Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA Photograph by John Morrison   Central North America: West central United States Temperate Coniferous Forests   61,500 square miles (159,300 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of Maine Vulnerable

· Famous Forests
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Famous Forests

Yellowstone is well-known as America's oldest national park and famous for its geysers. The Teton, Wind River, and Bighorn mountains are known for their majestic peaks. But they are also home to some of the most intact ecosystems in the United States. This is the only place left in the United States where wild bison, lynx, and grizzlies can be found.

Special Features

From the flatlands to the mountains, this ecoregion encompasses dramatic ranges in elevation. This accounts for the great variation in vegetation and its associated animal species. Just some of the habitats included in this region are conifer forests, mountain meadows, foothill grasslands, riparian woodlands, alpine communities, geysers, and hot springs. Throughout the region, disturbances such as fires, avalanches, earthquakes, and storms have powerful affects on biodiversity. For example, "blowdown" events from storms can topple several hundred acres of mature forest at a time.

	Yellowstone National Park in this ecoregion is the only place in the lower 48 states where a population of wild bison has persisted since prehistoric times.But some of these bison are shot when they wander outside park boundaries.

Wild Side

In forests dominated by Douglas fir and Engleman spruce, grizzly bears prepare for the winter by excavating dens. Bighorn sheep climb the steep mountains to seek cover from predators such as coyotes, eagles, and mountain lions. Bison, the largest mammals in the ecoregion, graze peacefully in grasslands, meadows, and even in high-elevation forested plateaus. At dawn, bobcats leave the shelter of conifer stands and rocky ledges in search of small mammals such as mice, rabbits, and hares.

Cause for Concern

Indiscriminate logging and associated road building are the biggest threats to the South Central Rockies Forests ecoregion. Other threats include hard-rock mining, oil and gas development, invasion from exotic species, overgrazing by domestic livestock, and the growing construction of homes and recreational facilities. In addition, scientists believe that too many grizzly bears and reintroduced wolves are being killed by deer hunters every year, and the populations of these animals may be declining as a result.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.