The Forgotten Man Responsible for Our Most Iconic National Parks

More States Crack Down on Pipeline Protesters, Including Supporters Who Aren’t Even on the Scene South Dakota's law is the latest as pipeline companies encourage tougher penalties for activists who block oil and gas projects—and for the groups that support them. In South Dakota, the governor has signed legislation allowing state or local governments or third parties to seek compensation from anyone who engages in "riot boosting." Bills to clamp down on pipeline protests have spread to at least nine new states this year, part of an industry-backed push that began two years ago to heighten penalties for activists who try to block fossil fuel infrastructure projects. Several of the bills also allow prosecutors to go after people or organizations as "conspirators" or "riot boosters" for merely supporting or coordinating with others who violate the law. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28032019/pipeline-protest-crackdown-state-law-legislation-south-dakota-conspirators-riot-boosting

There is a beautiful early 20th century apartment building named the Grinnell on Riverside Drive. It is in George Bird Grinnell's old neighborhood of Audubon Park, in lower Washington Heights.

Glacier National Park is one of those places that is so beautiful at times it doesn’t seem real. Thank you GB Grinnell.

"It hurts me as a Westerner to say that Easterners like Grinnell were better stewards of the big land on the sunset side of the continent than many who lived there." The environment was a means of achieving a livelihood for the Westerner who took an unromantic view of it. Life in the West was hardscrabble and people did what they could to establish themselves. An already successful Easterner could afford to take a more sentimental view of his Western surroundings.

An engaging and important book - thank you John Taliaferro!

I first became aware of Grinnell's importance in the beginnings of the what was to become the environmental and conservation movement when I read Michael Punke's "Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West". It pretty much focuses on his battle to save the buffalo but occasional spills over into other conservation arenas. I'd love to read a bio of him by Timothy Eagan...any chance?

Thank you for highlighting this lesser known hero. I only wish it was front page news with millions of "clicks"!

Would the NYTimes please refrain from using the adverb "most" along side "iconic". Like "unique" and "original" it is or it isn't.

As kid I visited glacier park and grinnel glacier and lake. I remember reading about him and his influence on the park. It's too bad saving some scenic places won't be enough anymore. As the country and planet fill will people and our lifestyle continued to degrade it, the effects will over run the supposedly pristine places even if they're "saved". The glaciers of GNP are due to be gone by 2030. As we push past 8 billion on the planet and close in on 400 million here in the U.S., everything that is beautiful, natural and free will be sacrificed to grow and care for ever more humans. Makes one wonder what kind of world we are leaving our billions of descendants. We've chosen quantity over quality.

I saw the subtitle "Environmental Pioneer" and thought, "There were two George Bird Grinnells?" As an anthropology major 50 years ago I only knew him for his monographs on the Cheyenne. I knew about the suspicions that Hyde had actually done most of the writing and that the primary source was George Bent. But without Grinnell, the information would have probably never been saved. But I never had read about his environmental efforts. Thanks for the review, Tim. I'll put this book on my list for later this summer.

Our national parks are quintessentially American. A friend once wrote: "One of the best things about jumping into Yellowstone National Park that day was that few people, smokejumpers or not, ever get to parachute into America’s and, indeed, the world’s first great National Park. Yellowstone is a majestic place and everyone wants to visit, urged by a deluge of documentaries that examine its unique geology, and by an impressive array of nature shows that follow the lives of its many inhabitants. And in visiting, being enthralled by everything about it: the splendor of the landscape with its boiling pools of mud, spouting geysers, deep canyons, pristine rivers and high alpine lakes nestled among vast mountain ranges; the remarkable and fortunate history from its inception in 1872 to become the people's park; and the enduring survival of its many lowly critters and imposing beasts. Yellowstone may no longer be the extreme hidden wilderness it once was when small pockets of Shoshone made it their home, or when the first white fur trappers arrived. Nevertheless, it remains a significant place amid an expanse of splendor. One where ordinary people are fortunate to have the opportunity to get up close and personal to the magnificent, beautiful wilds of nature. To be lucky enough to be there on my first fire jump was indeed a privilege." -- 'Limey Smokejumper' I try to visit as often as this broken old body allows.

People outside of something often see things clearer than people inside something. So, I'm not surprised Easterners like Grinnell saw the West as something to protect while Westerners saw it as something to exploit and use.

A disturbing snippet found at the end, "...kept the timber, mining and grazing interests from getting total control over our public lands..." leaves me with a real feeling that this fight is not really over, and the current administration has done, is doing, and will do more damage and reversal of what men like Grinnell did. Wyoming and much of the West is currently for sale, according to Liz Cheney, John Barrasso, and seveal other goons who play on Donald Trump's team. And they are the buyers and want to be the redistributors to the rest of us, after they extract their (un)fair share, and sell off prime chunks to their crony friends. All is not well out here. One thing that would help - and a part of me laments the idea of encouraging this - is if more "Coastal Elites" come and visit. Don't try to buy it, but stay in the hotels or AirBnBs, eat the food, and spent money in a low-impact tourism way. Please avoid the motorized recreation, and try backpacking! Leave no Trace! Take only pictures, leave only footprints...all that. Or send your kids to a NOLS session. Or do one yourself! The West is wonderful, but it won't be forever - if certain people have their way.

I am grateful every day for the Grinnells in this world. They give me hope.

John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt, along with George Bird Grinnell, also fought damming the Yosemite Valley! It was a big political and financial battle. The US failed to step up, but the State of California "bought" Yosemite and created the first California state park which later became a national park after Teddy Roosevelt created that system! Those men were avid walkers (Muir), riders (Teddy) and whatever Grinnell was - I don't know his bio. They understood how precious nature is and how unthinking exploiters are. They cared about their and our progeny. Theirs are the heads which should be carved on granite peaks somewhere - but not of course in the Yosemite Valley! All three men were visionaries who foresaw that the most beautiful places in the world - unique to North America - would be ruined by human greed unless they invented a new form of ownewrship/management to preserve them natural for their inherent beauty and to educate people about appreciating natural beauty and power.

Ummm maybe the white house and senate needs to read this article. Our planet is all we have.

“Rich, privileged manhattanite makes world better place instead of feathering own nest.” A headline I wish we could see more often in our own time, since as far as I can tell the wealthy currently only care about replicating their privilege, manipulating the political system, and paying the lowest taxes possible.