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Saving Yellowstone with Dennis Quaid S01E04
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00:00This is a hot time of year in Yellowstone country.
00:04Everything's starting to get dusty and dry.
00:07And when these conditions go on for too long, it can have a permanent impact.
00:12I remember when these trees here were green and lush.
00:17But years of drought have taken their toll.
00:20Protecting this land and these conditions is hard work.
00:23But it's worth it.
00:25The Yellowstone region is one of those places that sort of calls to us.
00:33It speaks to us in a very special way that leads you to want to help save it.
00:38During an expedition for the U.S. Geological Survey in 1871, Dr. Ferdinand Hayden,
00:44he saw this region and he knew it needed to be protected.
00:48And one year later, Yellowstone became America's first national park.
00:53Every year, millions of people come to Yellowstone to connect with the wildness of nature.
01:00To keep this land, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, the way we cherish it,
01:07we must adapt to 21st century challenges.
01:11And the more information we have from experts like the scientists at the University of Idaho
01:15and the University of Wyoming, the better prepared we'll be to face the future.
01:21The Yellowstone ecosystem is a place of wonder.
01:42It is one of the planet's largest intact temperate zone ecosystems covering 22 million acres across three states.
01:52It is an ideal setting to monitor the state of the planet.
02:05And with nearly three quarters of it public land,
02:16scientists and researchers can be given a unique glimpse into our changing world.
02:23Yellowstone brims with life, and it's a complex web of plants and animals that lean on each other to survive.
02:37Especially when disaster strikes.
02:421988, wildfires sweep across the region.
02:46An abnormally dry summer left the landscape a tinderbox.
02:51Over 500,000 acres burn in just three months.
03:022022.
03:04An early snowmelt, coupled with heavy spring rains,
03:08produced one of the most devastating floods in the region's history.
03:12Roads are washed out.
03:19Locals and visitors alike are evacuated.
03:23Sewage lines are broken, polluting the nearby waterways.
03:29These natural disasters are a part of Yellowstone's life cycle.
03:36Pine trees rely on fire to open their cones and disperse their seeds.
03:42Flooding replenishes arid flatlands.
03:48But there is one stress nature can't control.
03:53Humans.
03:56Between the locals and the more than 4.5 million annual visitors,
04:03the landscape has no choice but to adapt to our presence.
04:08So, how is the Yellowstone ecosystem coping with the modern world?
04:14There are no easy solutions to these big problems,
04:18but we humans can learn from nature.
04:21The heroes who can teach us how this region adapts aren't the grizzly bear, moose, or wolf.
04:30It is an unlikely foursome.
04:34The red squirrel.
04:36The harlequin duck.
04:39The pygmy rabbit.
04:41And the American white pelican.
04:44Each offers clues on what the ecosystem is experiencing
04:49and can teach us humans how to adapt.
04:54Summertime.
05:05Lodgepoles, Douglas firs, whitebark pines.
05:09Trees are reaching toward the sun across Yellowstone's national forest.
05:14Within these groves, black bears and martins feed on juniper berries.
05:21Raptors, like owls and golden eagles, nest in the pines.
05:27Meanwhile, other birds, like ravens, look for their next meal among the branches.
05:36Work, work, work.
05:38Life can seem like a never-ending series of errands for a red squirrel mom.
05:46Gathering food, feeding the little ones, guarding territory, it never stops.
05:53Red squirrels, both male and female, are highly territorial.
06:03Visitors are not welcome.
06:08Unless you're a potential mate or one of her newborn kittens.
06:20Even then, female red squirrels can choose when to be inestrus.
06:27These gals aren't alone.
06:29Pandas are also picky about mating.
06:32When she feels that her home is in shape, she has plenty of food,
06:36and some males are worth the effort.
06:39She'll go into heat for one day.
06:42She'll mate with as many ideal suitors as possible.
06:47Once pregnant, she'll gestate for about a month,
06:51then give birth to a litter of one to five kittens.
06:57She's a single mom, by choice.
07:00The demands on her time will only grow more in tents.
