Our First National Park Inspired the World

Which came first, the National Park Service or the parks they were created to protect? The answer, of course, is the parks, the first of which was Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872. The National Park Service came along 44 years later, in 1916. We celebrate its centennial this year.

It seemed fitting to go back to the nation’s — and the world’s — very first national park as a way to start off this anniversary year. Spending a week in the winter-white landscape, I have just returned from Yellowstone with a renewed appreciation of this brilliant concept.

Never before had a nation set aside land purely to protect its wildness, and “For the benefit and enjoyment of the people,” as the inscription reads on the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone. Today, there are more than 6,000 national parks in 100 countries.

Australia was the next country to establish a national park, followed by Canada in 1885 with Banff National Park. Predating the U.S., Canada created the world’s first national park service in 1911. Today, Canada protects more acres of land in its national park system than any other country in the world.

When Yellowstone was created, the population of the United States was just a hair over 35 million. Most of the West was still wild land. The transcontinental railroad had only been completed three years earlier.

Government policy at the time was to essentially give away public land to private owners. The land and its resources were seen as limitless. Railroads were granted land for laying track and the Homestead Act gave settlers land to encourage westward migration.

Several expeditions to the Yellowstone area took place beginning in 1860. The most significant of these were the 1870 Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and the 1871 Hayden Expedition led by US Geological and Geographical Survey (USGS) head Ferdinand Hayden, in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The result of these expeditions was to bring awareness to the nation of the natural and geological riches of this remote region.

Photographer William Henry Jackson and artists Henry W. Elliot and Thomas Moran brought back stunning images of geysers, hot springs, mountains and canyons. The stories of these expeditions and the images of these artists piqued the interest of scientists, travelers and the American public at large.

*Lower Falls from the North Rim, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone*

I can understand why. Standing along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, looking toward the half-frozen 308-foot deep Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, framed by snow-covered cliffs of mineral-red and yellow, there is a moment when the majesty of this land sinks in. This is a place, you understand, that should not be defiled. It is a place that tells the story of eons.

Before Europeans arrived, at least 26 Native American tribes hunted, fished, and lived on lands within the current park. Bison roamed the area, along with grizzly bears, cougars, wolves, elk and many other species. By 1900, only a few dozen of the once 60 million bison in the U.S. remained. Wolves, cougars and coyotes were mercilessly hunted. Today, with many species protected and a better understanding of ecology, Yellowstone’s ecosystem is in the best shape it’s been since pre-colonial days.

A record number of visitors, 4.1 million, came to Yellowstone National Park in 2015. As we congregate in ever-more urban enclaves, we come to recognize the importance of time spent in nature. Many international visitors also come to see our iconic landscapes.

Yet, these magnificent places are under threat. The federal government chronically underfunds them, and rapacious commercial interests look to drill, mine and clearcut them. Young people and people of color are underrepresented among national park visitors, putting future public support at risk. A couple of young filmmakers are trying to change that through their films featuring gripping people-centric stories relevant to these audiences.

The idea of a national park may have been America’s greatest and most enduring export. We must not be so careless as to lose it.