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Grand Teton National Park: Subterfuge Led to This Masterpiece

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Springtime and early summer bring arrowleaf balsamroot to colorful bloom in Grand Teton National Park. NPS photo by Dave Smaldone.

Say what you will about corporate altruism, whether it's self-serving or truly benevolent, but in the case of Grand Teton National Park, without it the park would be a shell of its present form.

When President Calvin Coolidge created the park on this date in 1929, the legislation called for preservation of just 96,000 acres, acres that encompassed little more than the jagged roof of the Teton Range and the six glacial lakes that sprawl at the bottom of the mountains' eastern flanks.

No doubt, this 96,000-acre preserve was stunning, and the initial legislation would see that it would indeed be protected for the enjoyment of future generations. But without the intervention of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., working through his Snake River Land Company to buy up thousands of acres that extended beyond that initial allotment, it's very possible, and highly likely, that the view we have today of the park would be filled with a foreground of development, not rolling sagebrush fields, timbered plateaus, and the uncluttered and beautifully meandering braids of the Snake River.

While you can envision this scenario from U.S. 89/191 as you head north and south through the park, perhaps the best view to be had of Grand Teton National Park is from its roof -- standing atop the 13,770-foot-tall Grand Teton itself.

The Grand Teton is the biggest "Stop Sign" in the West, no matter from which direction you spy it. Alongside the Middle Teton and South Teton, the Grand scrapes the sky with its distinctive "horn," a reminder that glaciers helped mold this landscape. With a dozen or so neighboring summits that rise above 10,000 feet, the Tetons form a ponderous, jagged stretch of rock that arguably is the Lower 48's most arresting mountain range.

Although the Tetons are one of the youngest ranges in the Rocky Mountains, their geology is one of the most varied among the world's mountainous regions. Vast inland seas, periodic volcanics, deep glaciations and geologic machinations all played a role in defining the landscape that today retains those events in fossilized plant and dinosaur remains, thick sedimentary rocks, stunning peaks and U-shaped canyons.

It was a vast glaciation that arrived 150,000 years ago with rivers of ice 3,000 feet thick that sculpted the mountains with cirques and cols and created the Tetons' defining pyramid-shaped peaks.

As the glaciers retreated, they left behind morainal lakes and kettles -- depressions created when blocks of ice calved from the retreating glaciers and, when they melted, created ponds in the depressions formed by their weight. Skillet, Teton and Schoolroom glaciers remain today, vestiges of their "Little Ice Age" forefathers of 5,000 years ago.

Geology aside, the abruptness with which the Tetons climb out of the valley, their easy access, and the countless climbing opportunities, combine to define the range as one of mountaineering's classics.

As I indicated above, the view from the top of the Grand is spectacular, the best to be had in the park, and it's from this vantage point that one can truly appreciate the behind-the-scenes efforts Mr. Rockefeller made to protect this setting. Far below to the east the Jackson Hole Valley stretches north and south, while Idaho lies to the west.

You can easily see the shimmering waters of Jackson and Jenny lakes far below, as well as "Timbered Island," a sliver of forest southeast of Jenny Lake that sprouted atop a glacial moraine and is popular with elk.

Now, while Mr. Rockefeller was highly instrumental in the creation of today's Grand Teton National Park, he didn't single-handedly get the deed one. His land company did amass roughly 35,000 acres in the valley that lies below the Tetons.

But it took his pestering, and threats of selling the land for development, that led President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to create the 221,000-acre Jackson Hole National Monument. This March 15, 1943 proclamation combined Mr. Rockefeller's acreage with Jackson Lake, Teton National Forest lands and other federal properties.

While politics clouded the park's future for seven years, on September 14, 1950, President Harry S Truman signed a bill that merged the original 1929 park with the 1943 monument to create today's masterpiece.

Controversial? Heck yeah.

But in hindsight, who could argue with the foresight of Mr. Rockefeller and Presidents Roosevelt and Truman? Grand Teton is much more than a park of incredible mountains. The lakes, like jewels on a necklace, are perfect for picnics, paddling, and, if it's hot enough, a dip. The Snake River is a joy both to raft or kayak and to hike along to spot wildlife such as bald eagles, osprey, moose and bison, or simply to while the hours away with a fishing pole.

Indeed, this park is as grand as its name implies.

Comments

My wife and I got married in 1999 and began our honeymoom in Jackson Hole, spending time in Grand Teton and then further north in Yellowstone. I cant put into words the beauty we bestowed. It was mid August and the temperatures were 30 at night and 70 during the day. After 10 glorious day our perspective about what is majestic and beautiful was forever changed. Truly, this part of our country is one of the most beautiful and inspiring I have ever seen. Over 400 photos in 10 days still could not capture the sights seens, but hey, I certainly tried!


All I can say is thank goodness this area was saved and the national park was created ! How can anyone who has ever seen this spectacular place not be thankfull to all who helped make it happen ? It is indeed a grand place !


It is a great and beautiful place. Thanks for the great history lesson about Jackson Hole. It is a very controversial thing that happens when lands are "closed off" and "protected". I too am glad that this place was handled the way it was and continues to be.


I believe that Rockefeller was responsible for other NP and Banff in Canada, Acadia in Maine. He was a great lover of the beauties of America and since he was a very rich man( no income tax) was able to bestow much of the land that has become our NPS.

We owe a lot to the rich robber barons that built lodges and loved the wild places and wanted to protect them for the future.

Acadia has a similar story that they had to force the NP to take it on. The various landowners were worried about logging and wanted to preserve the area and felt that his best method was for it to become a NP.


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