07:06She'll give birth to just a single litter each year,
07:09and those kittens will rely on mom for everything, including protection.
07:16Only three in ten red squirrels live past their first year.
07:20Illness, weather, and accidents are always a concern.
07:25But the real threats come from predators like pine martens, stoats, and raptors.
07:36Mom is back to nurse the kittens.
07:39They will remain with her for the next two to three months.
07:42And when they sleep, she's back to work, work, work, locating and storing food.
07:54Mom stores her food inside nature's refrigerator, a midden.
08:01It doesn't look like much, but it is a lifeline for the whole community.
08:07Grand Teton National Park
08:22Biologist John Kuprowski and graduate student Lauren Wetterau of the University of Wyoming
08:30are searching for red squirrels.
08:34More specifically, red squirrel middens.
08:38These rodents and their food stashes are much more important to a forest habitat than previously thought.
08:46Middens are junk piles.
08:47If you talk to an archaeologist, it's a pile of junk.
08:50But to a squirrel, it is its lifeblood, right?
08:53It is 20,000 to 40,000 cones that it's going to be eating for six months.
08:58Each of those has been clipped by a squirrel one at a time, allowed to fall to the ground, grabbed, and then taken back to this midden.
09:07And so they're doing all the hard work for lots of other species.
09:12And by piling up 20,000 to 40,000 cones in a single pitcher's mound-sized midden,
09:19many other species can come in and pilfer them, chipmunks, lots of small mammals, but also grizzly bears.
09:28Deer will come in and root around in them.
09:31So they're very likely to have impact on a variety of different species, and as a result, be kind of a focal point for biodiversity.
09:40Oh, wow.
09:46Lauren has spotted a good midden right in the middle of a grove of trees with plenty of access points for animals.
09:54I think this is a really good sight for a camera.
09:57I agree.
09:58Studying these middens, seeing what they're like and who's using them and why, I think is really beneficial because then we see just how the ecosystem is working as a whole.
10:08To me, that always kind of shows some underlying beauty of it that maybe we haven't even noticed before.
10:15If scientists know how the red squirrel impacts its ecosystem, then they will have a better idea on how best to support both the squirrel and its habitat.
10:27Lauren will return to this site in the coming months.
10:29She will examine the footage from the trail cam and hopes it will reveal new insights on how these structures play a role in the health of the ecosystem.
10:39The flowers are in bloom.
10:51Once dormant grasses now blanket Yellowstone's valleys.
11:00Snowmelt from higher altitudes feeds rivers, streams, and ponds.
11:06What were once trickles are now steady, flowing waterways.
11:11And they're just in time.
11:14The Yellowstone ecosystem is home to millions of migrating birds and waterfowl.
11:20Loons, double-breasted cormorants, herons, egrets, and others travel to the region's wetlands to nest.
11:29Harlequin ducks gather in small numbers in Yellowstone and have more than their fair share of admirers.
11:46Wildlife enthusiasts and birders marvel at their striking appearance.
11:50But they're only here for a few short months, in places like Laharty's Rapids.
12:01Harlequin ducks mate for life.
12:04Their bond stretches across time and geography.
12:08While their eggs are still incubating, the male will migrate back to the Pacific coast, leaving the female to watch over their offspring on her own until the end of the summer.
12:22The females embark on a fascinating journey west, where somehow, across thousands of miles and against all odds, with young children in tow, they once again locate their mate.
12:35In and around the Yellowstone ecosystem, migratory waterfowl are in decline.
12:44Their nesting sites are threatened by habitat loss and climate change.
12:49The decline was too gradual for many to notice.
12:54But not everyone.
13:01Great hiking day today.
13:03It is.
13:04This cloud cover is so welcome.
13:06Yeah, thanks for planning this today and not yesterday.
13:09It was so stonking hot.
13:11There aren't many people who know Yellowstone like Doug Smith.
13:15Doug is the head biologist at the Jackson Fork Ranch in Wyoming.
13:20He's authored numerous papers and books, including one on the birds of the Yellowstone region.
