Yellowstone’s new winter plan suspends wildlife monitoring
Park says bison and other wintering wildlife are not bothered by snowmobiles
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Stating wildlife in Yellowstone is not bothered by snowmobile traffic in winter, park officials are proposing to do away with a wildlife monitoring program for this winter.
The National Park Service (NPS) is encouraging public comment on its winter plan, including the proposal to suspend this component of the adaptive monitoring plan for winter use. Wildlife monitoring was initially put in place for winter 2012-13 to evaluate the effects of snowmobiles on wintering bison, elk, and other wildlife.
The park intends to suspend the monitoring program stating they have all the data they need to understand wildlife don’t fret much about noisy snowmachines.
“Wildlife monitoring has consistently shown similar response levels over the years, indicating that wildlife are not, or are minimally, impacted. Wildlife response to OSVs will likely continue to follow observed patterns from the last 20 years of observation. In the future, the park may explore other methods for monitoring wildlife impacts,” the park stated in its winter use management plan.
A recent summary report combined findings from the winter monitoring programs since the 2012-13 Winter Use Plan and SEIS/ROD was put into effect. This summary report found that:
- Winter wildlife monitoring data from 2014 to 2019 showed 95% of wildlife in proximity (within 500 feet) to the groomed road corridor demonstrated no response or a “look and resume” response to oversnow vehicles.
- Observations during this period included 1,105 groups of wildlife and 6,715 individual animals.
- Similar monitoring efforts prior to the SEIS in 2013 found roughly 91% of wildlife were observed to demonstrate no response or a “look and resume” response.
Yellowstone will renew the winter wildlife monitoring program if unexpected changes occur to wildlife populations or if significant adjustments are made to winter operations and use. Future winter wildlife monitoring efforts will be informed by the scientific community and may be considerably different than current monitoring methodologies. All other monitoring components of the SEIS/ROD will remain in effect.
Comments on the Winter Use Management Plan for 2021-22 must be received by November 1, 2021. Comments may be submitted online or by mail. Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or other means. Mail comments to: Compliance Office, Attention: Winter Use Adaptive Management, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190.
