Beaver dams slow water, create wetlands that store rain and snowmelt, recharge groundwater, filter out sediment, and provide critical habitat for Greater Yellowstone’s wildlife. In short, beaver activity makes landscapes more resilient to a changing climate—benefits Montana needs now more than ever. 

Rivers look and act differently following a wildfire. The impacts of fire to rivers are significant and last for years to decades, until vegetation can recover and key physical processes begin to normalize. Federal and state agencies are teaming up with partners like GYC to work on projects that help degraded streams recover faster from the increasing risks posed by wildfire. Check out our restoration work on Sheridan Creek!

Montanans are folks of all kinds – ranchers, farmers, business owners, outdoorspeople, conservationists, and everyone in between. The Montana Legislature is a place where we all come together to make decisions about our home, and whether we agree or not, I see Montanans as folks who can disagree and remain friends. This attitude embodies the Legislature. We wrap up a lively session with a number of critical wins for Montana's lands and wildlife. 

GYC is has been named a recipient of the Norm Winn Memorial Conservation Grant from the Keta Legacy Fund. This generous grant will help sponsor a project to identify priority areas to install low-tech process-based stream restoration (LTPBR) structures. 

We recap our 2024 favorite conservation moments and wins in Greater Yellowstone.

Yellowstone cutthroat trout once occupied habitat across Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and slivers of Nevada and Utah. Now, they are in steep competition with nonnative fish for habitat and resources. To help give the Yellowstone cutthroat trout a leg up, GYC staffers volunteered to work with partners to remove invasive brook trout from Mill Creek, a slow-moving stream near Yellowstone National Park’s northern border.

Wind River Indian Reservation entrepreneur and artist Sharolyn “Shay” Jimerson’s logo design has been selected to represent the Wind River Water & Buffalo Alliance.

As a keystone species — organisms who play an outsized part in shaping their ecosystem — beavers and the wetlands they maintain serve a unique and irreplaceable role in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Beavers are also ecosystem engineers, second only to humans in their ability to alter a landscape. By cutting wood and building dams, beavers do more than just build dams.

Rivers are the lifeblood of Montana. A low snow year, coupled with the impacts of population growth and climate change, are stark reminders that our rivers need our help. That’s why now is the time to pass the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act (MHLA). As we anticipate the bill’s hearing this spring, we critically need Senator Daines to support the MHLA.

Buckle up! It’s going to be a big year for GYC and the lands, waters, and wildlife of Greater Yellowstone.

In late 2023, the Wind River Indian Reservation, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes, and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition received a $619,500 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and through its America the Beautiful Challenge.

Join us for a journey down memory lane and let’s celebrate all we did together for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.