The economy might have soured in 2009, but the world’s love of Yellowstone National Park certainly didn’t. Despite thinning pocketbooks and growing anxieties — or perhaps because of both — a record-shattering 3.3 million people visited the world’s first national park. The lesson here is that whether the economy is bullish or bearish, Yellowstone is a magical place where people of all backgrounds can restore their spirit.

These numbers also underscore the importance of protecting Yellowstone and the vast lands surrounding it, so that future generations may experience similar joy and wonder in one of the last great temperate ecosystems on the planet.

Happily, 2009 was a very good year for the future of Greater Yellowstone. Among the major successes: Endangered Species Act safeguards were returned to grizzly bears, whose key food source — the whitebark pine — is disappearing. President Obama signed into law the bipartisan Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which added 387 miles of Greater Yellowstone streams to the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System. And the unique wilderness character of the rugged Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area south of Bozeman was given the protection it merits.

With those achievements as a backdrop, here is a conservationist’s Montana wish list for 2010:

PASSAGE OF SEN. JON TESTER’S FOREST JOBS & RECREATION ACT

Now here’s a novel idea: Bring Montanans of all stripes to the table, iron out their differences and come to a resolution over some long-standing public-land management issues. Tester’s legislation protects Montana’s hunting, fishing and camping traditions in some extraordinary wild places critical to fish and wildlife. It ensures recreational access for motorized enthusiasts to some of their favorite outdoor playgrounds. And it gives people the tools to help mitigate wildfires and restore forests turning brown from bark beetles.

More than anything, it is Montanans coming together to resolve a Montana issue. All Montanans willing to work toward solutions were welcome at the table, and proposals were then taken on the road to seek input from people who weren’t originally at the table.

Polls show that Montanans overwhelmingly support Tester’s boots-on-theground efforts. Let’s hope Congress gets the message.

MORE ROOM TO ROAM FOR BISON
Incredibly, Yellowstone bison — the last remnants of vast herds that once roamed our prairies by the millions — are the only creatures in America largely confined by the boundaries of a park.

It’s time to break the bureaucratic gridlock over these iconic symbols of the American West and provide appropriate places for free-ranging wild herds.

Montana is long overdue in creating a long-term management plan that allows brucellosis-free Yellowstone bison that migrate from the park to be restored to wildlife refuges, parks and Native American lands.

A place to start is with 88 bison quarantined for two years in pens north of the park. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has proposed moving 14 to a state park in Wyoming and 74 to a private ranch south of Bozeman.

The alternative is to deliver these animals back into the park, where they’ll likely contract brucellosis and re-migrate out, only to be driven back inside a line on a map. Or, worse, they’ll be sent to slaughter.

For decades, these shaggy “Monarchs of the Plains” have been treated more like livestock than wildlife. Surely we can do better for a creature revered enough in our national consciousness to adorn the U.S. Park Service logo, Wyoming state flag and even some of our currency.

MOVE CLOSER TO A RESOLUTION ON YELLOWSTONE WINTER USE

Yet another environmental impact statement on Yellowstone winter use is in the works, and we probably won’t know the results until 2011. But chances are the EIS will say what we already know: The sooner we evolve to modern snowcoach and human-powered access to Yellowstone in winter, the better it will be for the park’s fragile resources and wildlife.

Of those 3.3 million visitors, 1.3 million came through West Yellowstone. It’s clear the town has more than snowmobiles going for it. The sooner such gateway communities have clarity, the sooner they can transition to a new winter economy.

Jeff Welsch is communications director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.