13:25Today, he is exploring the backcountry with the Shia Mills and Kara McGarry, a pair of local conservationists and expedition leaders.
13:35Do you guys have noticed things changing in this region?
13:39Oh, absolutely.
13:40It seems like it used to be a lot greener about this time, most years.
13:44Well, I've noticed in my work here working with birds that there's a lot of curveballs being thrown at birds now because of migration and nesting season.
13:56I think that being a bird seems really difficult.
13:59One of my favorite birds in Yellowstone is a harlequin duck.
14:02I think they're incredible.
14:03I love that they're beautiful.
14:04Beautiful, too.
14:04They're beautiful.
14:05You know, they go upstream.
14:07And one of the things that I learned recently is that, you know, with the way that our changing climate is affecting river and stream flow, you know, it's getting harder and harder and harder for the ducks to predict when the peak flow happens.
14:20And they have to do that because they need to nest right near the water's edge for safety.
14:27But if they nest too early and the water rises, it wipes out their nests.
14:31You know, it's just kind of an example of like something you wouldn't really think about.
14:34It gives me an insight as to the expanding irregularities and peak flow that they are dealing with.
14:41I've seen so many changes here, and it's astonishing.
14:45It astonishes me still daily.
14:47A lot of the forests that have burned, you know, like the 88 fires, you know, when I first started interpreting the 88 fires, it was like, oh, this isn't going to happen.
14:55You know, this is normal.
14:57And, yes, it's a very fire-dependent ecology.
14:59And we know fires burn like that about every 150 to 300 years.
15:02Now the projections are that fires on the scale of 88 are going to burn every three to five years.
15:08Yeah, wow.
15:09Just limited by no fuel left to burn.
15:13What are you guys thinking?
15:15What do we need to do here now?
15:17I want to be the kind of human that my ecosystem would want to have.
15:21People aren't going away, so it's really a matter of us learning how to live in the ecosystem that we're lucky enough to live in and be kind to it rather than be all take and no give.
15:32If we have people moving in that are helping and creating solutions, things like, you know, the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group or Wild Livelihoods and really like, you know.
15:44Community-based action.
15:45Exactly.
15:46Talking to our neighbors.
15:46Grassroots.
15:47Yeah.
15:47I think that's the key.
15:48I also see a lot of solutions in what people are doing, and I feel like I'm just right in the midst of it.
15:54You know, for example, we've got a lot of ranchers here who are changing the way that they do things to build soil and sequester carbon.
16:01And so there's a lot happening here.
16:03Yes, the change is obvious, but also the response is quite apparent here.
16:08And I find that really reassuring, and I want to be part of that situation, too.
16:13While the challenges are great, the locals' commitment to their mission is even greater.
16:19300 miles away, scientists are examining how climate change is affecting one tiny creature and its environment.
16:38Idaho, the northwest corner of the Yellowstone ecosystem, the sagebrush steppe has come alive.
16:51These steppes are located on the leeward side of the mountains.
16:56It has significantly less precipitation than the other side of the slope.
17:03There is far more to the landscape that meets the eye.
17:07It's dominant plant is the sagebrush, an evolutionary triumph.
17:14It has adapted to these rocky, water-starved highlands by keeping its roots close to the surface and spreading wide.
17:24Native Americans have long used sagebrush leaves in traditional medicine.
17:30Toothaches, rheumatism, stomach problems, and other ailments treated with brute teas
17:36or bandages of soaked leaves.
17:39Even the smoke or steam emanating from the sage has a purpose, to purify the air.
17:47The bush can grow from 6 inches up to 15 feet or more.
17:52Its sweet-smelling canopy creates a unique micro-habitat.
17:56Rattlesnakes and birds use the sagebrush for shelter.
18:03While it is toxic to many animals, pronghorn and mule deer can tolerate it when they nibble on its leaves during winter.
18:11But no animal is as closely associated with sagebrush in our popular imagination as the sage-grouse.
18:23It is the largest bird in the grouse family and can be found throughout the West.
18:28They are famous for their mating rituals and their dancing.
