Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Parks Today
Created by the Yellowstone National Park Act (1872) as a 'public park or pleasuring-
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people,' this mother of all national parks
straddles a tense line between preservation and recreation, access and excess, encapsulating
along the way the very best and worst of the national parks system.
Loved to Death
Yellowstone and Grand Teton are more popular than ever, each attracting up to 30,000 vis-
itors daily and more than three million visitors annually - a volume that writer Edward Ab-
bey termed 'industrial tourism.' When bison or elk graze by the Grand Loop Rd, the result
is close to a mob scene, with traffic backing up for hundreds of yards. Debate rages over
how best to manage this influx. While the democratic approach to public access remains
the parks' greatest strength, their great appeal ironically threatens to destroy the very fea-
tures that attract such numbers.
HUNTING
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