Though population and housing density have been rising in the river valleys between Yellowstone National Park and Cody, Wyoming for decades, some of the recent growth may be thanks in part to the television show “Yellowstone,” starring Kevin Costner. The show… made owning a piece of this landscape glamorous around the same time the pandemic and remote work drove more people to do so. …Mounting development is a grave threat, carving up an ecosystem that must stay relatively intact to function. …Plenty of the new construction is in towns… but some is well outside population centers, and it displaces wildlife. …What we are up against now is time, and the desire of so many people to have a piece of “Yellowstone’s” America. The question is whether Americans’ obsession with the fictional Yellowstone will contribute to the destruction of the real one, or help fuel bold action and investment to save it. [Full access to this story requires a subscription to the New York Times]