18:36Scientists consider sage-grouse an umbrella species that represents the conservation needs of an entire habitat.
18:44In other words, when we protect the sage-grouse, we also protect all the plants and animals around it.
18:53And one of the creatures benefiting is the subject of an ongoing study by a team of local scientists.
19:10Eastern Idaho.
19:11The University of Idaho's Janet Racklow and Fiona McKibben, along with Mitchell Parsons of Utah State, are searching for the pygmy rabbit.
19:23They're joined by Fiona's baby, Arthur, who is experiencing his first outing as a field assistant.
19:30So these guys can be really hard to find.
19:32So one of the best ways is just to keep around the burrow system, so not to go right into it.
19:39Look in and kind of look for those areas of disturbed soil.
19:42Okay.
19:43Mitch is really good at it.
19:45He's been doing this for a few years.
19:49This area, we've been working at this area for about 20 years, and some of these burrow systems have been active for almost that entire time.
19:57The pygmy rabbit is the only native rabbit species that digs its own burrow, and it prefers to do so among the sagebrush.
20:07Pygmy rabbits are a little bit unique among rabbits in North America.
20:11They look kind of like a small cottontail without the tail, and they're quite a bit smaller.
20:15As the name implies, they're the smallest rabbit in the world.
20:18They max out at about a pound.
20:20But they're really unique for a couple of reasons.
20:24One is that they feed primarily on sagebrush, and sagebrush is a pretty toxic plant.
20:29The reason it smells so great is that it's full of chemicals that are meant to deter herbivores from eating them.
20:35The only other vertebrate that can eat sagebrush to the same degree as the pygmy rabbit is the sage grouse,
20:40and those are both endemic to the sagebrush ecosystems.
20:44The other thing that's pretty cool about them is that they're obligate burrowers,
20:48that they always dig and create these pretty complex residential burrow systems,
20:53and other North American lapords don't do that.
20:59Just saw a rabbit.
21:03Pygmy rabbits actually really have an outsized effect on the sagebrush ecosystem,
21:07and around their burrow systems, they tend to urinate and defecate,
21:12so they're putting nutrients into really nutrient-poor soils.
21:15They're digging.
21:16They're foraging.
21:17And they actually end up increasing sagebrush reproduction, sagebrush seed production.
21:23They increase the germination of sagebrush seedlings.
21:26So they're essentially farming sagebrush in this environment.
21:30The University of Idaho team is beginning a two-year study
21:34to explore how these vulnerable animals adapt to a changing environment.
21:40Understanding how pygmy rabbits respond to climate change,
21:44to the climate and the thermal environment,
21:46can really help us to make predictions about what's going to happen to them
21:50as the climate continues to warm up and as they continue to lose habitat.
21:56Temperatures are increasing in the American West.
22:00Over the last two decades, temperatures have been as high or higher
22:04than in the last 20,000 years.
22:07There was also 25% less snowfall.
22:11It may seem like a small change,
22:14but the impact on the landscape has been substantial.
22:19Understanding the climate adaptability of pygmy rabbits,
22:22it can actually serve as a model system for other species.
22:25So we know a lot about pygmy rabbits, and there's more to learn,
22:28but if we can sort of figure out how they're adapting to climate change,
22:32that can help us with other similar small-bodied mammals
22:35and help us understand how other species might react to a changing environment.
22:39So we've got three traps out, right?
22:43Yeah.
22:45Yep, we got one here.
22:48They're not that easy to catch, actually.
22:50They're more difficult than a lot of other types of rabbits.
22:54Does it look like a juvenile?
22:56It's tiny.
22:58It's a juvenile for sure.
22:59Pretty surprising when we did start to tag and collar these animals,
23:03they move a lot more than we thought.
23:05Oh, my gosh, it's so cute.
23:07Yeah.
23:08One of the things we learned is that they can disperse as juveniles
23:11really far, you know, much farther than we anticipated,
23:14and that suggests that those populations may be connected
23:19and may have a greater chance of surviving.
23:23This is just a juvenile.
