31 Boyce, Mark S. 1991 Keiter, Robert B. Boyce, Mark S. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Redefining America's Wilderness Heritage New Haven Yale University Press 183-208 268 ecosystems, wildlife health, management, bison, ecology, Greater Yellowstone Area, elk, natural regulation, bears, general wildlife health studies Since Yellowstone National Park was established, wildlife has been a management priority throughout the Yellowstone area. It also has been a source of disunity and controversy. During the park's first eleven years, hunting was allowed and even encouraged (Haines 1977; McNaughton 1989). For thirty-three years (1934-1967), the official policy was that removals of elk (Cervus elaphus) from the northern range were necessary to keep the population within the carrying capacity of the vegetation. Bison (Bison bison) numbers also were regulated on the northern range. National Park Service officials believed that the control of nature was necessary. Beginning in the late 1960s, however, the Park Service adopted trial guidelines for "hands-off" or natural regulation of wildlife in Yellowstone National Park, which means that populations are permitted to fluctuate without human intervention within the park (Cole 1969, 1971; Houston 1982; Despain et al. 1986). Found in Bison LibraryNatureBib ID: 82714