The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Revisited: Law. Science, and the Pursuit of Ecosystem Management in an Iconic Landscape

182 Pages Posted: 3 Feb 2020 Last revised: 5 Mar 2020

See all articles by Robert B. Keiter

Robert B. Keiter

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

Thirty years ago, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) concept and ecosystem management surfaced as key to preserving this legally fragmented region’s public lands and wildlife in the face of mounting development pressures. Yellowstone’s grizzly bears were in sharp decline and wolves were absent from the landscape, while bison and elk management issues festered. The GYE’s national forest lands were subject to extensive logging, energy leasing, and other commercial activities that cumulatively threatened the region’s ecological integrity. In the face of extreme jurisdictional complexity and a strong commitment to agency discretion, a high-profile federal “Vision” effort to improve and better coordinate resource management practices cratered under intense political pressures. Since then, however, much has changed in the GYE.

Suggested Citation

Keiter, Robert B., The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Revisited: Law. Science, and the Pursuit of Ecosystem Management in an Iconic Landscape (2020). University of Colorado Law Review, Vol. 91 No. 1, 2020, University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 350, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3529762 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3529762

Robert B. Keiter (Contact Author)

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

383 S. University Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States

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