23:25So we're not going to collar that one.
23:27These are the collars we would use,
23:29and it's a VHF collar,
23:32and that's the size of an adult neck.
23:34The problem with young ones like this,
23:36because they're growing so fast,
23:37we can't put the collars on them.
23:39You see a pygmy rabbit,
23:40and it fits in the palm of your hand,
23:42and you're like, oh, it's so cute.
23:43But that little one-pound rabbit
23:46is having a pretty big impact
23:48in terms of how this ecosystem functions
23:50and what that might mean for the other species that use it.
23:53So I'm going to release it back into the burrow.
23:57Janet and her team will continue tracking these rabbits
24:00to see how they cope with a hotter, drier habitat.
24:05Her data and the work on sage-grouse
24:08and other creatures in the sagebrush habitat
24:11will inform how to coexist in a changing 21st century.
24:16Life in the wild
24:33has always been about the struggle for survival.
24:38And over time,
24:40by studying the animals that make this glorious place,
24:43their habitat,
24:44we can gain a better understanding
24:46about how we can all thrive,
24:49every animal, every human.
24:52For the scientists and locals
24:53who call the Yellowstone ecosystem their home,
24:57they know that to preserve this wonderful landscape
25:00also means we need to understand
25:03and find solutions to difficult problems.
25:06As summer pushes onward,
25:17the landscape grows drier.
25:20For a place where summer rainfall is rare
25:22and growing rarer,
25:25meltwater from the winter snow is essential.
25:27A recent report noted that summer precipitation
25:32dropped an average of 14% in recent years,
25:36increasing the threat of wildfires.
25:38In the alpine forest,
25:43the red squirrel has been busy
25:45raising her kittens
25:47and defending her territory.
25:51Now seven weeks old,
25:53the kittens are ready to leave the nest.
25:57But mom, I bet,
25:59won't be too heartbroken.
26:00She may allow one daughter to stick around the area,
26:04but at some point,
26:05she'll chase the others away.
26:08You could say that the mother squirrel is
26:10task-oriented.
26:13So little time,
26:14so much to do.
26:16She's got to keep filling the midden.
26:19She's, oh,
26:2015,000 cones short.
26:22It's still intact,
26:24but she can't rest on her laurels.
26:28Winter will soon arrive on schedule,
26:32but in Yellowstone,
26:33fires often come unannounced.
26:36Even for the red squirrel,
26:38survival is the name of the game.
26:52Lauren Wetterow is back,
26:58seeing how the habitat
26:59is using a midden as a resource.
27:05All right, let's see what we got.
27:08We've had these cameras out
27:10for about a month now,
27:11and the point of these cameras
27:14is to see what animals
27:16have been coming around to the midden,
27:18what they've been doing,
27:20how many animals come by,
27:23So at this specific site,
27:24the midden that we just picked up
27:27a camera at,
27:28that midden is probably
27:2930 to 50 years old.
27:31It's got a really good mound structure.
27:33It's got a lot of combs,
27:35seed debris, tunnels,
27:37all the things that make a midden
27:38a really good, ideal midden location.
27:42Middens are like a central supermarket
27:45for this neighborhood,
27:46and like human grocery stores,
27:49they can indicate
27:49how well the community
27:51will bounce back
27:52after a natural disaster,
27:55like a wildfire.
27:56The red squirrel
27:57is more than just a food source
27:59for its owners and neighbors.
28:02Wildfires help with regrowth
28:04and regeneration
28:04of understory of trees.
28:09Different animals need
28:10different levels of understory,
28:11so fires help kind of rotate
28:13that out sometimes.
28:15If you have middens
28:16in that forest ecosystem,
28:17as well as natural,
28:21occasional fires,
28:22those are probably both indicators
28:24that the habitat is doing just fine.
28:28Scientists have discovered
28:29that if a midden survives a wildfire
28:32or other natural disaster,
28:34the nearby habitat
28:35will bounce back far quicker
28:38than it would without one.
28:40Understanding how these middens survive
28:43can teach us
28:44how to support vulnerable habitats.
