Smithsonian Cites 5 Big Changes in Yellowstone’s 150 Year History

Yellowstone National Park celebrated its 150th anniversary this year. As the park is already one of the biggest attractions throughout the country, scientists have noted big changes that have been a big part of its upkeep and that have also made it a popular scientific study over the years.

As 'Smithsonian Magazine' reports, maintaining the park throughout the years allowed scientists to better understand its 3,472 square miles and also allowed them to see how Yellowstone has been shaped throughout its history.

Paleoclimatologist Cathy Whitlock, who has studied climate change throughout the course of the park's history said of the attraction:

It’s amazing how much more forest there is now, in places, than there used to be...Part of the value of places like Yellowstone is that we can observe, in a kind of a natural science lab, how ecosystems change over time.

Thanks to protectorship from the United States government since 1872, there hasn't been any commercial or agricultural development that has interfered with keeping the park intact and being the attraction it is today. But as such a popular study throughout its history, there certainly have been some huge changes that as Smithsonian reports, scientists have noted.

While it's amazing how much the park has maintained itself over the past 150 years to an extent, there are definitely factors such as these to worry about in the long term. This is also compounded with the worries of climate change. Let's hope that it can keep being preserved for another 150 years. Whitlock said it best with this:

I often wonder what the first visitors saw when they went to Yellowstone...It must be so different than what we see today. But now I also wonder what my granddaughter going to see in the next few decades. Will she even recognize the places that I love in Yellowstone?

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