Editor's note: This story first appeared in Mountain Journal .

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Around Crystal Creek, where the road bridges the Lamar River at the fringe of Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley, a grove of aspens has new life.

In 1997, the first year scientists began systematically measuring the park’s aspen population, the stand consisted of towering, century-old trees with no fresh growth in the understory.

Today, the scene is dramatically different. A thicket of young aspens now blankets the ground. Many of the saplings are already taller than the researchers who study them. The grove is not only denser, it expanded its footprint.

Crystal Creek has become synonymous with the ecological benefits of wolf restoration. It’s home to one of the pens where wolves were kep

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