West Yellowstone Research Articles

Pile burns as a proxy for high severity wildfire impacts on soil microbiomes

Wildfires in the western US are increasing in frequency, size, and severity. These disturbances alter soil microbiome structure and function, with greater fire severity leading to more pronounced impacts to bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities. These changes have implications for the provisioning of microbially-mediated ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration, clean water supplies) typically associated with forested watersheds. Challenges in sampling wildfire-impacted areas immediately post-burn have limited our assessment of short-term (i.e., days to weeks) changes in the soil microbiome and understanding of how microbial populations may influence post-fire biogeochemistry and ecosystem recovery. The identification of potential high severity wildfire proxies may help address some of these knowledge gaps. One potential proxy is pile burns scars, which are produced from a set of common techniques for fuel disposal and site preparation in conifer forests throughout the western US and beyond. We sampled depth-resolved layers from fire-impacted soil and combusted litter and woody materials in a series of recent pile burn scars near West Yellowstone, Montana and nearby unburned mineral soil controls to assess whether the pile burn scars exhibited microbial signatures characteristic of forest soils impacted by recent high severity wildfire. Changes in soil carbon and nitrogen chemistry and patterns of microbial alpha and beta diversity broadly aligned with those observed following wildfire, particularly the enrichment of so-called ‘pyrophilous’ taxa. Furthermore, many of the taxa enriched in burned soils likely encoded putative traits that benefit microorganisms colonizing these environments, such as the potential for fast growth or utilization of pyrogenic carbon substrates. We suggest that pile burn scars may represent a useful proxy along the experimental gradient from muffle furnace or pyrocosm studies to largescale prescribed burns in the field to advance understanding of the soil (and related layers, like ash) microbiome following high severity wildfires, particularly when coupled with experimental manipulation. Finally, we discuss existing research gaps that experimentally manipulated pile burns could be utilized to address.

Embedded in Nature: Challenges to Sustainability in Communities of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Solutions to sustainability transitions tend to be applicable for specific regions but not the whole of society. Limitations on what may be sustained also exist, and preferences will vary among people in different places. Because of these differences, there is a need for better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of local community members and the challenges they face in the transition toward sustainability to promote realistic and effective decision-making. As a region with significant natural resource protections, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been known to researchers for decades as an ideal location to study human-environment interactions. The objective of this study was to determine the challenges to sustainable community development and natural resource management identified by residents of communities surrounding Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Thirty-two key informant interviews were conducted with decision-makers, with a focus on the communities of Red Lodge and West Yellowstone, Montana, and Jackson, Wyoming. Findings suggest that primary challenges include the seasonality of the tourist industry, disparities between agricultural and tourism-dependent priorities, and the implementation of stated sustainability goals. Challenges differ based on communities’ socio-economic conditions, dependence on tourism and recreation-based industries, and the influence of local and extra-local institutions.

Chinese Tourism Growth to U.S. National Parks and Gateway Communities: A Case Study in West Yellowstone, Montana

Chinese outbound tourism is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide, and with this growth, there has been a surge in international tourism to national parks. For example, 40% of Chinese travelers visited a national park during their U.S. travels (Office of Travel and Tourism Industries [OTTI], 2016). As one of the most popular national parks in the world, Yellowstone National Park (YELL) has swelled in Chinese visitation (Resource Systems Group [RSG], 2017). Despite positive economic aspects of increased tourism, parks and communities are faced with challenges that can impact management and the tourists’ experience. There is extremely limited research on Chinese tourism to U.S. national parks, and this study addresses these gaps through a case study in West Yellowstone, the most popular gateway community of YELL. Through over 50 interviews with Chinese tourists, tour operators, and local business owners, specifically, we aim to gain a greater understanding of: 1) Chinese travel trends and motivations for visiting national parks, 2) Chinese tourists’ perceptions of park resources, 3) Chinese tourists’ modes for communication and information exchange, and 4) perceptions and strategies implemented by businesses in gateway communities to adapt to Chinese tourism.Major findings of the study include that Chinese tourists at YELL primarily obtain their information from friends, family, and Chinese websites with limited tourists visiting or using the National Park Service (NPS) YELL website. Our findings suggest that national park and gateway community communications on social media apps such as WeChat are a major area for growth and opportunity. Finally, the gateway community of West Yellowstone is experiencing changes due to an influx of Chinese-owned businesses and tourists, and offer insight for how to adapt to change. This study addresses a largely understudied topic despite the growing trends of Chinese tourists to national parks and protected areas globally. The study’s findings will be of interest to other parks and protected areas around the world that are experiencing or are anticipating Chinese tourism growth, and offers implications for Chinese tourism communication and marketing outside the national park setting. Finally, our exploratory study presents an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to further study Chinese tourism to national parks and gateway communities in diverse settings, which can lead to comparability of findings and also support dialogue around tourism planning, marketing, communication for protected areas and their gateway communities. Subscribe to JPRA

