Summary: This map shows the migration routes of several major elk herds through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the Western United States based on tracking data that experts collected about the locations of elk over a period of 15 years. The map also shows where elk move beyond the bounds of national parks, detailing where they encounter other types of federal lands, Native American reservations, and highways.

Location: Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Western United States of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho

National Geographic Explorer: Arthur Middleton, Wildlife Ecologist

Explorer’s Goals: Elk are an important species to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Wildlife ecologist and National Geographic Explorer Arthur Middleton wanted to understand the lives of elk and their migration patterns throughout the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Where did they go? How much time do they spend in the park? What other lands do they travel through? What dangers do they face as they migrate? How do they impact the land and life along their routes? Middleton also wanted to understand what human or natural features could impact the elk’s lives along their migration routes. Knowing more could help protect the elk and the ecosystem around them.

Data Collected: Middleton and other researchers used GPS collars on elk to track their routes and verified their data with observational data and camera traps. They used the data they collected to map the migration routes of three large elk herds. Middleton called the migration routes “like the veins and arteries of Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.”

Questions:

• Open the interactive version of the map in National Geographic MapMaker. As you look at the map, find one human feature that could impact the migration of one of the elk herds. How might this feature impact the migration?