From the Editors

The Geologist Behind Our First National Park

Bill Roman, AEG News Content Editor

ln 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

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.

Acquisitions Editor’s Pen

reetings and welcome to the Spring edition of AEG News. To commemorate the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of Yellowstone as our first National Park, we asked our members to share their stories of engineering and environmental geology projects carried out in any of the National Parks. We are grateful for the contributions from Past President William Godwin and Luke Ducey of the Saint Louis Chapter.

There were several other members who expressed interest, but with multiple looming deadlines and hectic schedules, it was not possible for them to get their submissions in on time. Well good news: We are happy to announce that we are going to extend the National Parks sesquicentennial commemoration throughout 2022 and encourage professional contributions relating to geology and environmental-related work carried out in any of our National Parks and indeed any of our public lands throughout the 2022 AEG News editions! That leaves two more opportunities to submit your stories, technical articles, or photo essays. The summer edition deadline is May 31, and the winter edition deadline is October 26. Please contact me if you are interested or have questions, or simply send your submissions directly to martha@whitneygeologic.com.

GThe last time I wrote for the winter edition of AEG News, my work had taken me to the north Atlantic working on site investigations for offshore windMartha Whitney, AEG News Acquisitions Editor farms. More recently I was able to assist with a geotechnical study of a proposed green gas pipeline in Lolland Falster, Denmark, and an offshore cable route study for an existing windfarm in the North Sea. On that project I learned that Denmark has decommissioned the world’s first offshore windfarm, after twenty-five years of service. The offshore wind industry is well established in Europe and provides an excellent reference frame and data source for assessing geological design challenges and ecological impacts. It is good to see the USA finally getting on board with this green energy source and I am very happy to see that my old stomping grounds in northern California is hosting a flagship windfarm project 40 km off the coast of Eureka: the Humboldt Wind Energy Area. I hope to be involved in this project and to finally work “back home.” In the meantime, I am off to Papua New Guinea to work on a quarry feasibility study. What are you working on? Where are you working? Onshore, offshore, dams, faults, tunnels, or mines? AEG News

wants to know.

Wind turbines in the North Sea