Conservation Victory Saves Greater Yellowstone’s Old-Growth Forests and Critical Habitat for Western Birds

Great Gray Owl. Photo: Mel Clements, National Park Service.

The recent halting of the Forest Service’s massive deforestation and road-building project bordering Yellowstone National Park benefitted far more than grizzly bears and lynx. In fact, the area’s old-growth forests provide critical habitat for 67 species of western forest birds, many of which have been classified as “species of conservation concern.’

The population of birds in North America has dropped by 30%, with 64% of...