22 DEC 2000
By Thomas Turiano
People used to traverse the mountains of Greater Yellowstone all the time.
Throughout the 1800s, the Bannock Indians made annual trips from Idaho's
Snake River Plain across the Gallatin and Absaroka ranges to the bison-laden
prairies of the Yellowstone River in southeast Montana.
Vagabond trappers
of the 1820s and 30s, such as Osborne Russell, spent several seasons winding
through the lonely canyons of the Salt River, Wyoming, Absaroka, and
Beartooth ranges. Prospectors of the 1860s traveled north through Jackson
Hole and into Yellowstone, scouring the Absarokas for riches. Hunters rode
high into the Gallatins and Absarokas hunting elk. From 1870 through the
1890s, hundreds of surveyors under Hayden, Hague, Renshawe, Douglas, Tweedy,
Kimball, Bannon, Lewis, and Murphy trekked on horseback exploring more
terrain and climbing more peaks in several seasons than any modern
mountaineer could hope to repeat in a lifetime! Then suddenly it stopped.
What happened? Where did all the adventure go?
In the case of the Indians,
Federal armies obliterated the feisty ones and forced the rest onto
reservations. Trappers hunted furs until, by 1900, there were no more
beavers to be found. Mining prospects were scooped up by large industry,
which devoured mountainsides and acidified the stream water. Hunters
poached thousands of elk, obliterated the native bison herds, and dispatched
thousands of grizzlies and wolves for the fun of it.
Predators who escaped
were soon hunted down by bounty hunters in the name of Greater Yellowstone's
booming ranching industry. Ranchers also sliced the land into parcels,
built thousands of miles of fence, sullied the stream water, and posted
prime travel routes to keep adventurers away. Surveyors mapped the entire
territory, sniffed out every possible mineral deposit and oil reservoir, and
laid the groundwork for development and roads, which would further rupture
the wild continuity of Greater Yellowstone.
Frankly, Greater Yellowstone lost much of its appeal. But we in Greater
Yellowstone are extremely lucky. Imagine the unchecked carnage that must
have occurred in once fantastic wild places like Colorado, where virtually
all appeal has been lost. Despite the debacle here, Greater Yellowstone
retains as much or more wild continuity than practically any mountainous
region in the 48 states. It is the only place in the "lower 48" that has
a full complement of predators as well as healthy populations of ungulates,
thanks to federal management, protection, and reintroduction efforts.
It is
also one of the few places in the lower 48 with vast stretches of pristine
wilderness and some of North America's most unique and intriguing
mountain topography. And though there are still dire threats to many
species and wildlands in Greater Yellowstone, the public and private
infrastructure is in place to fight against selfish special interests such
as ranching, cattle, hunting, timber, oil and gas, motorized recreation, and
right-wing state oversight. Lately, battles for preservation are won often,
and there is great reason to celebrate!
That's where Win Goodbody and Joe Hartney come in. As they embark on their
modern version of the adventures of trapper John Colter, prospector A. Bart
Henderson, hunter Harry Yount, and surveyor J. P. Iddings, they seek insight
into a time gone by.
Except for highway crossings and distant city lights,
their winterscape will hide many of the scars left on the land by modern
users. They will see a vast uncharted ecosystem spread out before them and
they will have the opportunity to trek lawlessly for 650 miles through it.
Let their expedition remind us all of the fantastic adventures the Rocky
Mountains once offered, and the lifestyle we all have worked so hard in the
past 100 years to escape.
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