OVERVIEW

HISTORY

ACTORS

MAPS

DIMENSIONS:

ecosystem
wildlife
economic
policy
recreation/aesthetic
social

STUDY TEAM

REFERENCES

Elk- Human Social Interactions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem:

Wildlife watching: Elk in Yellowstone.

Elk are currently and have historically been plentiful in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.   Elk have a social following, which incorporates multiple faucets of human interest.

•  Wildlife watchers visiting Yellowstone encounter Rocky Mountain elk more than any other wildlife species. 
• Tourism in Yellowstone has created economic gains, which aid in the development of habitat protection and public education programs. 
• Hunting is a recreational sport in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, on BLM, private, USFS and National Reserve lands in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

Hunting elk in the great outdoors!

Human interest groups have been developed which reflect the different opportunities for social interaction with elk.

• Four hunters founded the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and currently 90% of RMEF members are hunters.  This foundation is committed to maintaining elk populations, and preserving elk habitat across the United States. 
• Animal Rights Activists', on the other hand, have formed multiple groups, many of which oppose hunting.  Other activists are opposed to current management of elk on the National Elk Refuge, in Jackson, Wyoming. 

Animal Activists protesting human consumptive uses of animals including: eating, wearing, shooting, etc. 

Different people are interested in maintaining different relationships with their environment, and more specifically, with elk in Yellowstone.  Interest groups are often at odds, where their social objectives concerning treatment of elk differ.