The International Wild Trout Symposium: The Past and the Future

FisheriesVolume 39, Issue 8 p. 380-382 Symposium The International Wild Trout Symposium: The Past and the Future Stephen E. Moore, Stephen E. Moore Retired [email protected] 3523 Lawson Lane, Sevierville, TN, 37862Search for more papers by this authorDaniel J. Schill, Daniel J. Schill Wild Trout XI Symposium Chair, 600 S. Walnut, Boise, ID, 83712Search for more papers by this authorRobert F. Carline, Robert F. Carline Retired 123 Gibson Place, Port Matilda, PA, 16870Search for more papers by this author Stephen E. Moore, Stephen E. Moore Retired [email protected] 3523 Lawson Lane, Sevierville, TN, 37862Search for more papers by this authorDaniel J. Schill, Daniel J. Schill Wild Trout XI Symposium Chair, 600 S. Walnut, Boise, ID, 83712Search for more papers by this authorRobert F. Carline, Robert F. Carline Retired 123 Gibson Place, Port Matilda, PA, 16870Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 August 2014 https://doi.org/10.1080/03632415.2014.934641Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume39, Issue8August 2014Pages 380-382 RelatedInformation

Utilizing Normalized Anomalies to Assess Synoptic-Scale Weather Events in the Western United States

Abstract Synoptic-scale weather events over the western United States are objectively ranked based on their associated tropospheric anomalies. Data from the NCEP 6-h reanalysis fields from 1948 to 2006 are compared to a 30-yr (1971–2000) reanalysis climatology. The relative rarity of an event is measured by the number of standard deviations that the 1000–200-hPa height, temperature, wind, and moisture fields depart from climatology. The top 20 synoptic-scale events were identified over the western United States, adjacent eastern Pacific Ocean, Mexico, and Canada. Events that composed the top 20 tended to be very anomalous in several, if not all four, of the atmospheric variables. The events included the northern Intermountain West region heavy rainfall and Yellowstone tornado of mid-July 1987 (ranked 5th), the Montana floods of September 1986 (ranked 4th), and the historic 1962 “Columbus Day” windstorm in the Pacific Northwest (ranked 10th). In addition, the top 10 most anomalous events were identified for each month and for each of the variables investigated revealing additional significant weather events. Finally, anomaly return periods were computed for each variable at a variety of levels. To place a given anomaly in perspective for a specific level or element, forecasters need information on the frequency with which that anomaly is observed. These return periods can be utilized by forecasters to compare forecast anomalies to the actual occurrence of similar anomalies for the element and level of interest to gauge the potential significance of the event. It is believed that this approach may allow forecasters to better understand the historical significance of an event and provide additional information to the user community.

Cosmogenic exposure-age chronologies of Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations in greater Yellowstone and the Teton Range, USA

