FROM THE EDITORS
The Geologist Behind Our First National Park Bill Roman, AEG News Content Editor
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n this issue of AEG News, we observe the sesquicentennial of the creation of the United States’ first National Park when Congress passed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, which President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law on March 1, 1872. We admire and appreciate the visionaries who saw fit to preserve the natural wonders of Yellowstone and set an example of the federal government’s role in preserving special places for the public to freely enjoy. While readers of AEG News are probably aware of the role geology has played in shaping many of our national parks, readers may not be aware of the significant role the geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden played in the establishment of Yellowstone as our first National Park. In 1871, with the support of a $40,000 appropriation from Congress, Hayden led an expedition of thirty-four men in an exploration of the region about the sources of the Yellowstone River. The party featured a multidisciplinary mixture of scientists, technicians, artists, and support staff. According to Hayden’s 1872 report, the party was organized as follows: “James Stevenson, managing director; Henry W. Elliott, artist; Prof. Cyrus Thomas, agricultural statistician and entomologist; Anton Schöaborn, chief topographer; A. J. Smith, assistant; William H. Jackson, photographer; George B. Dixon, assistant; J. W. Beaman, meteorologist; Prof. G. N. Allen, botanist; Robt. Ferdinand V. Hayden
Adams, jr., assistant; Dr. A. C. Peale, mineralogist; Dr. C. S. Turnbull, physician; Campbell Carrington, in charge of zoological collections; William B. Logan, secretary; F. J. Huse, Chester M. Dawes, C. De V. Negley, and J. W. Duncan, general assistants. Mr. Thomas Moran, a distinguished artist from Philadelphia, accompanied the party as guest, to secure studies of the remarkable scenery of the Yellowstone. In addition to the above, there were about fifteen men who acted as teamsters, laborers, cooks or hunters.” By including the artist Thomas Moran and the photographer William Jackson in his party, Hayden ensured the expedition would not only collect scientific data but also capture the beauty of the region in drawings, paintings, and photographs. Hayden’s lobbying efforts to preserve the Yellowstone area included Moran’s artwork, Jackson’s photographs, and Hayden’s advanced copy of the expedition’s report. On December 18, 1871, bills were introduced simultaneously in the Senate and the House for the establishment of a park at the headwaters of the Yellowstone River. In reporting the bill back to the Senate on January 22, 1872, Senator S. C. Pomeroy of Kansas stated, “Professor Hayden and party have been there, and this bill is drawn on the recommendation of that gentleman to consecrate for public uses this country for a public park.” In recognition of the sesquicentennial of the establishment of Yellowstone National Park, this issue of AEG News includes professional contributions from Bill Godwin on the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Luke Ducey on the Gateway Arch National Park. In case you didn’t notice, although multidisciplinary, Hayden’s 1871 survey party does not appear to have been very diverse, so we are pleased to include in this issue contributions from Cynthia Palomares and Maya Saldanha on efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences. Finally, while we observe the preservation of Yellowstone as the first National Park, we also recognize the adverse effect of the park’s creation on the native people of the area.
References
PHOTO COURTESY USGS
Hayden, F.V., 1872, Preliminary report of the U.S. Geological Survey of Montana and portions of adjacent territories, being a fifth annual report of progress. Patterson, Allie, 2019, Indian removal from Yellowstone National Park: Intermountain Histories: https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/344 (accessed April 19, 2022). Picard, M.D., 2010, Revisiting the life and scientific reputation of Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden: Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 45, no. 1, p. 73-81. Thacker, J.O., 2021, Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden: 150 years after Yellowstone: GSA Today, v. 31, issue 12, p. 20-21. U.S. Geological Survey, 1972, Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden and the founding of the Yellowstone National Park. 4
AEG NEWS 65(2)
Spring 2022
