Screenings currently planned:

• Thursday, January 22^nd at the Center for the Arts in Jackson, Wyoming

• Thursday, April 9^th at the Shane Center in Livingston, Montana

Stay tuned for more screening dates! See the film trailer below. Learn more about the Yellowstone Cougar Project here.

The post Yellowstone Cougar Film Premieres! appeared first on Yellowstone Forever.

​​​​​​Yellowstone Under the Big Sky
Date: Saturday, June 28, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: One&Only Moonlight Basin, The Landing at Sky Lodge
Registration: Register Here
RSVP by: June 1, 2025

Event Highlights:

• Handcrafted hor’dourves & signature cocktails
• Exclusive live & silent auctions
• Live music by renowned country artist Stephanie Quayle

All proceeds will directly support Yellowstone National Park, ensuring its protection and preservation for generations to come.

Set against the stunning backdrop of Moonlight Basin, this exclusive gathering will bring together like-minded community leaders and Yellowstone enthusiasts for a night of shared commitment to protecting and preserving the park’s extraordinary landscapes and wildlife for generations to come.

We look forward to celebrating Yellowstone with you!

The post Celebrating Yellowstone Under the Big Sky appeared first on Yellowstone Forever.

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Increasingly colder temperatures and shorter days trigger the birds’ instinct to migrate from this area in late August or early September and continuing through early October. You’ll see both resident birds migrating as well as those passing through on their route between their nesting territories and their winter ranges in the southern US, Central America, or South America.

The north-south ridges of the Bridger and Gallatin mountain ranges are ideal places to witness the fall migration of hawks, eagles and other raptors, as are the wide-open valleys of Yellowstone National Park. The park’s Hayden Valley is a popular destination to view birds of prey, especially Swainson’s hawks.

We asked Brad Bulin, senior naturalist for the Yellowstone Forever Institute, for some tips on viewing the fall raptor migration in Yellowstone and the surrounding area. He said that knowing a little about how birds migrate will provide you with clues as to the best places and times to see them.

“Most raptors migrate during the daytime, when thermals—or columns of rising air—form as the sun warms the ground below,” says Bulin. The birds “ride” these thermals, he explains, enabling them to conserve a great deal of energy as they gain altitude without flapping their wings. Because air currents rising up the side of a mountain are particularly strong, large numbers of raptors roughly follow the north-south ridges of the Continental Divide as a migration corridor.

“Afternoons tend to be better than mornings, after the wind picks up. Right after a storm comes through is probably the best time. During a cold front, the winds blow counterclockwise,” he explains. “That north-to-south wind direction is exactly what the raptors need.”

When in Yellowstone, he suggests positioning yourself anywhere with a wide-open view of the sky. “Hayden Valley, Dunraven Pass, Mount Washburn, and Swan Lake Flats are all located along migration routes and are good places to spot raptors,” says Bulin.

He advises using binoculars and constantly scanning the sky and ridgelines, as well as tall trees. “If the weather is not conducive to flying—if it’s raining or there’s very little wind—look up in the trees to spot raptors waiting to continue their long journey south.”

Photos, top to bottom: Red-tailed hawk, Mammoth Hot Springs – YF/Matt Ludin; Swainson’s hawk, Fishing Bridge area – Jim Futterer; Osprey, Yellowstone River – NPS/Neal Herbert; Golden eagle, northern range – YF/Matt Ludin.

The post Catch the Fall Raptor Migration in Greater Yellowstone appeared first on Yellowstone Forever.

The conference, as in years past, brought together an impressive group of scientists, students, academics, land managers, and the general public to build relationships and protect treasured public lands for future generations.

Photos by Neal Herbert/NPS; Bianca Klein/NPS; Matt Ludin/YF

The post “Tracking the Human Footprint” Conference Recap appeared first on Yellowstone Forever.

Event Details:

WHAT: Restoring Historic Migration Routes: NPCA’s Pronghorn Friendly Fencing Campaign Presentation

WHEN: Wednesday, February 28, 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Yellowstone Forever, 308 E. Park St, Gardiner, MT

CONTACT: Please reach out to Garret Visser with any questions at gvisser@npca.org or 406.320.2226.

About the NPCA campaign:

For thousands of years, Yellowstone’s northern pronghorn have migrated from their summer habitat inside Yellowstone National Park to critical wintering grounds north and west of the park. Over the last half-century, this historic migration route has been severely reduced by development and fences. Unable to easily navigate these fences, the pronghorn herd size in this region decreased substantially a decade ago.

To restore this historic path and provide pronghorn with more accessible habitat, National Parks Conservation Association has removed or modified over 30 miles of fence in the Paradise Valley and outside of West Yellowstone. This project has not only helped to improve migration corridors, but it has also engaged over 700 local volunteers, students, and landowners to cooperatively restore this ancient path.

Photo: Pronghorn © Jim Kruger | iStockphoto

The post Restoring Pronghorn Migration Routes: A Presentation by the National Parks Conservation Association appeared first on Yellowstone Forever.

You won’t want to miss these stunning wildlife and landscape images from Yellowstone National Park!

View the winning images here

The featured image is by Steve Hinch, who won second place in the Wildlife/Professional category.

The post Winners Announced for the Yellowstone Forever Photo Contest appeared first on Yellowstone Forever.