New report tracks natural resources in Yellowstone LARAMIE, WYO. (wpr) - A new report from the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park says the park faces a number of different challenges from inside and outside its boundaries. This was the first in a series of annual reports tracking key natural resources in Yellowstone.

It found declines in a number of species, including Yellowstone cutthroat trout, which the report says are in serious trouble - the trout are threatened by invasive lake trout, climate change, and other factors. The report also considers the future of resident trumpeter swans a grave concern. Changes in land use and swan management outside the park have helped bring the resident trumpeter swan's population down to six swans in 2008.

Overall, the report finds that invasive species, land use change, and climate change have affected a range of species. For example, pronghorn can't migrate north of the park due to land use changes, and their winter range has been taken over by invasive weeds.

The park says it's working to restore habitat and control invasive species. But Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis says the ecosystem is being stressed by forces acting on larger scales than the boundaries of the park.

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