The Initiative reaches beyond its peer programs by basing goals on clearly identified projects that are enabled by a strategic implementation plan, ensuring long-term success.
Yellowstone was the first national park in the world and is home to the largest intact ecosystem in the continental U.S. The Park contains 1,500 facilities and hosts more than 3 million annual visitors, requiring significant amounts of energy and water to operate and emissions to manage. Yellowstone is currently a Park Service leader in biofuels and recycling, but the Park wanted to go beyond these individual measures to create an integrated environmental initiative to extend the Park’s legacy of environmental leadership.
Working on behalf of the Yellowstone Park Foundation, Ecos performed a comprehensive evaluation of the Park’s environmental impacts, including a complete greenhouse gas emissions inventory, on-site facility audits and interviews of key Park stakeholders. This evaluation of energy, water, waste, procurement, transportation and business organization provided the baseline to identify and prioritize projects within the Initiative, all of which are designed to reduce the Park’s greenhouse gas emissions and ameliorate its environmental impact.
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