INTRODUCTION

Every year, three million people journey to the northwest corner of Wyoming to visit Grand Teton National Park. These guests are rewarded with majestic views of rugged mountain peaks and glaciers that soar more than a mile over the valley floor of Jackson Hole and the winding Snake River. Crystal-clear rivers, streams, lakes, waterfalls, and abundant wildlife add to the allure of the park, drawing outdoorsmen, photographers, sightseers, and mountain climbers. Extraordinary measures were taken by many people over the years to ensure the park’s preservation for the wildlife that depends on it and the people who come to bask in its beauty.

Today, some visitors might take the preservation of this mountain wilderness for granted, but this was not always the case. Modern park visitors may not be aware of the fight that resulted in this wilderness being designated a national park. Fortunately, the determination of conservationists, philanthropists, and visionaries who sought to protect the park prevailed. The United States owes these people a huge debt of gratitude for making it possible to still enjoy the pristine beauty of this land and its wildlife unspoiled by commercialization. Imagine how overrun and spoiled this land could have become if profiteers had been allowed to build hotels, restaurants, and housing developments all over the mountains and valley.

Although Grand Teton was designated a national park in 1929, the park as it exists today did not come about until its expansion in 1950. The path to making the area a national park was very long indeed. Gen. Philip Sheridan was one of the first to voice concern over the protection of the area. In 1882, Sheridan proposed that Yellowstone National Park be extended to include an area to the northern tip of Jackson Lake. In 1897, Yellowstone National Park superintendent Col. S.B.M. Young asked that Yellowstone officials be given jurisdiction over Jackson Hole to protect the elk herd from poachers outside of Yellowstone. Congress heard testimony over expansion in 1902, but no action was taken.

The first step toward Grand Teton becoming a national park came in 1915 when Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane appointed Stephen Mather as his assistant in charge of national parks. Lane appointed Horace M. Albright to assist Mather, a pairing that united two individuals with great dedication to the conservation of the Tetons and Jackson Hole. The duo first laid eyes on the Tetons when they ventured south of Yellowstone’s boundaries to Moran, Wyoming. The spectacular grandeur of the Teton Range came into view, and an undying love affair was born. Albright recognized that this splendor needed to be preserved forever, and he spent the next 35 years committed to making that preservation a reality.

In 1918, Albright, Mather, and Congressman Frank Mondell wrote a bill to extend the boundaries of Yellowstone to include the Teton Range, Jackson Lake and other lakes, the headwaters of the Yellowstone River at Two Ocean Pass, and the Buffalo Fork River. In February 1919, Mondell introduced a revised bill that passed the House unanimously; the general consensus was that it would be signed into law. Unfortunately, the bill met with opposition in the Senate from a group of Idaho sheep ranchers afraid they would lose their grazing rights, and the bill was killed.

This marked the beginning of the struggle between conservationists and the livestock owners, dude ranchers, and the US Forest Service (USFS). The USFS, which was opposed to the expansion of Yellowstone to include the Jackson Hole area, cut back livestock grazing area within the proposed expansion boundaries claiming concern for the local elk herd. Some speculated that this was intentionally done to rouse ranchers into opposition to the expansion. Regardless of the intentions of the USFS, the agency’s action fueled the fires between the ranchers and the National Park Service (NPS).

Dude wranglers—led by Struthers Burt, one of the first dude wranglers in the valley—also opposed the expansion. Perhaps due to the remote isolation of Jackson Hole and the Tetons, the people who lived there were, on the whole, an independent group who resented perceived government interference. Although they were involved in the early tourism industry, they felt the pristine land they loved would become overrun with outsiders. They also worried about potential restrictions that could be placed upon them and feared overdevelopment of the area if the NPS took control of it.

Albright used his veto power to squelch plans to build a dam at the outlet of Jenny Lake for purposes of irrigation, an idea the USFS did not oppose. The irrigationists did not give up, and Albright vetoed their plans to dam Two Ocean and Emma Matilda Lakes. The vision the USFS held for the valley was at odds with Albright’s vision of a preserved land. The USFS saw the land as a great resource that could be logged and mined; it proposed floating logs from the mountainsides across Jackson Lake to the Snake River, where they could be floated downstream, and claimed all this could be accomplished without harming the ecosystem of the area. The USFS was also in favor of expanding recreation areas and homes along the shores of Jackson Lake.

