The Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee identified land patterns as a priority in recognition of the rapid rate of development throughout the area and its potential impact on public lands and resources. 

The GYCC developed “A Toolkit to Protect the Integrity of Greater Yellowstone Area Landscapes”  to provide information to agency staff on voluntary land conservation tools and participation as a stakeholder in local planning discussions regarding the effects growth decisions may have on public lands and resources.

The toolkit includes a list of federal, state, local and private financial sources for voluntary land conservation, a list of land trusts and conservation organizations working in the Greater Yellowstone region, brief case study summaries, an overview of the land use laws of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, and planning department contact information for twenty Greater Yellowstone area counties.

A Toolkit to Protect the Integrity of

Greater Yellowstone Area Landscapes

Title Page, Table of Contents and Introduction

Land Ownership Status Maps

Land Adjustment Overview

Participation in Local Land Use

Sample Forest Service Comment Letter Montana

Sample Forest Service Comment Letter Idaho

Case Studies

Land Trusts and Conservation Organizations in the Greater Yellowstone Area

Conservation Buyers in the Greater Yellowstone Area

Financial Sources for Land Aquisitions and Easements

Stewardship Sources

Forest Service Publications

Forest Service Open Space Conservation Strategy

National Forests on the Edge

View additional USDA Forest Service publications

If you would like a hard copy, or for more information, please contact GYCC Coordinator Virginia Kelly at (406) 587-6704 or vkelly@fs.fed.us.