News Release

Update to Yellowstone’s Winter Use Plan; Decision to suspend wildlife monitoring

Snowcoach along the Madison River with bison

NPS / Jacob W. Frank

News Release Date: December 14, 2021

Contact: Morgan Warthin, [phone]

• Starting winter 2021/2022, Yellowstone National Park will suspend a wildlife monitoring effort because evaluations over the last decade have not substantially changed.
• This decision is consistent with the park's Winter Use Adaptive Management Plan, which stated the National Park Service would continually re-examine and adjust winter use monitoring strategies and management actions as new information became available.
• This decision will not affect snowmobile or snowcoach use in the park or impact visitors.
• This decision will inform the park’s interest in conducting visitor use impact monitoring in the summer due to record-breaking visitation.
• Future winter wildlife monitoring will be informed by science and may be different than the recent monitoring methodologies.
• In October 2021, the park sought comments from the public on the proposal to suspend one component of the adaptive monitoring plan for winter use, initially put in place to evaluate effects to resources from snowmobiles and snowcoaches.