Even though they were on opposite sides of this debate, both Horace Albright and the dude wranglers were concerned about the preservation of the valley and its way of life. Albright’s defense of the lakes won over the dude ranchers, and the forces joined together to protect Jackson Hole from development.

In 1925, Pres. Calvin Coolidge’s Coordinating Commission on National Parks and Forests recommended that approximately 100,000 acres of the Grand Teton Range be added to Yellowstone National Park, not including any portion of the valley. Although this was far from what Stephen Mather and Albright had rallied for, they were happy to finally get some portion of the land incorporated into Yellowstone. The expansion was derailed when Sen. John Kendrick wanted the park named Teton National Park of Wyoming, since so many people mistakenly thought Yellowstone was located in Montana.

In 1928, public hearings were held in Jackson and Cody by the Senate Committee on Public Lands to determine local attitudes and ideas on park expansion. At the Jackson meeting, public sentiment supported a Grand Teton National Park proposal, as all but one person raised their hands in favor. The committee adjourned to the JY Ranch feeling that a victory was in hand. A group of businessmen and ranchers showed up late, claiming they had not known about the meeting, and convinced Senator Kendrick to have another meeting the following morning. There, the businessmen and ranchers voiced their opposition to the national park idea and recommended their own solutions. They eventually conceded but requested that no new hotels or camps be built within the park boundaries. Burt and Albright supported the idea and agreed that the bill would ban the construction of new roads, hotels, and camps.

On February 26, 1929, Pres. Calvin Coolidge signed the bill into law—Grand Teton National Park was born, although it only included the Teton Range and no portion of the valley. Although the conservationists had won national park status, it appeared inevitable that the lakes at the foot of the Tetons and Jackson Hole would be developed for tourists. Albright remained committed to his vision of a national park that incorporated Jackson Hole and persevered in his quest to make this vision a reality. The solution came through businessman and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., whom Albright had met with before winning this first battle.

Albright first met Rockefeller in 1924 during a tour of Yellowstone that he had arranged. In July 1926, Rockefeller and his family returned for a longer stay. During this second visit, Albright escorted them to Teton country. They were enamored with the beauty of the area and appalled by the commercialization that had already begun. Rockefeller’s wife, Abigail, was very vocal about her disgust for the dance hall at Jenny Lake, along with other buildings and telephone wires that marred the landscape and disrupted the view. As the group traveled back to Yellowstone, Albright told Rockefeller about his efforts, struggles, and vision to preserve the entire valley.

After returning home, Rockefeller wrote to Albright requesting maps and property values of the private holdings in Jackson Hole. It appears that Albright misunderstood Rockefeller’s request, for at their meeting, he only brought details on the properties west of the Snake River and south of Jenny Lake. Rockefeller instructed Albright to go back and obtain information on all the privately held properties in Jackson Hole and what it would cost to purchase them; he was only interested in Albright’s complete vision of incorporating the entire valley into the national park.

Within days of receiving this information, Rockefeller signed on to Albright’s grand plan. He instructed Col. Arthur Woods to write Albright with his intentions to purchase the entire Jackson Hole valley and eventually turn it over to the government to be managed by them as a national recreation area. Rockefeller placed Woods in charge of the project, because if his involvement and intentions were made public, the land values would become inflated. Rockefeller gave Woods the authority to purchase 14,170 acres on the west side of the Snake River and approximately 100,000 acres on the east side of the river in Jackson Hole for a total purchase price of around $1,397,000. It was Albright’s suggestion to use a front company when purchasing the land, and all was to be done with the utmost secrecy.

The Snake River Land Company was incorporated under the guise of a recreation and hunting club. New York attorney Vanderbilt Webb was appointed president of the company. Albright suggested the Salt Lake City law firm of Fabian and Clendenin to handle the purchases, and Harold Fabian, an avid outdoorsman, was appointed vice president. Robert E. Miller, president of the Jackson State Bank, was chosen as the land purchasing agent even though he was personally against Albright’s plans for the park. With Miller’s stature as bank president, there was no way Albright and Rockefeller could avoid dealing with him—but they did so under subterfuge. Miller never knew the origin of the money backing the Snake River Land Company. He came on board as the purchasing agent in June 1927, stipulating that the small ranchers in the area be treated fairly when it came to the sale of their property.

