grand teton became a national park in 1972.
grand teton became a national park in 1972.
when did grand teton become a national park?
1972
the establishment of grand teton national park took place over a period spanning more than 50 years. located in the northwestern region of the u.s. state of wyoming, grand teton national park is south of yellowstone national park which was established in 1872, when wyoming, idaho and montana were still territories and the region was very sparsely settled. by the late 19th century, conservationists were working to provide further protection to surrounding regions, leading president grover cleveland to create the teton forest reserve, which included a portion of northern jackson hole. by 1902, the reserve had been combined into the yellowstone forest reserve, then was divided again in 1908 by president theodore roosevelt, establishing the teton national forest, which protected most of the teton range. by 1907, the u.s. bureau of reclamation had constructed a temporary dam at the snake river outlet of jackson lake. this dam failed in 1910 and a new concrete jackson lake dam replaced it by 1911. the dam was further enlarged in 1916, raising lake waters as part of the minidoka project, designed to provide irrigation for agriculture in the state of idaho. though efforts to protect the teton range and jackson hole as part of an expanded yellowstone national park dated back to the late 19th century, proposals to construct more dams on some of the other lakes in jackson hole led yellowstone national park superintendent horace albright to block such efforts. albright was originally an advocate of the expanded yellowstone plan which was very unpopular with local residents. by the mid-1920s local sentiment had changed as a result of proposals for a new national park including only the teton range and six lakes at the base of the range. with the general agreement of prominent jackson hole residents to this plan, president calvin coolidge signed the executive order establishing the grand teton national park on february 26, 1929.
establishment of grand teton national park
grand teton national park is located in the northwestern region of the u.s. state of wyoming. to the north the park is bordered by the john d. rockefeller, jr. memorial parkway, which is administered by grand teton national park. the scenic highway with the same name passes from the southern boundary of grand teton national park to west thumb in yellowstone national park. grand teton national park covers approximately , while the john d. rockefeller, jr. memorial parkway includes . most of the jackson hole valley and virtually all the major mountain peaks of the teton range are within the park. the jedediah smith wilderness of caribou-targhee national forest lies along the western boundary and includes the western slopes of the teton range. to the northeast and east lie the teton wilderness and gros ventre wilderness of bridger-teton national forest. the national elk refuge is to the southeast, and migrating herds of elk winter there. privately owned land borders the park to the south and southwest. grand teton national park, along with yellowstone national park, surrounding national forests and related protected areas constitute the () greater yellowstone ecosystem. the greater yellowstone ecosystem spans across portions of three states and is one of the largest intact mid-latitude ecosystems remaining on earth. by road, grand teton national park is from salt lake city, utah and from denver, colorado.
grand teton national park