We have obtained 69 new cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure ages from boulders on moraines deposited by glaciers of the greater Yellowstone glacial system and Teton Range during the middle and late Pleistocene. These new data, combined with 43 previously obtained 3He and 10Be ages from deposits of the northern Yellowstone outlet glacier, establish a high-resolution chronology for the Yellowstone–Teton mountain glacier complexes. Boulders deposited at the southern limit of the penultimate ice advance of the Yellowstone glacial system yield a mean age of 136±1310Beka and oldest ages of ∼151–15710Beka. These ages support a correlation with the Bull Lake of West Yellowstone, with the type Bull Lake of the Wind River Range, and with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6. End moraines marking the maximum Pinedale positions of outlet glaciers around the periphery of the Yellowstone glacial system range in age from 18.8±0.9 to 16.5±1.410Beka, and possibly as young as 14.6±0.710Beka, suggesting differences in response times of the various ice-cap source regions. Moreover, all dated Pinedale terminal moraines in the greater Yellowstone glacial system post-date the Pinedale maximum in the Wind River Range by ∼4–6kyr, indicating a significant phase relationship between glacial maxima in these adjacent ranges. Boulders on the outermost set and an inner set of Pinedale end moraines enclosing Jenny Lake on the eastern Teton front yield mean ages of 14.6±0.7 and 13.5±1.110Beka, respectively. The outer Jenny Lake moraines are partially buried by outwash from ice on the Yellowstone Plateau, hence their age indicates a major standstill of an expanded valley glacier in the Teton Range prior to the Younger Dryas, followed closely by deglaciation of the Yellowstone Plateau. These new glacial chronologies are indicative of spatially variable regional climate forcing and temporally complex patterns of glacier responses in this region of the Rocky Mountains during the Pleistocene.

Blowing Smoke in Yellowstone: Air Quality Impacts of Oversnow Motorized Recreation in the Park

Snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park has been shown to impact air quality, with implications for the safety and welfare of Park staff and other Park resource values. Localized impacts have been documented at several high-use sites in the Park, but the broader spatial variability of snowmobile emissions and air quality was not understood. Measurements of 87 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were made for ambient air sampled across the Park and West Yellowstone, Montana, during 2 days of the 2002-2003 winter use season, 1 year before the implementation of a new snowmobile policy. The data were compared with similar data from pristine West Coast sites at similar latitudes. Backward trajectories of local air masses, alkyl nitrate-parent alkane ratios, and atmospheric soundings were used to identify the VOC sources and assess their impact. Different oversnow vehicle types used in the Park were sampled to determine their relative influence on air mass pollutant composition. VOCs were of local origin and demonstrated strong spatiotemporal variability that is primarily influenced by levels of snowmobile traffic on given road segments at different times of day. High levels of snowmobile traffic in and around West Yellowstone produced consistently high levels of benzene, toluene, and carbon monoxide.

Mark Twain: A Life by Ron Powers

B o o k R e v ie w s 4 7 3 between a narrative account of the author’s firefighting experiences in the blazing summer of 1994 and a contemplation of the complicated relationship between human beings and fire in the history of the West. As a resident of West Yellowstone during the summer of 1988—the summer that more than 50 percent of Yellowstone turned to ashes and dust—I could well relate to the deep sense of loss that comes from witnessing the death oflandscape one loves. And “death” isthe correct word. True, new landscapes inevitably emerge from the ashes, but they are just that—new, distinct. Therefore, a forest fire is not an exchange in which one landscape is replaced with another any more than the birth of a new child would be compensation for the death ofanother. The loss ofa landscape or ofthe livelihood that comes from it, Strohmaier contends, is real and deserves the process of mourning that attends any loss. But the most powerful argument in Drift Smoke is found in Strohmaier’s debunking of the myth that the presettlement West was an ecological utopia free from human intervention in fire ecology. Strohmaier points out that Native Americans frequently started and suppressed wildfires for their own economic and cultural purposes long before white settlers came to the West. Therefore, we must be careful not to couch fire management policies in purely ecological terms. If we choose to useprescribedbums to encourage “open, parklike stands” and to bolster the population of certain plant and animal species, “then we’re embracing predominantly cultural, not ecological, reasons for our land management” (107). This isfine, as long as we are honest about it and do not pretend to restore the land to a “natural” state of prehuman contact. Ultimately, Strohmaier avoids, perhaps wisely, proposing a comprehensive philosophy of fire management and asks more questions than he answers. But he convinces us of the complexity of the questions— questions that refuse the easy conclusions of “let it bum” or “put it out.” While Drift Smoke’s leisurely pace may lose the attention of readers not already interested in the subject matter, those whose lives are affected when plumes of smoke rise into the August sky will find here a thoughtful contribution to the story of their hopes and fears. Mark Twain: A Life. By Ron Powers. New York: Free Press, 2005. 721 pages, $35.00. Reviewed by Charles L. Crow Rockville, Maryland We have, at last, the long-awaited biography that anyone interested in Samuel Clemens should own. Ron Powers’sMark Twain: A Life is authoritative, thor­ ough, and elegant. Powers, author of an earlier study of Clemens’sboyhood, sees his subject as the Vandal. The term is borrowed, of course, from Innocents Abroad (1869), W e s t e r n A m e r ic a n l it e r a t u r e W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 but the concept is influenced by Bruce Michaelson’s fine Mark Twain on the Loose (1995). Clemens was an anarchic spirit, rebelling against order and form, with an undercurrent of rage beneath his comic mask—a truth understood in his time only by his great friend W. D. Howells. Powers’snotion of the Vandal is flexible enough to embrace the contradictions of his personality, the wild rages and bitter feuds, his steadfast devotion to family and a few friends, his intellectual growth and changing political ideals, and the innovations and tri­ umphs aswell as the failures ofhis art. Like many previous scholars, and unlike the recently published biographer Fred Kaplan, Powers locates a useful key to Clemens’scomplexity in his long-time fascination with twins and doubles. The great strengths of this biography are its solid research and its superb writing. This is not to say that his use of previous scholarship is exhaustive. Every student of Clemens will have a short list of scholars or works unfortu­ nately omitted from Powers’sbibliography. My own list would include Howard Baetzhold’s Mark Twain & John Bull (1970), Henry Nash Smith’s unfairly neglected Mark Twain: The Development of a Writer (1962), and...

