Greater Yellowstone Coalition

It’s official: Bears are out and about again across Greater Yellowstone! Yellowstone National Park confirmed the first sighting of fresh grizzly tracks for the year in the northern part of the park earlier this month, indicating that the bruins have started coming out of hibernation. As today is World Bear Day, we figured it would be a good time to remind folks that much of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is grizzly bear country. Whether you’re heading out to enjoy some spring recreation on public lands or wheeling your trashcan down the road for weekly pick-up, remember to be bear aware. Today, between 950 and 1,000 grizzly bears roam our region, but just 40 years ago, only 130 grizzlies lived in Yellowstone. Want to do more for grizzly bears? You can have a voice in shaping the future of grizzly bear management by writing to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via: https://p2a.co/naCBe94 Photo Danita Delimont / Shutterstock

Happy World Water Day! ?? Water is life here in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.?Our wild rivers, clear lakes, and cold streams sustain wildlife, communities, and the lands we love. As the headwaters of the West, the health of our waters have impacts locally and?far downstream—which is why we’re committed to keeping them healthy and wild for future generations. Photo NPS / Jacob W. Frank?

??Montanans, we urgently need you to stand up for wolves ?? TODAY, March 20, at 3 p.m. the Senate Fish and Game Committee will vote on House Bill 176 (HB 176), which would require an unlimited, statewide gray wolf hunting quota when the wolf population is 550 or more, effectively halving Montana’s wolf population. We need you to email and call your senators before 3 p.m. today and tell them to vote no on HB 176.

Our Spring Webinars are back! This year we're featuring stories from our work stopping the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project, keeping bears wild and people safe, and modifying and removing fencing to enhance wildlife migration and movement corridors. RSVP to save your spot today: https://lnkd.in/g7MMHveZ

Wyoming’s 68th Legislative Session came to a close March 7, 2025, after eight tumultuous weeks. GYC staff were entrenched in the day-to-day, and often minute-by-minute, action as many bills were moving through the legislative process. Wyoming Conservation Manager Jared Baecker and Government Affairs Advisor Richard Garrett broke down the roughly three dozen bills we were tracking and lobbying to influence in our latest blog post. Give it a read below!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended the deadline for public comment on its proposed grizzly bear rule to May 16. The rule would clarify where grizzly bears in the lower 48 states retain federal protections, as well as regulatory revisions which may provide additional management flexibility. You can help shape the future of grizzly bear management by leaving your comment at the link below. ??

What makes Yellowstone bison special? Sure, they’re the largest herd of wild bison found in the United States, but why are they the best bet for restoring bison across the country? Is it the fluffiest fur, the pointiest horns, or something else? In this podcast episode, we’ll dive into why Yellowstone bison matter. https://lnkd.in/g9SyWjzP

Curious about how virtual fencing is shaping the future of ranching and conservation? Virtual fencing, or VF, uses GPS collars and digital boundaries to manage livestock without traditional wire fences—helping reduce labor, improve rangeland health, and support wildlife movement. In our latest blog, Senior Wyoming Conservation Associate Erin Welty recaps the recent Wyoming Virtual Fence Symposium, where ranchers, land managers, conservationists, and VF vendors gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges of this innovative technology.

GYC is excited and grateful to announce that we’ve been named a recipient of the Norm Winn Memorial Conservation Grant from the Keta Legacy Foundation. This generous grant will help sponsor our project to identify priority areas to install low-tech process-based stream restoration (LTPBR) structures. Learn more about this work and LTPBR on our blog. https://lnkd.in/g49X7WQc

Did you know that all Yellowstone bison descend from just 23 wild individuals? Yellowstone National Park is the only place that American plains bison have continuously existed since prehistoric times. Here are two bulls trudging through some snow on a bluebird day in the park!?? Photo NPS / Jacob W. Frank