Geography Lecture: Conserving Yellowstone

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is defined in the public imagination by its national parks and the bison, wolves and bears that call it home — yet the private, working lands surrounding these anchors represent both the greatest vulnerability and the greatest opportunity for lasting conservation in the region. Drawing on surveys, interviews and geospatial analysis, Drew Bennett, MacMillan Professor of Practice, University of Wyoming will describe how emerging partnerships among private landowners, agencies and conservation organizations sustain landscape connectivity and seasonal habitats that wildlife depend on beyond park boundaries. Ultimately, Bennett asks what it takes to make conservation work on lands where livelihoods depend on the land itself — and what this means for the iconic wildlife that move through geographies historically overlooked in conservation.