Edge type defines alien plant species invasions along Pinus contorta burned, highway and clearcut forest edges

Forest edges have been long recognized as the first landscape elements to be invaded by alien plant species in forest ecosystems. However, little is known about the role of forest edge type in invasive species patterns. In the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States, disturbance-caused forest edges are a common feature in the landscape with anthropogenic (e.g. roadside, clearcut) and natural (e.g. burned, windthrown) edge types. In this paper we examine patterns of alien species invasion and native community structure across three forest edge types in Pinus contorta forests including contrasts between undeveloped landscapes in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), and developed (roaded and logged) portions of the adjacent Gallatin National Forest (GNF). Six sets of transects were located in each of five study sites, including clearcut, burn and highway edge types. When burn and highways edges were compared between GNF and YNP, landscape matrix did not have a significant effect on either alien species richness or cover. In both landscapes, highway edges had higher alien species richness and cover than burn edges. For burn and highway edges, alien species richness and cover were significantly related to edge type, distance from edge and the interaction between both variables. In Gallatin NF, alien species were concentrated along highway edges, while burn and clearcut edges are significantly less invaded. Overall, alien species richness was negatively correlated with native species richness in plots with at least one alien species ( R 2 = 0.30, p < 0.001). We were able to explain from 23 to 68% of the variation in alien species richness from simple measures of vegetation structure within each of the edge types. Our study suggests that at least for high elevation conifer ecosystems such as West Yellowstone, alien plant invasion into interior forest is significantly enhanced by disturbance edges only along roadsides. Further studies are needed to determine causal mechanisms that explain the high degree of invisibility of roadside edges. Our results highlight the need for careful planning and management of roads, as they may become a primary conduit of alien plant invasions.

Nuisance Bears in Communities: Strategies to Reduce Conflict

Human-bear conflicts are becoming of greater concern as remnant bear populations occupy habitat that is being encroached upon by human development. In some communities, specific policies dealing with human-bear interactions have been adopted. The research reported here is a review of these policies within selected communities and analysis of the dynamics leading to their adoption. A framework depicting forces influencing the formulation of policy on wildlife management devised by Kellert and Clark was used to describe the policy development in the communities studied. Categories of constituency forces described in the framework include biophysical-behavioral, social-structural, valuational and institutional-regulatory. The time and order sequence of influential forces leading to policy formulation is a central focus of the paper. The communities utilized in the analysis include Juneau, Alaska; Mammoth Lakes, California; West Yellowstone, Montana; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The policy formulation process among communities is compared.

