Historical Image of the Day

Cartoon from San Francisco Call, questioning John Muir's masculinity for fighting the Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite National Park, built to bring water to San Francisco. No precise date on the cartoon, quite likely in the early 1910s

Historical Image of the Day

19th century log cabin, Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Cades Cove is the most popular part of the Smokies, and possibly the most crowded road in the National Park system. It's supposed to represent the ways of the mountain people and provide a sort of 19th century fantasy for visitors. It is however quite a bit of a fantasy. When the National Park Service took it over, they got rid of all the evidence that people used the valley for anything other than subsistence farming, when in fact it had been a resort community as well.

Historical Image of the Day

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, 1950s

Valles Caldera

In a piece of good environmental news, New Mexico Senators Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman introduced a bill yesterday to allow the National Park Service to take over the 89,000 acre Valles Caldera Preserve. In the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico, the Valles Caldera was a remnant ranch from the days of late 19th century hunting preserves. This largely undeveloped piece of land has outstandingly beautiful landscapes. It was deeded to the federal government as a trust, with the understanding that a board of directors would develop a plan to make the ranch at least break even, if not turn a profit.

That process has been a disaster. Originally the board included a number of stakeholders, including many leading New Mexico environmentalists. Not surprisingly, the Bush Administration politicized the process, appointing figures to the board with little interest in running it or in turning it into a centerpiece of advanced land management.

Allowing the National Park Service to run the ranch, allowing limited access and continuing its historic mission, could be a boon to the place. It should not be overrun by tourists. New Mexico Hwy. 4 runs through the ranch's southern end, giving tourists views of the large elk herds on the property. For most tourists, that should be enough. Limited hiking, fishing, and hunting opportunities was always part of the Caldera's mission and this should continue.

In any case, this area is one of the few national jewels not in the park system and so this is very good news.

Grizzly Bear National Monument

On first glance, the idea of a Grizzly Bear National Monument might seem a little absurd. Dedicated to the killing of California's last grizzly bear in 1908, it would be a reminder of extinction and our duty to wildlife. But I actually think it might be a good idea. I've talked before about how I would like to see the National Park Service interpret more of the darker side of the American history. (It turns out since I wrote that original post that a tiny Mexican War site has been created near Brownsville, Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site--I visited it and it was OK--so I've been satisfied on one point). I think such a program would raise a lot of awareness about some tricky issues in our past and would go a long ways toward a fuller teaching of U.S. history.

The Grizzly Bear National Monument would protect important chaparral habitat in the southern California mountains, would be a great teaching opportunity to discuss Americans' history with wildlife, overhunting, and extinction, while also showing some of the success stories in bringing certain species back. It would enhance the local economy as well. It might raise tricky questions on whether to bring grizzly bears back to California, but that is a debate worth having. I see little reason not to support this interesting idea.

You can hear more about it here, even if the narrator leaves something to be desired.