The Greater Yellowstone Area: A Great Cross-Boundary Management Example

elk walking along country road with 2 vehicles waiting behind

An elk taking advantage of the paved way through the elk habitat

On October 5, this Editor attended the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) meeting at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. The partnership described below and within the following pages is an outstanding interagency model working on the ground in the United States today. Their cooperation has expanded since a 1964 MOU. The 1999 EO 13112 further enhanced their joint land management interest in weeds. Consequently, this meeting was crammed with issues such as invasive plant education, mapping, best management practices, gravel pits, and fundingÉ.the very management issues of all State Departments of Transportation. All the GYA units reported on their progress on the ground. Imagine spraying weeds on horseback! Think about the absentee landowners who are not available to help! Imagine the problems of increased development and tourism this beautiful ecosystem attracts. Consider the waterways, railways, and highways that crisscross the GYA and how they enable weed movement. Then realize this is all happening in this area where private and public land relationships can at times, be strained. If this mixed group can successfully integrate weed prevention and control, any group can. Read on to learn how they have done it! The Greater Yellowstone Area is comprised of 2 national parks, parts of 6 national forests, 2 national wildlife refuges, and other federal, state, and private lands. Units include: Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, Shoshone National Forest, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Gallatin National Forest, Custer National Forest, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, National Elk Refuge, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the area lies within the public domain and includes some of the nation's most treasured natural resources. The GYA is geographically contiguous, ecologically interdependent, and unalterably linked. Members of the GYCC are responsible for managing the resources to sustain the existing values and characteristics, consistent with the missions of the agencies.

Greater Yellowstone Area
Agency Boundries
map showing boundries of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, surrounding national forests (Beaverhead Deerlodge, Caribou-Targhee, Bridger-Teton, Shoshone, Custer, and Gallatin), and refuges (Red Rock Wildlife and National Elk)

Greater Yellowstone Area
Weed Management Units
map showing boundries of weed management units (Highlands, Upper Snake, Henry's Fork, Madison, Upper Gallatin, Beartooth, Cooke City, Upper Clarks Fork Watershed, South Fork, Green River Basin, Jackson Hole) and proposed units (Upper Yellowstone, North Fork, Meetseesee, Bubois, Wind River, Sublette)