• Yellowstone National Park was conceived by explorers who gathered around a campfire between two pristine rivers in the year 1870 with the towering cliffs of the Madison Plateau behind them. They discussed what they had seen during their exploration and realized that this land of fire, ice, and wild animals needed to be preserved. Thus the idea of Yellowstone National Park was born.
• President Theodore Roosevelt signed the order creating Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first National Park.
• During the park’s early years, the United States was involved in fighting Native Americans during the Indian Wars, but Yellowstone was a safe haven for tourists as Native Americans avoided the area because of the hot springs, pots of mud and especially the geysers
The explorers were real, and their achievement was to help save Yellowstone from private development. They rallied around a park bill in Washington in late 1871 and early 1872 that built on the precedent of the Yosemite Act of 1864, which reserved the Yosemite Valley settlement and entrusted it to the care of the state. Of California. There were problems associated with this bill, but the wonders of Yellowstone displayed through photographs, paintings, and sketches captured the imagination of Congress. Thanks to continued reports from explorers and more artistic representations, the United States Congress established Yellowstone National Park in 1872. On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law. yellowstone.
The park’s second superintendent, Philetus W. Norris, who served from 1877 to 1882, added much to the park’s geographic knowledge, and much of the early road system he laid out remains as the Grand Loop Road. He was also responsible for the last falsehood on the list, that Native Americans avoided the park. The Native American has long-standing claims to Yellowstone and is part of the park’s stewardship program today.
The last item I want to address in this writing is the reintroduction of the gray wolf to Yellowstone. At this juncture, I would like to say that there are arguments for both sides of this issue, but I am willing to accept the trophic cascade effect reported by the New York Times and supported by different park rangers and workers who have witnessed the results of the reintroduction of the gray wolf in yellowstone
From 1995 to 1997, 41 wild wolves from Canada and northwestern Montana were released into Yellowstone National Park, leading to some unexpected results. Wolves were responsible for the dwindling elk and deer herds, and one wolf pack in particular has become quite proficient in helping manage the bison herd. But what was not expected was the effect wolves have had on Yellowstone’s geography.
The elk began to avoid certain areas of the park where they were most vulnerable as prey, mainly the valleys and gorges. Immediately these areas began to regenerate, in some areas the height of the trees quintupled in just 6 short years. The sides of the valley forests turned into aspens, willows and aspens. With the reforestation of the valleys came more songbirds and migratory birds. The beaver population began to increase as the beavers eat trees. Beavers dam rivers and provide habitats for otters, muskrats, ducks, fish, and a host of other wildlife. Wolves also killed coyotes, which increased the rabbit and mouse population, which meant more hawks, more weasels, more foxes, more badgers. Ravens and bald eagles came down to feed on carrion left behind by wolves, bears also fed on carrion and interesting behaviors resulted. Instead of less food for the bear, there was an abundance of food, so much so that brown bears were found sharing a meal that is unheard of in other wilderness areas. Not only was their supply of meat more plentiful, but the berries that grew on the bushes became more plentiful.
But what’s even more amazing is that since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, rivers have become more steady in their course, soil erosion has slowed due to new growth of vegetation along the banks of the rivers. River banks have collapsed less, channels have narrowed, more ponds have formed, which again means more habitats for animals.
I hope that the wonders of Yellowstone continue to amaze us, that the beauty draws our attention, that we visit and revisit this unique land where waterfalls are still being discovered. Where you can see the largest pure herd of bison in North America. Where the wolf has found its place in the ecosystem again and is off the endangered species list.
