EUGENE, Ore.-- Yellowstone area universities, National Park Service experts, and other federal and private agencies have joined forces with the University of Oregon to develop the Atlas of Yellowstone, the first atlas dedicated to a national park and its surrounding region, including Grand Teton National Park.

The Atlas of Yellowstone, when completed in 2010, will include comprehensive reference maps as well as thematic "page pairs" covering nearly 100 subjects. The page pairs will feature sophisticated graphics depicting scientific data on subjects such as the migration of bison, the impact of wildfires and early Native American settlement history.

The project is being led by Andrew Marcus and Jim Meacham of the University of Oregon's College of Arts and Sciences, and Ann Rodman at Yellowstone National Park.

"Our goal for the Atlas of Yellowstone is that it will find a home on someone's coffee table and also in the classroom, where it can be used to augment lesson plans across an eclectic range of subjects," said Andrew Marcus, UO professor of geography and Rippey Teaching Fellow.

In addition, the Atlas synthesizes scientific data in a very compelling and accessible way, Marcus said. "And this gives ecosystem researchers, wildlife experts and other scientific specialists a dynamic visual tool for making their case to policymakers and the general public," he added.

Among the collaborators are Yellowstone National Park, the University of Wyoming, Montana State University, the Museum of the Rockies and Big Sky Institute at MSU, and the Draper Museum of Natural History at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo.

Yellowstone park staff members have been integral to the development of the atlas. Rodman, Yellowstone’s GIS coordinator, serves as the project’s Yellowstone editor. With approximately 200 research permits authorized annually in the Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks area, scientific data from multiple sources can now be presented with graphical sophistication in a single resource.

"The atlas is a great communications tool, and we’ve already started using the graphics for everything from congressional briefings to community meetings," said Rodman. "The graphics are easy to understand right away, and quality data backs up the visuals, which is very important to us."

The University of Wyoming has been involved with the Atlas of Yellowstone project since its early days. Pete Simpson, the Distinguished Simpson Professor of Political Science and the university's vice president emeritus for institutional advancement, is a strong supporter of the project. Uniquely tied to both the University of Oregon, where he received his doctorate in history, and the University of Wyoming, where he is an alumnus and long-time educator and administrator, he is acting as a liaison between his two alma maters to bring the atlas to fruition.

"I’m certain that the Atlas of Yellowstone will be every bit the marvelous atlas that the UO has produced in the past and will be a resource for many people," said Simpson.

The University of Oregon InfoGraphics Lab previously produced the award-winning Atlas of Oregon project in 2001.

"Producing the Atlas of Oregon gave us invaluable insight into designing an approach for a region as complex as Yellowstone," said Meacham. "The Yellowstone story goes back millions of years -- with dramatic impacts over time on geological, biological and cultural landscapes -- and can only be told with a data-rich and visually stunning atlas."

The geographic focus of the atlas will be on Yellowstone National Park; however, maps and graphics will cover the entire region, including Grand Teton National Park -- emphasizing variations across space, connections between places and human interactions with the natural environment.

Another partner involved in the development of the atlas is the Big Sky Institute at MSU. As the only university located adjacent to Yellowstone, its researchers have conducted extensive studies to understand the complex ecosystem. John Varley, executive director of the Big Sky Institute and former director of the Yellowstone Center for Resources at Yellowstone National Park, has worked on the Atlas of Yellowstone project since the beginning.

“The collaboration behind the Atlas of Yellowstone is the finest hour to date for this diverse area,” said Varley.

The Atlas began as a UO geography class project in 2002. The students focused on mapping a very specific area within Yellowstone National Park. Since then, the Atlas has expanded dramatically to be inclusive of the Greater Yellowstone region and is now approximately 30 percent complete. Funding partners include the University of Oregon, the Yellowstone Park Foundation and Canon U.S.A.

For more information or to learn how to make a contribution to the Atlas of Yellowstone, contact Jane Gary, University of Oregon, at 541-346-3951, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Links:

Atlas of Yellowstone, http://www.atlasofyellowstone.net

Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center, http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/atlas

http://www.uoregon.edu