The agencies entrusted with managing federal lands within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are asking the public to help them determine which ecosystem issues should be the focus in the future.

“Running on empty” unfortunately is a very apt description of the Colorado River Basin, which long has had its water overcommitted. Today, the vast watershed that stretches from the mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of California and helps nourish some 30 million residents in the Southwest and Mexico is mired in a long-running drought that threatens to dramatically recast the already-arid region.

The annual reduction of bison from Yellowstone National Park has ended, with an estimated 600 of the iconic animals removed from the park's herds via hunting or culling.