Studies on the Life History of a Neogregarine Parasite Found in Leptothorax Ants from North America

Pupal stages of Leptothorax ants collected near West Yellowstone, MT, USA, displayed striking signs and symptoms of disease, i.e., grey to black coloration, irregular pigmentation of compound eyes and toothless mandibles. Light microscope studies revealed heavy infections by a neogregarine, the life history of which is described. The life cycle of the pathogen includes micronuclear and macronuclear schizogonies, gametogony and sporogony. Schizonts of both types vary in size depending on the number of nuclei which is usually defined by doubling, thus giving rise to 8, 16, 32, 64 or even 128 uninucleate merozoites. In smears and sections, micronuclear merozoites are typically arranged in rosettes. In the early transformation of zygotes, sickle-shaped developmental stages have been encountered, so far undescribed from neogregarines. Two spores (oocysts), each developing eight sporozoites, evolve from each gametocyst, as is typical of the genus Mattesia. Mature lemon-shaped spores measure 13.8 9.3 μm in fresh preparations. Infections can be readily transmitted to healthy colonies and to other Leptothorax species by feeding crushed infected pupae. Vegetative life cycle stages grow and multiply in the haemocoel, only to some extent they infect fat body cells. Macronuclear merozoites invade the hypodermis and the fat body but also settle extracellularly in the haemocoel. The disease process terminates with the death of the pupae that harbour abundant spores. Infections of adults have not been observed. Despite some minor differences that may result from development of the pathogen in this host, from the type, sequence and morphology of life cycle stages and from the signs and symptoms of disease, this Mattesia species is identified with M. geminata, first discovered in the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius).

Processing snow for high strength roads and runways

Using a variety of conventional snow processing equipment in deep snow fields in West Yellowstone, Montana, we studied snow processing techniques having the potential for producing high-strength snow roads and runways. The test location and timing were selected to obtain snow properties and winter ambient temperatures as dry and cold as possible, in a convenient location, to simulate conditions in polar regions. Four separate test sites, each with a different treatment, were established using the snow processing equipment. Observations were made for 12 weeks after construction to monitor the snow's hardness (strength) and its temperature distribution. Plane sections were taken at each site on a weekly basis to allow comparison of bond density and strength. We also used image analysis to find which critical microstructural properties correlate best with compressive strength changes. Temperature data were also correlated with strength changes. Test results indicate that a powered tiller with a relatively dense tooth population provided the highest strength snow. This snow was strong enough to easily support contact loads greater than 700 kPa, which could allow the use of conventional aircraft and wheeled vehicles in areas of deep snow.

Enteric coccidia in free-ranging American bison (Bison bison) in Montana.

Four Eimeria species have been reported from American bison (Bison bison): E. auburnensis, E. bovis, E. brasiliensis, and E. canadensis. We report on finding two additional species: E. ellipsoidalis and E. zuernii. In 1993, the prevalence of these six species in 31 yearling bison in a recently-established herd on private ranchland in Montana (USA) was: E. bovis, 97%; E. canadensis, 90%; E. zuernii, 32%; E. ellipsoidalis, 32%; E. auburnensis, 9.7%; and E. brasiliensis, 3.2%. Eimerian oocysts also were recovered from five (14%) of 36 bison in 1993 from West Yellowstone; the species involved were: E. canadensis, E. bovis, E. zuernii and E. auburnensis.

Obsidian-hydration dating of fluvially reworked sediments in the West Yellowstone region, Montana

This study evaluates obsidian-hydration dating in postglacial fluvial terraces cut into an outwash plain near West Yellowstone, Montana. Fluvial transport fractures obsidian grains. However, some old hydration rinds may be preserved, thus, a grain may record several fracturing events. The most recent fracturing event at West Yellowstone is recorded in surface sediments from all of the terraces, which were cut in a shorter period of time than the technique can discern. They formed about 19,000 ± 1000 yr ago, using published hydration-rate estimates and a mean rind thickness of 6.34 ± 0.14 μm (1 SE). Alternatively, the application of published hydration-rate constants for the Obsidian Cliff flow with an estimated effective hydration temperature of 1.4°C yield an age of 24,400 ± 1100 yr (1 SE). Thicker rinds record fracturing during Bull Lake glaciation and cooling cracks from the emplacement of several source flows. Much of the observed spread in rind thicknesses (6.34 ± 1.69 μm: 1 SD) is probably the result of chemically induced variations in hydration rate. Terrace ages based on a single rind would range from 13,000 to 39,000 yr (±1 SD). Therefore, it is inappropriate to (1) use a set of hydration-rate constants determined from a single sample to calculate ages for multiple artifacts or geological samples, (2) date an archaeological or geological event on the basis of a single artifact, or (3) generate a chronostratigraphy on the basis of individual dates as a function of depth. Multiple evaluations of source chemistry and hydration rates and multiple rind measurements are required to date fracturing events.

