A Place Called Yellowstone, Wilson -B

            "Its legacies are both celebratory and problematic. Yellowstone is the story of America itself." Native Americans occupied the region continuously for the 11,000 years preceding the colonization of America. "Yellowstone's journey from ancestral homeland to the world's first national park was anything but straightforward." Because of its seclusion and altitude, the valley was not a priority during westward expansion. However, the stories told by a few men in 1869 garnered the attention of the Surveyor General of Montana and Gen. Sheridan. The Washburn Expedition explored the plateau, the canyon, the lake, the thermal geysers, and "discovered" Yellowstone. The group's reports attracted attention, including that of Dr. Ferdinand Hayden, head of the Geological and Geographic Surveys of the Territories.  The Hayden Expedition of 1871 had 83 members. The expedition's maps and reports, along with photographs, drawings and watercolors, garnered attention in the capital. There was a movement afoot to create a national park at Yellowstone and Congress acted promptly. The force behind the movement was Jay Cooke, who hoped to bring customers west on his Northern Pacific RR. On April 1, 1874, Yellowstone National Park was created and  2.2 million acres were set aside for conservation and use of the public. "Yellowstone was the first step in the rise of American conservation values, but did not supplant commercial resource use; rather, it embodied objectives in an uneasy tandem."

      The first order of business in the park was the construction of roads. Additionally, the Northern Pacific planned a branch line from Bozeman and a 500 room hotel. The railroad eventually completed its construction work, but with less land allocated to them because of the intervention of Gen. Sheridan, who favored the environment over commerce. Sheridan also suggested to Washington that the park be policed and the commercial interests closely monitored. The army took over policing and warding off poachers in the park. Finally in 1894, a federal law was passed protecting game and establishing enforcement protocols. Also, the new law saved the last bison herd in the country.  In the ensuing decades, the commercial interests rallied to make the park a tourist attraction for the wealthy. The bison herd was facing extinction, and the US made its first sustained effort to save an endangered species. In 1919, the National Park Service was created to manage all aspects of the park, and was followed by a proposed Congressional expansion of the park by 38%. The expansion was eventually achieved with the funding of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who purchased 115,000 acres of land to spearhead the effort. Greater Yellowstone has been effectively established with the park as its anchor, and includes Grand Teton National Park, the National Elk Refuge, seven national forests, and an assortment of conservation areas. Collectively, they are "America's Serenghetti."

               The success of the park led to a reconsideration of the management of the wildlife there. The elk herd was so hardy that no one knew how to contain it. A park-organized killing so offended so many  that Congress authorized hunting in national parks. Slowly, it became apparent that elimination of all predators and fighting fires also led to the invasion of nonnative species. The dry summer of 1988 led to the largest fire in a century and all the firefighters could do was try to protect the park's buildings. By the time it was over, a million acres had burned, and the staff realized that it was not a destruction, but a rebirth. In the 90's, the gray wolf was reintroduced to the park. The population grew from 8 to 1700 and successfully restored the original ecosystem. 

               This is a very well-written book, and an interesting one, but not that interesting.