The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the defining concepts in wildlife conservation. But where did it come from?

In the 1950s, Frank and John Craighead pioneered modern grizzly bear research, using radio telemetry to follow bears far beyond the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. Their work revealed that grizzlies depended on a much larger, connected landscape (including working lands) and helped introduce the concept of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – a concept that continues to guide wildlife conservation and grizzly bear management today.

Listen

Topics discussed

Frank and John Craighead, Aldo Leopold’s ‘Sand County Almanac’, the birth of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as a concept, pioneering grizzly bear research and “cowboy biology,” Yellowstone’s garbage dumps, the rise of ecosystem-based conservation, radio telemetry and grizzly bear research, Craighead Institute, the conflict between the Craigheads and the National Park Service, the legacy of the Craigheads’ work, Endangered Species Act, Yellowstone’s role in wildlife conservation

Featuring

Featuring: Dan Flores (Western historian, author of Wild New World, host of Meateater’s The American West, Dan Tyres ( Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear habitat coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service,  adjunct professor at Montana State University), Kerry Gunther (Bear Management Biologist for Yellowstone National Park).

Credits

Working Wild University is a production of Western Landowners Alliance and Dr. Jared Beaver of Montana State University Extension, and a proud part of Natural Resources University podcast network. 

Hosted by Hallie Mahowald and Jared Beaver; Produced by Zach Altman; Editing by Kathleen Shannon and Zach Altman; Executive producers: Louis Wertz, Jared Beaver, Hallie Mahowald and Erik Kalsta.

Special thanks to the Archives and Special Collections at Montana State University Library for granting access to the Frank Craighead Collection.