Yellowstone's Waters

Beautiful, Essential, and Threatened

The Gardner River accommodated this sleek female elk when she needed a long, refreshing drink on a parching summer day. The river was much clearer, slower, and shallower than it had been two months earlier when raging with snowmelt. I spent a long time watching her drink and just stand in the river. She inspired me to go home and dive into learning more about the waters of Yellowstone.

About twenty miles upstream from this thirsty elk, the Gardner River begins as rivulets on the slope of 10,420-foot-high Joseph Peak. Every one of the river’s twenty-five miles is within Yellowstone National Park. The Gardner rushes into the Yellowstone River just before that river flows from the park, through Gardiner, and on to its confluence with the Missouri River. (The river is spelled Gardner, the town is spelled Gardiner.) The Yellowstone River, all 671 miles of it, is the longest free-flowing river in the Lower 48.

The Yellowstone and Gardner Rivers carry a small portion of all the Yellowstone waters that are contained in what the National Park Service calls some of the most significant and near-pristine aquatic ecosystems in this country. The NPS describes aquatic ecosystems that are above and below ground in Yellowstone. 

Below ground, a hidden system of water that seeped downward several days or several thousand years ago fuels the park’s famous hot springs, mudpots, fumaroles, and the largest collection of geysers on Earth. The presence of these geological wonders led to the creation of Yellowstone almost 150 years ago and today draws visitors by the millions.

Above ground, about a thousand rivers and streams produce around 2,500 miles of flowing water in Yellowstone.

I was surprised to learn that there are also about six hundred lakes and ponds, including the famous Yellowstone Lake, in which I came upon this mother elk and her calf walking one morning. Add in thousands of small wetlands and now I understand why I am almost always near, over, or in water wherever I hike in the park.

Outside the park, many people depend on water that originates in Yellowstone. Once the Yellowstone River leaves the park, for example, it flows north and east through Montana and into North Dakota. Along the way, the Yellowstone flows through or past many towns including Livingston, Billings, and Miles City in Montana and Buford in North Dakota. Residents of these and other towns depend on Yellowstone’s waters for drinking, agriculture, industry, and recreation.

Protecting such a life-sustaining resource is critical. Yellowstone’s waters are classified as Outstanding National Resource Waters and can receive the highest level of protection under the federal Clean Water Act—if the party in power doesn’t cut protections and instead enforces them. 

Protection is essential. While Yellowstone’s waters are minimally affected by human activities within the park, I found that they are susceptible to damage from a long list of other threats. 

I put climate change at the top of that threat list. Climate change in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem reduces snowpack and makes spring’s snow melt happen sooner. Since most of Yellowstone’s water arrives as snow, by late-summer rivers flowing within and from Yellowstone are no longer fueled and cooled by snow melt and can be low and unhealthy. 

That’s exactly what led Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to close the Yellowstone River to fishing from the park boundary to more than 170 miles downstream for weeks during this July and August. This closure applied from 2 p.m. to midnight each day. In their closure notice, FWP stated that this restriction to a river that draws anglers from all over the world was required because June was the hottest and driest month on record and produced warmer waters, lower flows, and danger to the health of fish.

Rivers flowing from Yellowstone can also be harmed by road construction, sewage spills, agricultural chemicals, and waste from the multitudes of folks that fish, swim, and boat the rivers.

Last, but by no means least, runoff from mining sites near park boundaries can harm the waters. Mary and I were part of a local conservation group that joined with other groups in a battle to protect the Yellowstone River from two gold mining operations that would drain toxic waste into the river. One operation lost the option to mine north of the park in Paradise Valley. The other still wants to mine just outside the park near Gardiner.

Of course, the thirsty elk that inspired me to learn about Yellowstone’s waters knew nothing about this long list of threats to her essential water. As nature intends, she drank, cooled her hooves, and moved on.

Now it’s our job to protect the wild waters that sustain her and us.

Thanks for joining me in this Love the Wild! If you haven’t yet subscribed, I hope you’ll do so. It’s free and brings a Love the Wild letter to your inbox each week. In addition to stories inspired by photos, you’ll enjoy a variety of podcasts, photo essays, opinion pieces, excerpts from my books, and more. With each I hope to warm your heart and excite your mind as we share moments with wildlife and in wild lands.

I write, speak, and photograph to protect wildlife and preserve wild lands. My bestselling In the Temple of Wolves; its sequel, Deep into Yellowstone; and its prequel, The Wilds of Aging are available signed. My books are also available on Amazon unsigned or as eBook or audiobook.

To learn about efforts to protect Yellowstone’s waters.

Photo Credits: Photo by Rick Lamplugh