America's Best Idea:

Part 6: Who's in Charge? How order was brought to Yellowstone.

"Between Yellowstone's founding in 1872 and the creation of the National Park Service in 1916 was an uncertain and often lawless period in all national parks." https://twitter.com/EsotaricPorgism/status/1327474097937379329

"The money for administrating the national park 'experiment' was virtually nil. With no enforcement mechanism the Yellowstone act of 1872 lacked teeth.

Still, people were committed to Yellowstone's preservation First was Nathanial Langford of the 1870 Washburn Expedition."

Langford, then a "federal bank examiner for western states & territories" was appointed the Superintendent of Yellowstone was 2 months after the act was passed. He was given the thankless task of "securing an isolated & rugged region the size of Rhode Island & Delaware combined".

He would have a rocky road ahead of him for his 5 years as the superintendent of Yellowstone.

First, his demanding day job afforded him only a few times of venturing into Yellowstone during those 5 years.

More important was the stipulation by Congress that "no appropriations would be requested for several years" after Yellowstone's Founding meaning he had no budget.

There was also a growing movement in opposition to the concept of the 'unspoiled' National Park as local entrepreneurs like Matthew McGuirk tried to build private business ventures such as advertising springs as "healing waters" on National Park Land.

"In 1875 pioneer naturalist, Colonel William Ludlow was dispatched to patrol Yellowstone. He was outraged by the unruly atmosphere & what he called 'the rude hand of man'.

Ludlow collected much of his anger and complaints into a government report for the War Department.

the report states that "Miracles of art... can be ruined in 5 minutes by vandals armed with an axe, and nearly all the craters show signs of hopeless and unrestrained barbarity."

Animal hunting was also a major problem within the Park, Ludlow reports that "in the winter prior to his writing, hunters killed 3000 elk(for their skins and occasionally their tongues) in one narrow strip of the Yellowstone Valley.

"Ludlow suggested in his report that such brazen takings could be prevented by troops stationed near Yellowstone already and that the War Department should take control of Yellowstone."

After Nathanial Langford's departure, he was replaced in 1878 by Philetus Norris, trapper, pioneer, & second Superintendent of Yellowstone. He had two things that Langford did not: "a salary and the park's first congressional appropriations-$10,000."

Norris would accomplish many things in his 5-year tenure, such as doubling the mileage of the park's trails and primitive roads," parts of which still remain as the Grand Loop Road". He would also take some of the first steps towards wildlife preservation in Yellowstone.

However, all animals were not valued equally. Whilst Norris called "bison, moose, elk, deer, antelope, and bighorn sheep the 'noble' animals of the park." No such honorific was given to the carnivores of Yellowstone, whose deaths were openly encouraged.

Norris referred to Grizzly's as "the mountaineer's most dreaded foe".
He described Wolverines as having "a rapacious greed and pugnacity".
Mountain Lions, once "numerous and troublesome" had now the target of hunters using" rifle, trap, and poison to exterminate them".

"Norris's most eager loathing was reserved for 'sneaking, snarling' coyotes and 'large, ferocious' wolves: 'The value of [wolf] hides and their easy slaughter with strychnine-poisoned carcasses have nearly led to their extermination,' he said."

The first game warden, Harry Yount, was assigned by Norris to protect the more 'Noble' animals of the park-specifically he was assigned to protecting herds of ungulates(hooved animals) in the Lamar Valley of northeast Yellowstone.

sidenote: he's an interesting character so I may do a minithread on him in the future.