28:47In this way,
28:49red squirrels are a bellwether
28:51for an entire ecosystem.
28:54They actually are really,
28:56really great for their ecosystem
28:57that lots of other animals love
29:00and sometimes need to use
29:01to also have resources
29:03and get their daily needs met
29:05in terms of nutrition.
29:08They are a feisty
29:10and important part of the ecosystem
29:13by helping other animals
29:15get the resources they want.
29:21As the summer winds down,
29:34migratory animals move
29:36toward their wintering grounds.
29:39Searing temperatures
29:39and limited rainfall
29:41push ungulates like bison and elk
29:44to more fertile terrains.
29:47Migratory waterfowl
29:49are also preparing
29:50for their next move.
29:53For haraquin ducks,
29:55it means a journey
29:56of up to 1,100 miles
29:58to the Pacific coast.
30:00They'll leave behind nesting grounds
30:02facing an uncertain future.
30:06One doesn't think
30:07of the American white pelican
30:09in a high-elevation,
30:11mountainous environment.
30:13But this breed,
30:14different from its brown cousin
30:16of the Gulf of Mexico,
30:17travels 952 miles yearly
30:21from its wintering grounds
30:22in California.
30:24Biologists have identified
30:26four active nesting sites
30:28in Montana.
30:30One is on Lake Yellowstone
30:32on tiny bits of land
30:35called the Mali Islands.
30:37The birds form large colonies
30:40anywhere between 500
30:41to 4,000 pairs.
30:43scientists slowly recognized
30:47a decline in the pelican population.
30:50The cause?
30:51Flooded nesting sites
30:53due to earlier snow melt.
30:56The birds were forced
30:57to modify their route
30:58or, sadly,
31:00nest in potentially lethal locations.
31:02Many locals decided
31:05to give birds new options
31:07and protect and preserve
31:09these valuable watersheds.
31:13The Teller Wildlife Refuge
31:15sits at the border
31:16of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
31:19As the valley sort of shrinks in
31:22on this river bottom here,
31:24you know, these places,
31:25people become appreciative of them
31:26because this is a spot
31:27where wildlife can roam
31:29freely without conflicts.
31:30Spanning more than 1,200 acres,
31:34this landscape is slowly
31:35being restored
31:36to its original state.
31:40It's a place to learn
31:41about coexisting with nature
31:43and to explore solutions
31:45to the habitat's
31:47most vexing problems.
31:50Teller Wildlife Refuge
31:51started in 1988,
31:53and it's been managed
31:53as a non-profit ever since.
31:55Most of the property
31:55is under conservation easement,
31:57so fortunately, wildlife
31:58have a lot of ability
31:59to roam up and down
32:00the river bottom here.
32:08Thousands of Yellowstone's
32:10migratory birds
32:11stop at Teller's Wetlands
32:13during their annual spring
32:15or fall migrations.
32:17With other watersheds
32:18drying up this time of year,
32:20it's a safe haven.
32:22We do a lot of wetland restoration work.
32:25We can manage wetlands,
32:26dig out wetlands
32:27to create new open water
32:29for migrating waterfowl.
32:31We have opportunities
32:31to come in
32:32and make sure
32:33that we can flow
32:34our water rights through
32:35at the right amount of time
32:36so that we've got
32:37the best wildlife habitat
32:38there is.
32:39Another chance for us
32:40to store water,
32:41raise the water table
32:42for the property up,
32:43allows us to bank water
32:44for later in the year.
32:45This is the wetland
32:46that is the result
32:47of the mitigation work
32:48that was done
32:49when the Hamilton Airport
32:51expanded.
32:51They damaged nine acres
32:53of wetlands
32:53when they expanded
32:54that airport
32:55and they had to offset
32:56that somewhere.
32:57It's a diverse mix
32:58of wetland grasses.
32:59You're starting to see
33:00reed canary grass come up.
33:01You're starting to see
33:01some bulrush come up.
33:03You're starting to see
33:04this change
33:05in species content
33:08and it's just
33:09a different type of habitat.