Another hurdle that had to be cleared before purchasing could begin involved ensuring that government-owned land within the purchasing area would not be opened up to private purchase, as much of the land was still available under the Homestead Act of 1862. Kenneth Chorley, Rockefeller’s chief agent at Colonial Williamsburg, met with Secretary of the Interior Hubert Work to explain Rockefeller and Albright’s plan and the inevitable rise in valuation that would occur if the lands were still open to private individuals once purchasing began. The meeting resulted in President Coolidge signing an executive order for withdrawal of the land on July 7, 1927.

This executive order was met with much opposition and distrust from the Elk Commission, which had received another such order in April 1927 for expansion of the National Elk Refuge. The Elk Commission had promised Wyoming members there would be no requests to obtain more land in Jackson Hole. When President Coolidge signed the second order just months after these assurances, tempers flared. Chairman Charles Sheldon formally requested that the order be rescinded, and he was quickly joined by others. Afraid the order would indeed be rescinded, the Snake River Land Company went on the offensive and chose to let several congressmen in on their ultimate plans. Without revealing that Rockefeller was financing the plan, Vanderbilt Webb assured the congressmen that the land would be dedicated for use by the people, not held privately. This assuaged their fears, and the matter was closed.

Purchasing started anew. The Snake River Land Company acquired over 25,000 acres in Jackson Hole. Although the full extent of purchasing was not complete, Albright and Rockefeller felt they had enough land to request legislation expanding Grand Teton National Park. In April 1930, the Snake River Land Company issued a press release explaining the full involvement and intent of Rockefeller, Albright, and the National Park Service. This public revelation again fueled the fires of opposition.

Accusations arose about misdeeds on the part of the NPS, the General Land Office, and the Snake River Land Company. A senate investigative committee was formed, and hearings were held in Jackson. Sen. Robert Carey was intent on proving that all involved, particularly the Snake River Land Company, had used dubious methods to coerce landowners into selling their property. In fact, it was proven that other than a few small indiscretions, the parties had acted in an exemplary fashion. The matter of expanding the park was still not resolved.

By 1938, the legislative process had been ongoing for years, and it became apparent that a different plan of attack might yield better results. Albright and the others began seriously considering an idea that he had put forth years earlier to have the land declared a national monument by executive order. Rockefeller wrote to Harold Ickes, secretary of the interior, stating that if the government was not going to accept his gift of the land, then he would sell to private enterprise. This lit a fire under Ickes, who then took a meeting with Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

On March 15, 1943, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 2578 to establish the Jackson Hole National Monument. Another hurdle had been cleared and the players were ecstatic. Their joy was short-lived, though, as many felt that Roosevelt had overstepped his executive power and accused him of circumventing Congress. The media compared Roosevelt’s executive order to Hitler’s seizure of Austria. Bills were sponsored to abolish the monument. This prompted more investigative committees and hearings on the matter throughout the summer of 1943. Bill H.R. 2241 made it through the House and Senate but was vetoed by Roosevelt. The battle waged on through 1947, but the opposition had lost its momentum, and all bills died in committee.

Sentiment had swayed towards preservation. Influential conservation groups like the Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, Wilderness Society, and others joined forces to ensure the preservation of the park and monument. Times had changed, and by 1948, only a small group of ranchers and businessmen remained opposed to the National Park Service taking control of the area. In April 1949, a conference between the NPS and the people of Teton County allowed each side to reach an amicable compromise. The NPS conceded grazing rights and reimbursement for lost property tax revenue; the organization also established an advisory committee to decide the best management of the elk herd.

With the park expansion finally moving forward in a positive manner, Rockefeller deeded the remaining 33,562 acres of land he owned to the federal government with the stipulation that if the lands were used for any purpose other than public parks, they would automatically revert back to Jackson Hole Preserve Inc., a nonprofit organization founded by Rockefeller and led by his son Laurance. The government accepted Rockefeller’s gift at a ceremony on December 16, 1949. On April 12, 1950, Sen. Joseph A. Mahoney introduced a bill to the Senate that resolved the remaining issues and incorporated the Jackson Hole National Monument into an expanded Grand Teton National Park. After a 68-year preservation battle, Pres. Harry Truman signed the bill establishing the modern Grand Teton National Park on September 13, 1950.