Note: This site is currently optimized for desktop use. Stay tuned for a mobile update!
16th Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Advancing Conservation in the GYE
Sept. 3-5, 2024, Big Sky, MT
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is a unique and special place—one of the Earth's largest remaining nearly intact temperate-zone ecosystems. Its 22 million acres include federal, state, other public, Wind River Indian Reservation, nongovernmental organization, and private lands. The 15 million acres of GYE federal lands are managed by four agencies, each with differing missions and organizational structures. In 1964, the managers of the GYE national parks and national forests reportedly first signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee (GYCC). The GYCC now includes managers from two national parks, five national forests, two national wildlife refuges, and three Bureau of Land Management districts (ID, MT, & WY), as well as three state wildlife departments (ID, MT, & WY). For six decades, the GYCC has provided a forum for managers to exchange information and pursue voluntary opportunities to cooperate at the landscape scale.
Since 1991, the GYE Biennial Scientific Conference has been a critical forum for sharing science between researchers, land and resource managers, conservation groups, tribal communities, the public, and other stakeholders with a common interest in understanding the region’s natural and cultural resources. The fall 2024 conference coincides with the GYCC’s 60th Anniversary. This milestone is an occasion to reflect on the research and conservation accomplishments that have brought us to the present day. It also presents an opportunity to enhance partnerships to seek solutions together to the pressing challenges facing the GYE now and into the future. Conference participants will convey scientific findings, discuss management needs, share perspectives, and propose solutions to improve future landscape-scale coordination and ensure the GYE continues to thrive over the next 60 years.
Guest Speakers
The Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem typically includes named lectures in honor of notable influences Aubrey L. Haines, past Yellowstone National Park historian, and A. Starker Leopold, who greatly influenced National Park Service policy. A third lecture named for Yellowstone's superintendent invites an international leader in conservation to speak about some global aspect of park science and management. We are honored to have Dr. Robert B. Keiter, Francine Madden, and Tom Olliff present these lectures at our conference.
Aubrey L. Haines Lecture
Superintendent's International Lecture
A. Starker Leopold Lecture
Agenda
An agenda with all authors and presenters listed as well as room assignments is available for download HERE. You may also view the full agenda using the menu tab above.
Presenters
Speakers and panelists represent a wide range of leadership positions and disciplines - all focused on the health and sustainability of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. You can find more information about these special participants HERE.
Scientist Presentations
Sponsored by Yellowstone Forever