CONSERVATION
Our Commitment to Conservation
The GWDC has played an integral role in wildlife conservation, combining animal care, education, research and hands-on conservation efforts to make a meaningful difference for wildlife and the people that share their habitats by:
- Providing exceptional care and improving the lives of the animals that reside at the GWDC
- Inspiring meaningful connections with wildlife through education and personal experiences
- Supporting research and conservation initiatives that help protect wildlife and their habitats
- Promoting coexistence between people and wildlife by helping visitors to better understand these magnificent species with which we share our landscapes.
Through conservation projects, partnerships, education, research and green practices, the GWDC turns meaningful connections with wildlife into action. By inspiring thousands of visitors each year and contributing to efforts that benefit wildlife in the Yellowstone ecosystem, we help ensure that these remarkable species—and the wild places they depend on—remain part of our shared future for generations to come.
PARTNER SPONSORSHIPS...
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Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC)
Container Testing
In keeping with our continuing effort to educate the public on living and traveling safely in bear country, the GWDC cooperates with state and federal agencies in the testing of bear-resistant food and garbage storage containers.
At this time GWDC is the only facility approved for testing products for the IGBC bear-resistant products testing program. This testing protocol allows consumers, parks and municipalities to obtain products that have been certified as being bear resistant.
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Yellowstone National Park
Wildlife Restoration Foundation (WRF) partners accredited zoos and aquariums with National Parks, National Forests, and National Marine Sanctuaries to generate their capacity to repopulate and improve wildlife health and security through Collaborative Field Conservation, Park Zoo Portals, and Community Stewardship.
The "I Am Bear Safe" Project is a product of partnering the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center and Yellowstone National Park Zoo Park Partnership (ZPP) with the Custer Gallatin National Forest and small towns bordering the park. WRF works with Park Gateway Partners to customize and use tools that train tourists and recreationists to prevent wildlife displacement and habituation to humans that results in conflict.
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Montana State University
The Golden Eagle Lure Bird project was a long-standing collaboration that assessed bald and golden eagle lead poisoning and habitat encroachment.
A golden eagle formerly cared for at the GWDC played an important role in this research by serving as a live lure during field studies. The eagle was transported to research sites where its presence helped researchers safely attract wild eagles for capture, examination and data collection. This work supported important eagle research conducted in partnership with other agencies and institutions, including Montana State University.
The research contributed to a greater understanding of eagle health, behavior, and conservation and has been documented in peer-reviewed scientific journals and other publications.
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Wind River Bear Institute
Since its inception in 1995 the Wind River Bear Institute (WRBI) has been changing the way bear managers work with food-conditioned bears. The ultimate goal of the program is the coexistence of humans and bears by preventing and reducing conflicts.
WRBI use Karelian Bear Dogs that have proven to be a perfect partner for wildlife managers and ambassadors for educating the public about “Bear Shepherding”. A conditioning process that simultaneously teaches humans to prevent conflicts and teaches problem bears behaviorally based lessons that create boundary awareness and avoidance of human-occupied space.
The GWDC has worked with the WRBI since 2003 when our first Karelian Bear Dog "Jewel" was adopted as the newest member of the education staff. A program was developed to introduce and educate visitors about how valuable these animals can be in decreasing conflicts with bears.
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Advanced Conservation through Empathy (ACE)
Advancing Conservation through Empathy (ACE) for Wildlife is a northwestern region-specific group within AZA that is focused on sharing and developing best practices in wildlife and conservation education at zoos between member organizations using education and communication practices that are supported by the best available science. The group also seeks to expand the use of formal research tools to assess outcomes like visitor engagement and impact across member organizations. The GWDC has been a member of ACE since 2021.
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Taxonomic Advisory Groups (TAGs)
TAGs are groups within AZA that are focused on developing and sharing guidance on population management for a particular species across AZA organizations. They oversee and organize the SSP (Species Survival Plan) breeding programs for each species, and they develop a repository of species-specific knowledge about care and wellness needs as well as common management practices from member organizations. GWDC conservation staff is actively involved with several relevant TAGs groups.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH...
The GWDC staff works closely with undergraduate and graduate students enabling students to gain the skills required to execute scientific research with wild animals, as they work towards careers in veterinary science, ecology, or wildlife conservation.
We have worked closely with the National Park Service regarding their conservation efforts educating the public about the proper use and effectiveness of Bear Pepper Spray. The hope is that increasing people’s understanding about Bear Pepper Spray will prevent future conflicts.
We are active participants in several local community conservation efforts including International Migratory Bird Day, Earth Day, Raptor Fest, the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count.
RESEARCH...
Our research collaborations have supported studies including:
- Comprehending wolf communication: Worked in conjunction with the Cry Wolf Project to help them gain insight into wolf hearing and howls, allowing researchers to better understand how wolves communicate and interact with their environment.
- Understanding and addressing mange: GWDC resident wolves were studied to assist the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in researching mange, a parasitic disease that causes animals to lose their fur and can affect their health and survival.
- Unlocking bear communication: Researchers from the Wind River Bear Institute conducted experiments at the GWDC to explore whether bears use low-frequency vocalizations to communicate in a similar way that elephants do.
- Understanding the role of wolves: GWDC bears contributed to research examining how quickly grizzly bears consume meat from wolf kills, helping researchers better understand how wolf predation benefits other wildlife throughout the Yellowstone ecosystem.
- Studying predator-prey relationships: Biological samples from GWDC bears and wolves supported University of Nevada research investigating moose vulnerability to predators in the Jackson Hole area.
- Improving wildlife monitoring: Wolf scat from the GWDC was used by Yellowstone National Park's wolf research program to evaluate laboratory methods for analyzing scat collected from wild wolves, helping strengthen the tools scientists use to monitor wild populations.
- Improving bear population research: GWDC bears helped USGS researchers identify the most effective lure for collecting bear hair for DNA analysis. The findings were later incorporated into a large-scale study in northwestern Montana to improve bear population estimates and understand how sample age affects the success of DNA analysis.
GREEN PRACTICES...
For more than 20 years we have been committed to natural resource conservation as a way to maintain natural ecosystems and prevent environmental degradation. Composting and recycling for both staff and visitors has become a central part of our culture. We have instituted monitoring energy use, installed LED lighting and host several Electric Vehicle charging stations - the first partnership of its kind in the West Yellowstone.
Throughout the year, volunteers and staff participate in trash clean-ups around West Yellowstone.
Essential components of our sustainability planning are using resources responsibly and to plan thoughtfully for future infrastructure upgrades.