Since my first visit to Yellowstone I’ve returned again and again, each time finding something new about it to love. In my most recent trip I took a route into the park I don’t often take, through Grand Teton and in through the south entrance. Along the way I took time to appreciate the fact that Grand Teton in itself is a magnificent National Park.
Teton had a rocky start. Private owners owned much of it, though for years many had urged that the already existent Yellowstone National Park be allowed to expand its borders to encompass the area now known as Grand Teton National Park in order to protect elk in their yearly migrations. Unfortunately in the early days of Yellowstone, the preservation effort was more about protecting thermal features than it was anything else, and no real thought had been given by congress to preserving wildlife. It just wasn’t a concept that had found its way into the national consciousness yet.
In the twenties John D. Rockefeller, who was a admirable man and quite a philanthropist, began purchasing much of the private land in the upper Jackson Hole Valley and Grand Teton area in secret, establishing a company for that very purpose that did not include his name in it. It wasn’t for some time that people found out that he was behind the purchase of much of the area. Under his guidance, the organization he put in place to buy the property (the Snake River Land Company) had eventually purchased a respectable 35,000 acres. With the establishment of a National Park in mind, Rockefeller took his acquired land to the National Park Service and asked them to accept it as a donation. Incredibly, they refused.
Even more incredible than this is the fact that even after the Park (first declared a National Monument) was established, Rockefeller’s generous gift, that included much of the northern end of the valley floor, was still refused and was not included in the original Park declaration. It wasn’t for many years and much argument later that his philanthropic effort was recognized and included into the National Park.
I for one very much appreciate the fact that he went to this effort. On my last trek through that beautiful park, I observed and photographed a grizzly bear on an elk carcass, practically right next to the road. That would likely not have been possible if it were not for Mr. John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his efforts, because where I saw this was in the lands that he purchased and later was allowed to donate to the National Park Service for inclusion into the Grand Teton National Park.