Time‐dependent models of vertical deformation for the Yellowstone‐Hebgen Lake Region, 1923–1987

Results of repeated levelings have been used to determine the patterns of elevation change associated with the Yellowstone caldera, and apparent viscoelastic rebound following the magnitude 7.3 earthquake near Hebgen Lake in 1959. Models with alternative treatments for nonuniform height change were utilized. Area‐wide levelings in 1923, 1975–1977, and 1987 in Yellowstone National Park allowed derivation of uplift velocities for the periods before and after 1976. Maximum uplift velocity for the earlier period was 14 mm/yr, causing 90 cm of height change from 1923 to 1984. Recent annual levelings on the east side of the caldera show a cessation of uplift in 1984–85, and the beginning of rapid subsidence; −19 mm/yr from 1985 to 1989. The long‐term uplift correlates closely with the caldera rim. After structuring the leveling observations to be insensitive to the 1959 coseismic deformation (−6 m) at Hebgen Lake, the broader spatial pattern of postseismic rebound was resolved, showing uplift of at least 32 cm. As a group, the relevelings converging at nearby West Yellowstone were accomplished at various times, which allowed selection of a best model to fit the temporal character of postseismic motion. The preferred model has a 2‐year decay period indicating that uplift stopped by 1970. Supplementary indications of the uplift near Hebgen Lake were obtained by comparing Global Positioning System data to earlier levelings, facilitated by a new precise geoid by D. G. Milbert and W. T. Dewhurst (submitted manuscript, 1990).

IDENTIFICATION OF LOESS BY PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION USING THE COULTER COUNTER TA II1

Particle size distribution was determined on loess sections from southcentral and northern Idaho; West Yellowstone, Montana; eastern Nebraska; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Macon Ridge, Louisiana, using the Coulter Counter TA II. The Coulter Counter allows for 15 subdivisions in the silt-size range and provides sensitivity in interpreting loess particle size distribution. Loess materials can be identified by a characteristic particle size distribution in the medium and coarse silt fractions, which distinguish them from nonloess materials. The method would be helpful in soil classification, soil parent material studies, and research on loess.

Morphologic dating of fluvial terrace scarps and fault scarps near West Yellowstone, Montana

Analysis of fault and fluvial terrace scarps in the West Yellowstone Basin south of Hebgen Lake, Montana, indicates that, during degradation, the gradient of the scarp face and the curvatures of the basal concavity and crestal convexity of the scarp face decrease (become more rounded) with time. The pattern of degradation is identical with that predicted by a simple analytical model for degradation by creep, in which the change in elevation at a point on a hillslope is proportional to the curvature of the profile at that point. The model therefore provides the basis for morphologic dating, a technique for determining the age of a scarp by the extent to which its initial morphology has been degraded. In order to date a scarp, the coefficient of proportionality, c , must be known. The technique is probably not suitable for use on hillslopes degraded by processes other than creep. Both the potential and the limitations of morphologic dating are demonstrated via measurements of a sequence of terrace scarps along the Madison River. The calculated relative ages are in agreement with the known relative ages, despite the fact that the gradient of the youngest scarp is significantly less than that of the older scarps. To calculate an absolute morphologic age, c must be derived from analysis of a scarp of known age having the same aspect, must be underlain by the same material, and must be within the same climatic zone as the scarp to be dated. In the West Yellowstone Basin, a value of c = 2.00 ± 0.38 × 10 −3 m 2 /yr was calculated from a minimum date of 7100 ± 50 yr B.P. determined by radiocarbon dating for one of the terrace scarps. Scarps formed by normal faulting in the West Yellowstone Basin are much more difficult to date than are terrace scarps, because of the possible complexity of their initial morphology. Fault scarps formed during the 1959 Yellowstone earthquake commonly consist of an assemblage of two or more smaller scarps or are superimposed on preexisting scarps formed by one or more previous faulting events. By using a selective sampling procedure, however, one can screen out these fault scarps. In this way, it was possible to determine an age of 2,800 ± 1,100 yr for a pre-1959 fault scarp in the West Yellowstone Basin. Because the fault and terrace scarps in the West Yellowstone area do not vary significantly in height, the morphologic dating technique proposed earlier by Nash (1980a) cannot be applied to them. The substantially modified procedure developed for the present study does not require a wide range of heights for each scarp to be dated; it can be performed using a relatively small number of scarp profiles if c is known. It is easy to use, and, when used with considerable care, it is reasonably accurate (±36%–59% in this study). It is potentially applicable to scarps in other areas.

Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation: Cycling and Succession in Lodgepole Pine Forest

A research project was initiated in 1980 to study the effects of outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) on lodgepole pine forest (Pinus contorta Dougl. ssp. latifolia) in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas. This native insect apparently has long been associated with lodgepole pine, and reports of small numbers of beetles can be found in Park records as early as 1925. However, in the late 1940's and early 1950's major outbreaks began to occur on the Caribou and Targhee National Forests immediately to the west and southwest of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. An outbreak in Grand Teton National Park and the adjacent Teton National Forest began in the 1950's, with an explosive increase in 1961 followed by an eventual subsidence in the late 1960's. The first major outbreak in Yellowstone National Park began in the late 1960's in the Bechler and South Entrance areas, reaching a peak there in 1970 and later declining. Yearly aerial surveys conducted thereafter showed a steady northward movement of the outbreak through the western half of the Park at a rate of 1 - 5 km per year. By 1978 the peak outbreak was centered around West Yellowstone, with hundreds of infested trees per hectare. The outbreak is now moving north and east along the Madison and Gibbon Rivers, with the greatest beetle populations currently in the vicinity of Madison Junction.

Mountain Pine Bettle Infestation: Cycling and Succession in Lodgepole Pine Forest

A research project was initiated in the summer of 1980 to study the effect of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks on forests dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ssp. latifolia) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming. In the past twenty years, beetle outbreaks have become an increasing problem in the Park. These series of infestations first appeared in the Bechler Meadows area in the early 1960's, and have since spread northward with the most recent outbreaks occurring in stands along the Gallatin River. Based on aerial surveys, the highest concentration of beetle activity is currently centered in the West Yellowstone Madison River Canyon area of the Park. Since bark beetle infestations are a natural disturbance or perturbation similar to fire, knowledge of the structure and function of the forest on disturbed patches is vital to the ecological understanding of the landscape. Although the population ecology of mountain pine beetle in pine forests has been well documented (Coulson 1979), little has been done on their effect on ecosystem characteristics. Our approach has been to study 1) various nutrient cycling characteristics, 2) surviving tree growth, 3) succession, and 4) fuel accumulation patterns in a series of stands with different histories of beetle disturbance. The stands were selected to represent a chronosequence of beetle activity, dating from about 1965 to the present.

Arsenic and fluoride in the upper madison river system: Firehole and gibbon rivers and their tributaries, yellowstone national park, wyoming, and southeast montana

Chemical analyses of 21 water samples from the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers, which combine to form the Madison River, gave arsenic and fluoride values above the Environmental Protection Agency Interim Primary Drinking Water maximum contaminant levels (0.05 mg/l arsenic and 2.0 mg/l fluoride). On 18 October, 1975, during a period of moderate flow (16,600 l/s), the Madison River at West Yellowstone contained 0.23 mg/l arsenic and 6.2 mg/l fluoride. Below Hebgen Lake the Madison River during periods of high flow (56,000 liter/s at West Yellowstone and 708,000 liter/s below Hebgen Lake) would contain 0.05 mg/l arsenic at both stations and 1.5 and 4.0 mg/l fluoride at West Yellowstone and below Hebgen Lake, respectively. The strong correlations of arsenic and fluoride with other chemical constituents of the river water at the sampling sites demonstrate the conservative nature of each element after it reaches the Madison River system. Calculations indicate that water from three sampling sites is above saturation with respect to fluorite.