33:10Still provides
33:11a tremendous amount
33:12of wetlands resources.
33:14I mean, we'll see ducks
33:15and geese
33:16and pheasants out here.
33:18We've seen the sandhills
33:19and the moose.
33:19You see a lot of amphibians
33:21in here now.
33:22Prior to this project
33:23being put in,
33:23this was just
33:24a pretty well
33:26cheatgrass dominated
33:28old ag field.
33:29I mean, it really is
33:31a unique project
33:34that was put in.
33:36The work at the Teller
33:37Wildlife Refuge
33:38is just one example
33:40of public
33:40and private entities
33:42coming together
33:43to bring positive change
33:45to the region.
33:46change that respects
33:48the need of both humans
33:49and the natural world.
33:56Doug Smith has come out
33:58to meet with a pair
33:59of local advocates.
34:01Wendy Weaver
34:02is the executive director
34:03of Montana Freshwater Partners,
34:06an organization dedicated
34:07to preserving
34:08and restoring streams
34:10and wetlands
34:11throughout the state.
34:12Jeff Reed
34:13is a leader
34:14for wild livelihoods,
34:16a cooperative
34:17of businesses
34:17and individuals
34:19that pursue opportunities
34:20and face challenges
34:22in Yellowstone's
34:23entwined economy
34:24and environment.
34:26So we're sitting here
34:28kind of almost
34:29in the middle
34:29of the greater
34:30Yellowstone ecosystem,
34:31but now we have
34:32this issue of
34:33people are moving in,
34:35everybody wants
34:36their 10-acre ranchette,
34:37they want to keep
34:38the grizzly bear,
34:39the wolf and the bison
34:41and the elk.
34:41You guys are
34:42on the front lines
34:44with a new way
34:45of thinking to my mind
34:47because a lot
34:49of the Yellowstone ecosystem
34:50is federal land.
34:52Roughly 70%
34:53is public land,
34:55but that 30%
34:57I think can make
34:59or break
34:59the greater Yellowstone's future.
35:01Yeah, a lot of our work
35:03is around keeping
35:04it resilient
35:04and doing restoration projects,
35:07streamside projects
35:08that keep it clean,
35:10cold, connected
35:10and complex.
35:12So everybody wants
35:14to live along this river.
35:15How do you work
35:16through that?
35:17That's a huge part
35:19of our work
35:19is trying to educate
35:20people on
35:22what living
35:23near a river means
35:25and giving her space
35:26to move
35:27so when it floods,
35:28she can move
35:29across the floodplain
35:30and reduce damage
35:31from those floods.
35:32The way we traditionally built
35:34and lived along a river
35:35no longer works.
35:36Let's talk about a project.
35:38The flood of 22, right?
35:40It was above our heads
35:41right now.
35:43So where we're standing,
35:44the river was above it.
35:46And my neighbors here
35:47are ranchers.
35:49They own a lot
35:49of open space.
35:50There's a lot of elk
35:51that go in there,
35:52lots of habitat.
35:53And the flood
35:55went way over
35:56in their pasture,
35:57ripped out their pasture,
35:58ripped out the fence.
36:00And Wendy and I
36:01sat down
36:02and a group
36:02of other people
36:03and we said,
36:03what are we going to do?
36:04Like, how can we help?
36:05So we talked to them,
36:06said, can we help you
36:07with the fencing replacement?
36:09Can we do some
36:10wildlife-friendly fencing?
36:12Can we plant sand willows?
36:15Do you know how hard
36:15it is to plant sand willows?
36:16It's really hard.
36:18But when you get them planted,
36:19they'll go forever.
36:22So that's what it's about.
36:23If you love this place,
36:25then something,
36:26you know,
36:26bad happens,
36:27a 500,000-year flood.
36:29You actually go
36:30do something about it.
36:31You don't wait
36:32for a check or a handout.
36:34You just go do it.
36:35It's really important
36:35for us to also remember
36:37the more of that work
36:38that we can do proactively,
36:40then that will help
36:42mitigate future impacts
36:44from floods.
