Crucible for Conservation

by Robert W. Righter

With its unmatchable mountains and broad vistas, it is difficult today to imagine that the land of the Tetons could be anything but a national park. But for over fifty years, the question of national park status remained unsettled as a myriad of public and private interests fought for control over Jackson Hole and the Tetons.

Many divergent views of conservation and land use had their hearing in Jackson Hole during the long struggle to establish the Park. Rugged individualists, cattlemen, Easterners, "New Dealers," "state's righters," state of Wyoming officials, Forest Service personnel, and Park Service leaders all wanted hegemony over Jackson Hole and the Tetons. The way in which they cajoled, fought, sued each other and ultimately resolved the issue is a classic case in the difficulties of park-making. Grand Teton National Park is thus no product of chance, but rather the design of men and women working in a noble cause. What they achieved was, Righter suggests, "perhaps the most notable conservation victory of the twentieth century."

Genres: History, Environment

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Tito · Rating 4 out of 5]

For want of a copyeditor, this book remains a highly readable account of the creation of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming during the first half of the 20th century. More than just providing a basic history of the park, Righter does an excellent job of diving into the politics that befuddled the establishment of the park for so long. Then, as now, local interests often stood in opposition to national interests--though many who fought for the park tried to show how those interests could be aligned. And it wasn’t even always just local versus national. At times, the National Park Service (a part of the Department of the Interior) and the Forest Service’s (a part of the Department of Agriculture) ongoing skirmishes over funding and control seemed to focus entirely on Jackson Hole. Or irrespective of the fights going on at the national level, the residents of Jackson could be relied on to have almost no reliable principles that couldn’t be bent one way then the other to will of the moneyed interested in the valley. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the decades long effort to create the park is how much it required the vision and stewardship of just a few individuals, not to mention the money and patience of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The lesson of the establishment of Grand Teton is that the politics never changes: the arguments for and against anything will have both sides citing lofty ideals but really, it comes down to the money.

[Becky Kimmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live in Jackson Hole and still did not know this history; so well written, well researched. A must read for anyone who cares about our National Park system and the conservation of key lands in America.

[Nick]

The pages were a bit sticky.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Grand Teton National Park and first visited there in 1947. When I read this book I was amazed to find out that in 1947 it wasn't "really" a national park! Just the mountains were proclaimed a Park in 1929 and it didn't even include the moraine lakes of Jenny, String, etc.
It was a 20-year battle to create the park and save it from the degradation that has overtaken The Black Hills/Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore. Even more scary was the fact that the Forest Service came out against it fearing the loss of their mining, lumber and grazing "rights".. . . just as the Bush administration also pushed so hard for.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very in depth book on the controversy and struggle to create Grand Teton National Park.

[Emily Carroll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gives an interesting inside view as to what Rockefeller really had to go through in order to do something he thought would be a nice present to the county.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after visiting Grand Teton National Park and wondering about why the park was not contiguous, about the architecture of the Lodge--which is modern and different from other park architecture, about the number of private enterprises that seem to be on Park property. The book answered many of the questions, demonstrating that the fight to establish Grand Teton National Park was long and arduous. While John D. Rockefeller provided money to buy land and was anxious to donate it to the government to establish the park, the book details how many interests lined up against moving the land to National Park Service control--including ranchers, agricultural interests, businessmen, property owners, the Wyoming Congressional delegation and the Forest Service. It took 50 years, but the park was established finally in the 1950s. This is a well-written and interesting account of this lengthy process