection.

National Aviation Awards 2024

The National Park Service (NPS) Aviation Branch awarded two individuals and a unit with aviation awards for 2024. In addition…

Guide to the Horace M. Albright Papers

This finding aid describes the Horace M. Albright Papers, part of the NPS History Collection.

I Didn’t Know That!: Tracing Water Underground

How can we understand the journey of water? Scientists are like detectives! They use tiny chemical clues that act like…

Guide to the Denis P. Galvin Papers

This finding aid describes the Denis P. Galvin Papers, part of the NPS History Collection.

Guide to the NPS Stereograph Collection

This finding aid describes the National Park Service (NPS) Stereograph Collection, part of the NPS History Collection.

23 in 2023: An Explore Nature Year in Review

As we reflect on 2023, we offer you a list of 23 interesting and exciting science and nature events from…