36:44Yeah, and you know
36:45how important this is
36:46to the fly fishing industry,
36:47this river.
36:48And without those willows
36:50on the banks,
36:51what don't you have?
36:52You don't have salmon flies.
36:53And we've seen-
36:54Don't have bugs?
36:5450 years living here,
36:56the salmon pike population
36:57has dropped drastically.
37:00And what are you not
37:01going to have
37:01if you don't have bugs?
37:03You're not going to have
37:03an economy,
37:04a fly fishing economy.
37:07People want to come here
37:09for this beautiful place.
37:12And in that nature,
37:14they are loving it to death.
37:16Something needs to change
37:17so that the influx of people
37:19is balanced with the investment
37:20and the resources
37:21it takes to maintain those.
37:23I was raised here.
37:25I raised two boys here.
37:28And God help me
37:29if I don't feel responsible
37:31to make sure
37:32that that next generation
37:34and 10 generations from now
37:36don't come here
37:37and just stand in awe.
37:39So you wouldn't know it,
37:59but this is part
38:00of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
38:02This is a mix of wildlife,
38:08wild lands,
38:09and humans.
38:10And it's a new challenge
38:12for this area
38:13because previously,
38:15that way is Yellowstone Park,
38:17the world's first national park,
38:19about 150 years old.
38:21And the surrounding public land,
38:23that's what was all
38:24that was needed
38:25to protect this great intact
38:29temperate zone ecosystem.
38:30But now it's been discovered
38:33and people have moved here.
38:37Native Americans called this
38:39the land of the burning mountains.
38:43And if you've ever been to Yellowstone,
38:45that's easy to understand.
38:47There's hot pots and geysers
38:50and thermal activity everywhere.
38:52Now we're in the 21st century.
38:58There's a lot more people here
39:00and the environment
39:02is going to have to adapt.
39:04The people who call
39:05this ecosystem home,
39:08scientists,
39:09business owners,
39:10conservationists
39:11are facing these issues head on.
39:15They're learning how animals
39:17are adapting
39:17and how we can too.
39:20There is so much more to learn.
39:23Kara said it for all of us
39:24when she said,
39:26I want to be the kind of human
39:27that my ecosystem
39:29would want me to have.
39:32Let's be that kind of person
39:34together.
39:35The Yellowstone region
39:46occupies a special place
39:47in the hearts and minds
39:48of millions of people
39:49throughout the world.
39:52It's a place of great beauty.
39:55Underneath a big sky,
39:57we can, all of us,
39:59reconnect with the beauty
40:00of the natural world.
40:03I'll never forget
40:04the first time
40:04that I came to this area.
40:06It felt like home.
40:09It's one of the largest
40:10intact temperate zone
40:13ecosystems on earth.
40:16That's what makes this place
40:17so damn special.
40:19So whether you're
40:20a rancher
40:22trying to raise sheep
40:23on the open range
40:24or a new arrival
40:25just seeing this land
40:26for the very first time,
40:29Yellowstone is a place
40:30worth protecting.
40:32And it takes all of us.
40:35Not just scientists
40:36and conservationists,
40:38but people like you and me.
40:40And by working together,
40:42we can make sure
40:44that this place,
40:45the Yellowstone ecosystem,
40:47can offer peace
40:48and solitude
40:50for generations to come.
40:58The Yellowstone ecosystem,
41:01a rugged,
41:02iconic,
41:03one-of-a-kind place.
41:04But this landscape
41:05is under threat.
41:07The fight is on
41:08to protect it.
41:10Find out more
41:10at savingyellowstone.org.
41:12What is it?
41:29Oh,
41:29that's the path.
41:29I don't know.
41:30This is點inal space.
41:30It is an illusion.
41:31It is a place where
41:31it seems to be
41:32impossible.
41:32It isston,
41:32therypid,
41:33as you can get
41:33to call.
41:33One-a-kind placeician.
41:34It has been a complete
41:35DC,
41:36and the wheel
41:36and we're there,
41:37and we're here.
41:38That's the whole type one.
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