We are embarking on the 128th summer season of Yellowstone National Park. When
the park started, people were concerned about recovery from a Civil War, the
Western expansion of the nation, and the impending growth from the industrial
revolution. Now, we are a nation of people concerned about gas prices, school
shootings, and the the moral character of our leaders. But just as people did
128 years ago, we find ourselves drawn away from the turmoil of daily life to
the splendor of Yellowstone National Park.
Yet, while we get away from our daily trials and tribulations, Yellowstone has
always had its share of trials, tribulations, notable events that help it grow
and change. Throughout Yellowstone's 128 years, these factors have changed
just like the daily lives of Americans have changed.
In the beginning, Yellowstone was impenetrable. The only ones who ventured in
were fur trappers who came out and told spectacular and unbelievable stories
about the wonders within. They told of hot fountains, massive canyons, and
glass mountains. Most just laughed at this and dismissed them as tall tales.
But, some did listen, and explorers started to enter the region. Their effect
on the area was immediate and permanent as they started to lend names to the
things that they saw, names that are still used today. A group of explorers,
the Washburn expedition, sitting in the shadow of a bluff at Madison Junction,
is credited with coming up with the most important idea in America's history of
wilderness preservation: the National Park Service.
The park was established as America's first National Park on March 1st, 1872, by
Ulysses S. Grant. Soon after it was filled with tourists wanting to see
America's newly discovered wonder. This led to a big problem: how to preserve
the park with all of these people around. Soon, the park was run by the
military who were stationed at Fort Yellowstone in Mammoth Hot Springs. Their
presence ensured that the wonders we enjoy today were not destroyed.
Life went on like this for awhile and eventually the military was no longer
needed. The Park Service was established fully and the park was to be run by
rangers. So, while the threat from people was no longer such a dire problem,
nature still had its own plans for the park.
On August 17th, 1959, a very powerful earthquake centered near Lake Hebgen in
Montana left the Yellowstone region devastated in some cases, changed in
others. Roads were shut down because of landslides. An entirely new lake
formed just outside of the park in Montana, and hot springs and geysers started
to be have in new and interesting ways. Some of these changes in thermal
activity are still seen today.
Nearly 30 years later, 1988, came the event that many people today visualize
when they think of Yellowstone. For almost the entire summer that year, the
world was focused on the largest forest fire in the known history of
Yellowstone. The fire threatened buildings and destroyed thousands of square
acres of scenic forest. No one was killed fighting the fire (one death occurred
from a falling tree afterward) but the effects on the forest are such that they
will not disappear in our lifetimes. This was a part of the cycle of a forest's
life, but the natural and man-caused fires led many to believe that Yellowstone
was destroyed forever.
The 1990s were a hotbed of activity in Yellowstone. The government couldn't
settle on a budget so the park was closed for awhile. Wolves were re-introduced
to the park in 1995 to reclaim their rightful place in the region's ecosystem.
The Department of Livestock in Montana and various Bison Groups battled (and
continue to battle) over the fact that cattle ranchers want to avoid letting
Bison with the disease Brucellosis (a disease that caused cow fetuses to abort)
into the state of Montana. They fear what the presence of the disease will do to
them financially and what it will do to the cows physically should they contract
the disease. The battle continues right now as you read this. Finally, the
most recent story was the plan to build a nuclear incinerator very close to
Yellowstone. Those plans were scrapped, much to the joy of Yellowstone and
nature fanatics everywhere!
These are but a glimpse of the many events in the history of Yellowstone, but
this is not a book, it is an article! Thus, even while we have occasionally (or
perhaps oftentimes for some of us) gone to Yellowstone to escape our daily
lives, Yellowstone has always had a daily life of its own. How will all of this
effect the park? Only time will tell. What will Yellowstone National Park be
like in another 128 years? We can only imagine.
