Yellowstone Ecological Research Center

THE MISSION OF THE YELLOWSTONE ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH CENTER (YERC) IS TO EMPOWER COMMUNITIES AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DATA-DRIVEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO ACTIVATE LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE STEWARDSHIP ACROSS THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM AND BEYOND. YERC ENVISIONS A WORLD WHERE OUR COMMUNITIES ARE EMPOWERED TO THINK LIKE AN ECOSYSTEM, WHERE THE HEALTH OF OUR NATURAL WORLD CAN BE DIAGNOSED WITH ROBUST AND ACCESSIBLE SCIENTIFIC DATA, MONITORED THROUGH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS, AND ADDRESSED THROUGH AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY OF STAKEHOLDERS WITH AN INFORMED AWARENESS AND THE ABILITY TO ADAPT TO RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE.

SINCE 1993, YERC HAS CONDUCTED RESEARCH IN AND AROUND YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK ON AN ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSE SET OF PROJECTS. ONE PILLAR OF THE RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED IS TO COLLECT LONG-TERM DATASETS THAT CAPTURE REAL TRENDS BETTER THAN THE AVERAGE RESEARCH PROJECT THAT LASTS JUST TWO FIELD SEASONS. A SECOND IS TO ANALYZE THAT DATA AT APPROPRIATE SPACIAL SCALES AND AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION -FROM GENES TO REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS. A THIRD IS IN COLLABORATING WITH AGENCIES, UNIVERSITIES, AND OTHER PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS SO THAT OUR WORK IS RELEVANT, ACCESSIBLE, AND PUT TO GOOD USE SOLVING REAL WORLD PROBLEMS. FINALLY, WE ARE TRANSLATING OUR SCIENCE INTO ADAPTIVE DECISION-MAKING FOR THE HEALTH OF ECOSYSTEMS. OUR LONG-TERM RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY SCIENCE MONITORING PROGRAMS - RIVERNET, LANDNET, AND WILDNET AND YELLOWNET - PROVIDE DATA STREAMS THAT FUEL AN INTERNET PLATFORM THAT SOLVES REAL WORLD PROBLEMS. RIVERNET IS A COMMUNITY SCIENCE WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY MONITORING PROGRAM TO IMPROVE THE RESOLUTION OF DATA. LANDNET IS A COMMUNITY BASED COOPERATIVE FOR DIAGNOSTICS AND PROGNOSIS MONITORING FOR AGRO-ECOSYSTEM HEALTH. IT WILL PROVIDE DATA ON SOIL CARBON CONTENT, SOIL MOISTURE AND INFILTRATION, PLANT DIVERSITY, AND BIODIVERSITY. WILDNET COMBINES EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, COMMUNITY COLLABORATION, AND ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR PRESSING WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ISSUES, SUCH AS PROVIDING EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF DISEASE IN ANIMALS. YELLOWSTONENET FEATURES A NETWORK OF PEOPLE (CITIZEN STEWARDS) AND OUR EMERGING CLOUD-BASED COMPUTER PLATFORM, WHICH WILL PROVIDE FAST TURN-AROUND DATA DELIVERY AND USER INTERACTIONS THROUGH USE OF AN APP. ONGOING PROGRAMS INCLUDE PREDATOR-PREY DYNAMICS, DISTURBANCE IMPACTS, AND HIGH-TECH LANDSCAPES. SOME RECENT PROJECTS INCLUDE SETTING UP NEW STREAM GAUGES TO COLLECT A SERIES OF DEPTH AND FLOW MEASUREMENTS ACROSS ALL STREAM STAGES, AND MAKING THIS AVAILABLE TO BE EASILY DOWNLOADED. ONE FIELD CREW PERFORMED ROUTINE WATER QUALITY MONITORING IN THE UPPER YELLOWSTONE RIVER AND ANALYZED THE DATA FOR IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS. ANOTHER SPONSORED PROJECT IS WORKING TO FIND A COLLABORATIVE SOLUTION TO THE CHRONIC DEWATERING OF MILL CREEK, A PRIME NATIVE YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT TROUT SPAWNING TRIBUTARY. YERC MAINTAINS A FIELD RESEARCH STATION IN PARADISE VALLEY, AND WORKS WITH MANY UNIVERSITY INTERN AND RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROGRAMS TO CONDUCT THIS RESEARCH. WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY AND SCHOOL GROUPS TO DEVELOP LESSON PLANS TO ENGAGE LOCAL STUDENTS, CREATE MATERIALS FOR DISTRIBUTION, PAPERS, TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS.