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Unfortunately, this national inspiration soon became a national headache. The difficulties were considerable. The idea was so fresh and original that there were no references to draw upon, no blueprints to follow, and no examples to observe which would provide direction for how such a park should be managed and maintained. Also, the area was remote, inaccessible and vast-the size of the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The United States had recently fought a civil war, and funds to support a national park were nonexistent. In fact, Yellowstone had actually been presented to Congress as a preserve that could be run cost-free under the control of the Secretary of the Interior-an illusion that was far from the real situation. Imagine that this situation had been dumped in your lap and was now your problem to solve. How would you proceed? The Secretary's response was to secure someone to oversee
the new park-a superintendent. It was a stopgap measure at best, and
Yellowstone would experience five different superintendents during
its first fourteen years. |
