Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary

Last updated
Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary
Formation1983;40 years ago (1983)
Type Nonprofit
81-0422009
Legal status 501(c)(3)
FocusCaring for local native wildlife; conservation; advocacy
Headquarters Red Lodge, Montana, U.S.
Coordinates 45°11′53″N109°14′31″W / 45.197933°N 109.242069°W / 45.197933; -109.242069
Region
North America
AffiliationsAccredited by the American Sanctuary Association
Employees (2021)
10
Website https://yellowstonewildlifesanctuary.org/
Formerly called
Beartooth Nature Center

The Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal sanctuary in Red Lodge, Montana, with the mission of providing lifelong sanctuary to non-releasable Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem wildlife while sharing a message of education and conservation. The Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary is accredited by the American Sanctuary Association. [1]

Contents

History

Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary was formed in 1983 as the Red Lodge Zoological Society, but changed its name to the Beartooth Nature Center around the time the facility opened on about 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) adjacent to Red Lodge's Coal Miner Park a few years later. [2] In 2012, the name was changed to Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary to better describe what the organization does.

Despite the word "Yellowstone" in the title, the organization is not connected to or funded by Yellowstone National Park. The sanctuary's funding comes from grants, donations, admissions, education programs, and gift shop sales. [3]

Animals

The Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary takes in the only non-releasable wildlife of species native to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The animals may be non-releasable due to being injured, habituated to humans, or orphaned. According to their website, [4] mammal species represented as of 2021 include black bear, gray wolf, coyote, red fox, mountain lion, Canada lynx, bobcat, bison, and raccoon. Bird species represented include sandhill crane, turkey vulture, American crow, raven, great horned owl, screech owl, red-tailed hawk, ferruginous hawk, Swainson's hawk, and prairie falcon. Reptiles and amphibians include western hognose snake and tiger salamander.

The sanctuary has an on-site animal care staff, plus arrangements with three local veterinarians. Like all other organizations of its kind, it is licensed by the USDA and regularly inspected by APHIS for compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. It also carries a license from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and a migratory bird permit from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to keep birds in accordance with the Migratory Bird Act.

See also

Notes

  1. "Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary Achieves ASA Accredited Status". Carbon County News.
  2. History of the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary
  3. "Guidestar profile for Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary".
  4. "Meet Our Residents".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fish and Wildlife Service</span> United States federal government agency

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."

The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS, is a Branch of the Department of the Environment, a department of the Government of Canada. November 1, 2012 marked the 65th anniversary of the founding of Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Chambal Sanctuary</span> Wildlife sanctuary in India

National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400 km2 (2,100 sq mi) tri-state protected area in northern India for the protection of the Critically Endangered gharial, the red-crowned roof turtle and the Endangered Ganges river dolphin. Located on the Chambal River near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, it was first declared in Madhya Pradesh in 1978, and now constitutes a long narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states. Within the sanctuary, the pristine Chambal River cuts through mazes of ravines and hills with many sandy beaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge</span>

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is a remote refuge located in the high elevation of the Centennial Valley, in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Montana. Adjacent to Gallatin National Forest and near Yellowstone National Park, the refuge is an integral part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Red Rock Lakes is best known for being the primary location for the efforts saving the trumpeter swan from extinction, which by 1932 had fewer than 200 known specimens in the United States and Canada. By the year 2002, an estimated 3,000 trumpeters were wintering on the refuge, many having migrated south from their summer range in Canada. The trumpeters are now so plentiful that efforts are being undertaken to help them reestablish historical migratory routes to areas further south in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin region. The elegant trumpeter swan is North America's largest waterfowl, with a wingspans of 8 feet and they can weigh up to 30 pounds (13 kg).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huron Wetland Management District</span>

Huron Wetland Management District is located in the U.S. state of South Dakota and includes 17,518 acres (70.89 km2). The refuge borders the Missouri River on the east and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Huron WMD covers eight counties in east-central South Dakota. The topography of this area ranges from flat, gently rolling drift prairie to the Missouri Coteau hills in the western end of the district. The district lies in the midst of the world-renowned Prairie Pothole Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the National Wildlife Refuge System</span>

The National Wildlife Refuge System in the United States has a long and distinguished history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf reintroduction</span> Reestablishment of extirpated native wolves

Wolf reintroduction involves the reintroduction of a portion of grey wolves in areas where native wolves have been extirpated. More than 30 subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, and grey wolves, as colloquially understood, comprise nondomestic/feral subspecies. Reintroduction is only considered where large tracts of suitable wilderness still exist and where certain prey species are abundant enough to support a predetermined wolf population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earthplace</span>

Earthplace is a non-profit science education organization, in Westport, Connecticut in the United States. Its main focus is on the natural world and sustainability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural history of Minnesota</span>

The natural history of Minnesota covers many plant and animal species in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The continental climate and location of Minnesota at the physiographic intersection of the Laurentian and the Interior Plains influences its plant and animal life. Three of North America's biomes converge in Minnesota: prairie grasslands in the southwestern and western parts of the state, the eastern temperate deciduous forests in the east-central and the southeast, and the coniferous forest in the north-central and northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZooAmerica</span> Zoo in Pennsylvania, U.S.

