Yellowstone streams recovering thanks to wolf reintroduction.

[Cattledog]

November 8, 2018 by Steve Lundeberg, Oregon State University

In the first study of its kind, research by Oregon State University scientists shows that the return of large terrestrial carnivores can lead to improved stream structure and function.

The findings, published today in Ecohydrology, are important because they highlight the role big predators play in the health of aquatic and riparian ecosystems.

Robert Beschta and William Ripple of the OSU College of Forestry looked at stream-bank willows over a 13-year period along two forks of a creek in Yellowstone National Park, first in 2004 and again in 2017.

The study, funded in part by the National Science Foundation, began nine years after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone and two decades after cougars had returned to the park.

Gray wolves and cougars had been hunted to extirpation in Yellowstone by the early 1900s, allowing for an abundance of elk that ate so much willow as to erode stream banks and damage waterways the shrubs had historically protected.

Beschta and Ripple examined willows along the west and east forks of Blacktail Deer Creek in the northern portion of the park.
"In the 1990s, elk were still keeping the willows short, usually less than 2 feet tall, and that led to stream widening—oversized cross sections of channel and a drastically reduced frequency of overbank flows," Beschta said. "But by 2017, willow heights greater than 6 feet were prevalent and canopy cover over the stream, which had essentially been absent in 1995, had increased to 43 percent and 93 percent along the west fork and east fork, respectively."

Increases in willow height, greater canopy cover, and stream-bank stabilizing courtesy of well-vegetated banks all point toward a recovering riparian/aquatic ecosystem, he said.


Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-11-yellowstone-streams-recovering-wolf-reintroduction.html#jCp

[NNadir]

1. I learned a while back that we once had panthers and wolves in New Jersey.

Deer in this area do incredible damage to forests, farms, and landscaping.

I often think to myself that it would be great to reintroduce predators here, but I know it would never be done, since it would drive suburban people insane.

The major predator for deer in New Jersey is the automobile, followed by hunters.

I'm a vegetarian and don't hunt myself, but I can't imagine there's much sport in it, since if I were a hunter, I could sit in my backyard and plug a deer a day without much effort.

I learned that over a few thousand deer were shot in my town last year, and it's still incredible how many there are. I'm sure I see one or more deer killed by a car every single day.

Occasionally people are killed in these collisions. As a veteran of such a collision myself, I can easily see how this is possible.

Thanks for a wonderful post.

[OnlinePoker]

2. This was reported a couple of years back, but I guess this is the actual scientific evidence

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Montana — A casual visitor might not notice big changes at Yellowstone National Park in the years since wolves were reintroduced in 1995.

The scenery is still fabulous and soul-stirring. The bison — or buffalo — still roam and the antelope play. The steaming hot springs are still cooking and the geysers still deliver faithfully to thousands of visitors every day.

But if visitors were to follow veteran park biologist Doug Smith into a thicket of willows alongside certain streams, change might literally slap them in the face. And it may be thanks to wolves.

https://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=41214478