Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee

Photo credit Frank T. van Manen/IGBST

NOTICE: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s June 30, 2017 final rule delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear population was vacated and remanded by the court on September 24, 2018. Therefore, grizzly bears throughout the lower 48 States are listed as threatened except where designated as an experimental population. For more information, visit the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Recovery page.

Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee Membership

Tricia O’Conner (Chair) Bridger Teton National Forest, Jackson, WY
Mike Volesky Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Helena, MT
Kim Liebhauser BLM-Wyoming, Cody, WY
Melany Gossa Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest, Dillon, MT
Derek Ibarguen Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho Falls, ID
Lee Miller Idaho Association of Counties
Lisa Timchak Shoshone National Forest, Cody, WY
David Vela Grand Teton National Park Jackson, WY
Dan Wenk Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Nat’l Park, WY
Jim White Idaho Dept of Fish and Game, Idaho Falls, ID
Brian Nesvik Wyoming Dept of Game and Fish, Cheyenne, WY
Tom Rice Montana Association of Counties, Beaverhead County, Dillon, MT
Lee Livingston Wyoming Park County Commission, Cody, WY
Leander Watson Shoshone Bannock Tribes, Fort Hall, ID
Mary Erickson Custer-Gallatin National Forest, Bozeman MT
Rick Hotaling BLM – Montana Dillon, MT
Mary D’Aversa BLM – Idaho Falls, ID

Information, Education & Outreach Subcommittee

Danielle Oyler (Chair) Wildlife Management Institute
Morgan Warthin Yellowstone National Park
Dustin Lasseter Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Denise Germann Grand Teton National Park
Kimberly Johnston People and Carnivores
Laurie Wolf Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Kylie Kembel Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Advisors

Dan Tyers USFS Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Mgmt Coordinator, Bozeman, MT
Frank van Manen Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, Bozeman, MT
Hilary Cooley USFWS Liaison
Kelsie Dougherty Administrative Coordinator, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Bozeman, MT

Subcommittee Meetings

Refer to the Meeting Calendar for upcoming meeting information.

Meeting Summaries

Policy and Research Reports

Final Signed Conservation Strategy

NEPA Documents

Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan: Draft Supplement: January 29, 1982 and Revised Plan September 10, 1993

Policy

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Recovery
Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee Charter
2006 Forest Plan Amendment for Grizzly Bear Habitat Conservation for the Greater Yellowstone Area National Forests
In April 2006, the Forest Service amended six forest plans on six Greater Yellowstone Area national forests (Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Bridger-Teton, Caribou-Targhee, Custer, Gallatin, and Shoshone National Forests) to incorporate the habitat standards and other relevant provisions in the Final Conservation Strategy for the Grizzly Bear in the Greater Yellowstone Area. The Record of Decision (ROD) presents the three principal reasons officials selected Alternative 2-Modified. In addition, the decision document describes the public involvement process and issues, and other alternatives considered. The amendment to the six forest plans is contained in the appendix of the decision document.

Research

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The full list of their publications can be found on the IGBST website.

2018 Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team Research and Monitoring Summary
Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. 2013. Response of Yellowstone grizzly bears to changes in food resources: a synthesis. Report to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee and Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee. Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
Climate change impacts on grizzly bears and wolverines in the Northern U.S. and Transboundary Rockies: Strategies for conservation