ZooAmerica is a zoo located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1910 by Milton S. Hershey with a few animals, including bears, birds, and deer. Today, it covers 11 acres and is home to more than 75 species and 200 individual animals, including some that are rare and endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of Pakistan</span> Overview of fauna in Pakistan

Pakistan's native fauna reflect its varied climatic zones. The northern Pakistan, which includes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, has portions of two biodiversity hotspots, Mountains of Central Asia and Himalayas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Canada</span> Overview of the wildlife of Canada

The wildlife of Canada or biodiversity of Canada consist of over 80,000 classified species, and an equal number thought yet to be recognized. Known fauna and flora have been identified from five kingdoms: protozoa ; chromist ; fungis ; plants ; and animals. Insects account for nearly 70 percent of recorded animal species in Canada. More than 300 species are found exclusively in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of wolves in Yellowstone</span> Extirpation and reintroduction of the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park

The history of wolves in Yellowstone includes the extirpation, absence and reintroduction of wild populations of the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When the park was created in 1872, wolf populations were already in decline in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The creation of the national park did not provide protection for wolves or other predators, and government predator control programs in the first decades of the 1900s essentially helped eliminate the gray wolf from Yellowstone. The last wolves were killed in Yellowstone in 1926. After that, sporadic reports of wolves still occurred, but scientists confirmed that sustainable wolf populations had been extirpated and were absent from Yellowstone during the mid-1900s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge</span> Nature reserve in northwestern Grayson County, Texas, United States

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (HNWR), a haven for migratory birds and other wildlife, lies in northwestern Grayson County, Texas, on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, on the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. This National Wildlife Refuge is made up of water, marsh, and upland habitat. Visitors can hike, observe wildlife, hunt, and fish throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer Lake Wildlife Area</span> Wildlife refuge in Oregon

The Summer Lake Wildlife Area is a 29.6-square-mile (77 km2) wildlife refuge located on the northwestern edge of the Great Basin drainage in south-central Oregon. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The refuge is an important stop for waterfowl traveling along the Pacific Flyway during their spring and fall migrations. The Summer Lake Wildlife Area also provides habitat for shorebirds and other bird species as well as wide variety of mammals and several fish species. The Ana River supplies the water for the refuge wetlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecology of the Rocky Mountains</span> Ecology of the Rocky Mountain range in North America

The ecology of the Rocky Mountains is diverse due to the effects of a variety of environmental factors. The Rocky Mountains are the major mountain range in western North America, running from the far north of British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico in the southwestern United States, climbing from the Great Plains at or below 1,800 feet (550 m) to peaks of over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). Temperature and rainfall varies greatly also and thus the Rockies are home to a mixture of habitats including the alpine, subalpine and boreal habitats of the Northern Rocky Mountains in British Columbia and Alberta, the coniferous forests of Montana and Idaho, the wetlands and prairie where the Rockies meet the plains, a different mix of conifers on the Yellowstone Plateau in Wyoming and in the high Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico, and finally the alpine tundra of the highest elevations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of the United States Virgin Islands</span>

The fauna of the United States Virgin Islands consists of 144 species of birds, 22 species of mammals, 302 species of fish and 7 species of amphibians. The wildlife of the U.S.V.I. includes numerous endemic species of tropical birds, fish, and land reptiles as well as sea mammals. The only endemic land mammals are six species of native bats: the greater bulldog bat, Antillean fruit-eating bat, red fruit bat, Brazilian free-tailed bat, velvety free-tailed bat and the Jamaican fruit bat. Some of the nonnative land mammals roaming the islands are the white-tailed deer, small Asian mongoose, goats, feral donkeys, rats, mice, sheep, hogs, dogs and cats.

The conservation of bison in North America is an ongoing, diverse effort to bring American bison back from the brink of extinction. Plains bison, a subspecies, are a keystone species in the North American Great Plains. Bison are a species of conservation concern in part because they suffered a severe population bottleneck at the end of the 19th century. The near decimation of the species during the 1800s unraveled fundamental ties between bison, grassland ecosystems, and indigenous peoples’ cultures and livelihoods.# English speakers used the word buffalo for this animal when they arrived. Bison was used as the scientific term to distinguish them from the true buffalo. Buffalo is commonly used as it continues to hold cultural significance, particularly for Indigenous people. Recovery began in the late 1800s with a handful of individuals independently saving the last surviving bison.# Dedicated restoration efforts in the 1900s bolstered bison numbers though they still exist in mostly small and isolated populations. Expansion of the understanding of bison ecology and management is ongoing. The contemporary widespread, collaborative effort includes attention to heritage genetics and minimal cattle introgression.#