The Importance of Yellowstone

With my first trip fresh in my mind, I began to look for sources of information. At this time the public Internet was barely in its infancy, and I was largely ignorant of it. Nor was it replete with the vast volumes of information on it that there is now. So I turned to conventional means, such as good old-fashioned books. I found there were a plethora of books that gave basic as well as detailed information about Yellowstone out there, depending upon your level of time and interest in the subject. I chose some books that gave some good, basic overviews of the park and the surrounding area, also known as the GYE, or Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. I read them thoroughly, and realized I was just scraping the surface of the subject. So, I delved deeper into the information pool, and came up with some more in depth books. After reading them, I felt a little more informed. Little did I know I had barely begun my exploration of Yellowstone, and didn’t really know or realize the true nature of the area, or its importance to the United States and indeed the entire world. For Yellowstone, first of the world’s National Parks, not only sparked a movement towards preservation of our world’s natural treasures, it continues to point the way in conservation efforts, on the bleeding edge of what it is to conserve our biosphere relatively intact.

The GYE has been the target of many schemes and plans throughout the years to dominate its resources and control its bounty, starting with the Northern Pacific Railroad before the park was even officially designated a National Park. The Northern Pacific dreamed of controlling access to the park’s thermal wonders for their own benefit, and used knowledge of the area as a goad to investors to give them money to complete the railroad. Fortunately their plan failed. But it was just the first of many, many schemes to control and develop the land in and around Yellowstone.

There have been many plans throughout the years to develop the park; building dams, bigger roads, exploiting resources including the thermal features and animals. In the early years of the park it had many enemies come against it, including a plan to destroy it completely and open it to settlers and private development. Luckily for future generations and us that particular plan was defeated. But that doesn’t mean the park is out of danger.

Grand Teton National Park

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.

A 'Close Call' With The Fury of Nature

The first time I attempted to visit Yellowstone was during the infamous summer of 1988, when fire consumed over 300,000 acres of the park and surrounding National Forests. A friend and I were vacationing with family and friends in nearby Starr Valley, Wyoming, and after discussing the various things we might do we decided to make the drive up to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. The air everywhere in the west seemed to be heavy with that ‘campfire’ smell and smoke tinged the sky, even as far as Salt Lake City. The air seemed to thicken as we neared Jackson Hole and the sun became darker, even though the day was edging towards noon. When we arrived at Jackson Hole, which at the time was a much smaller and sleepier town than it is today, the atmosphere and attitudes seemed subdued, even for Jackson. We stopped in at a local National Forest Ranger Station to see if they knew what the situation was inside the National Park.

The ranger at the station, which is on the way out of town on the highway leading to Teton and Yellowstone, warned us quite frankly to not go to Yellowstone. He was very persuasive and we chose to follow his advice, curtailing our trip and spending some time in Jackson Hole instead, which, while admittedly boring for a single twenty something, was very charming and interesting. So ended my first ‘trip’ to Yellowstone.

In retrospect, I can’t help but feel that I missed out on a piece of history. To see the fires for myself would have been something I could have told my kids and grand kids etc., and probably would have made for a good tale for this blog. It was Labor Day weekend, and on September 5th, Labor Day, we headed home without having seen Wonderland. If we had gone into the park, we had on our first agenda going to see Old Faithful, that stalwart and famous old geyser that is the top priority for most first time visitors to Yellowstone, and for good reason. Its regular eruptions have entertained visitors to the Park since the first white men entered and explored the area, and most likely Native American’s for countless generations before that, though we have no records of that.

Two days later, on September 7th, a firestorm came marching over the low hills near the Upper Geyser Basin, and the nation came near to losing one of it’s most iconic lodges, the Old Faithful Inn. The people still present at Old Faithful, mostly firefighters, faced 200 foot flames and 80 mph winds that threatened the lives of all who remained in the Old Faithful area. It was only blind luck that preserved the lives of those people as well as the lodge and other buildings. At the last minute, winds shifted and the fire moved away from the Upper Geyser Basin, sparing their lives.

It would have been interesting to been able to say I'd been there but days before.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone helps me understand the most basic part of myself. The natural side that yearns for the tranquility of the wilderness, the good feel of unspoiled forest and wildlife. It helps me understand my place in the world and what my true priorities are. It gives me a respite from the world I live in day today, the world we all have chosen to make for ourselves, which sometimes seems so sterile in comparison.

Most people believe the struggle to preserve Yellowstone occurred a long time ago and was won. Unfortunately that isn't true. The fight to preserve our sacred wilderness continues and will continue as long as there are people. The demands of society and of population have put pressure on Yellowstone that it has never had to contend with before. Yellowstone is still and always will be at risk. Even now there are people asking the federal government to open surrounding national forest land to development. Yellowstone is not just the boundaries of the national park, it is much greater than that, and it needs the entire surrounding national forest land to survive as an ecosystem. If it is to be preserved then we must all care about it, love it and want to protect it.

If I am right about Yellowstone’s ability to take us out of ourselves, to move us and to inspire passion in us, if Yellowstone can inspire that spiritual side of us that sometimes gets lost in our daily lives so filled with technology and progress, then the fight to preserve Yellowstone takes on a much more important role than just protecting some animals and forestland. It becomes a conflict for the best part of ourselves, a war for our spiritual selves, a battle for our very souls.

We can win it, if we choose to. I fear the consequences should we lose.

Yellowstone - Adventures in America's Sacred Wilderness

Yellowstone - Adventures in America's Sacred Wilderness is dedicated to the ideals of preserving our precious wildlife and our last remaining wild spaces. Understanding of these places is our best defense of them. With that in mind I highly recommend not only visiting these places but also participating in organizations that defend and preserve them, such as the Yellowstone Association and Defenders of Wildlife.

All of Yellowstone and all those who enjoy it owe a debt of gratitude to these and other worthy organizations that work to further education and knowledge of Yellowstone, wildlife and our remaining pockets of wilderness.

I'd like to thank the Defenders of Wildlife (DoW) for helping to educate the public on the controversial subject of wolves and their role in our intact ecosystems. DoW works tirelessly to preserve and defend the world's remaining wild wolves and countless other species. I urge everyone to help them in this cause.

I would like to use this space also to thank my wife, without whom my enjoyment of Yellowstone’s wonders would be incomplete.

Only Yellowstone can take vistas like this one and make them seem commonplace. I’ve been to Yellowstone many times; I have never ceased to be awed by the beauty, majesty and grandeur of its landscape.

Ever since I first came to Yellowstone, I've had a great passion for it. When I am in Yellowstone I feel a great contentment and an enthusiasm for it that is hard to explain to someone who doesn’t know it like I do.

I could never adequately explain why I felt the way I did about Yellowstone. One mid September day I was photographing an elk bull bugling, when a fellow visitor asked me how long I’d been there and when I was going home.

It suddenly struck me that I was home. I’ve never felt more at home, never felt more at peace and spiritually aware then when I was hiking around Yellowstone.