Greater Yellowstone Coalition

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is the foremost conservation organization protecting the lands, waters and wildlife of the 20-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The group was formed in 1983 with the novel idea that protecting Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks could only be achieved by protecting the wild integrity of the last largely intact temperate ecosystem in North America.

GYC’s mission statement is “People Working With People To Protect The Lands, Waters and Wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.” As such, the group collaborates with the people who live, work and recreate in the ecosystem to find sound, science-based solutions to issues threatening the values that attract wildlife and people alike to the region. In keeping with this philosophy, GYC is based in Bozeman, Mont., and has offices in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Jackson and Cody, Wyo.

GYC has had many conservation successes in its first quarter-century. Among the more notable were the halting of the controversial New World Mine just outside the northeast corner of Yellowstone and protecting prime grizzly bear habitat from logging. GYC also played a role in the reintroduction of the wolf to Greater Yellowstone in 1995 and has joined with conservation partners to ensure its long-term viability in the ecosystem.

Most recently, GYC was a driving force behind the landmark Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which President Obama signed into law in late March after a long, hard road through the Congress. Included in the most sweeping conservation legislation in a generation is the protection of 387 miles of the Snake River and tributaries in Wyoming as well as the withdrawal of 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range from oil and gas development. The Craig Thomas Snake River Headwaters Legacy Act — named for the late Wyoming senator who hatched the idea — marks the first time an entire watershed is protected under the federal Wild & Scenic Rivers System.

Learn more about the Greater Yellowstone Coalition at http://greateryellowstone.org.