ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the thinkers, the actors, and the ideas which protected and nurtured so much of the greatest American landscapes, as well as the Federal government legislation and management, beginning with Yellowstone as far back as 1871, which made all this a reality. A surplus of rugged and marginal land, it was thought, would allow the country the luxury of scenic protection. So the concept of worthless scenery largely determined the location of the National Parks and their sheer existence. In creating Yellowstone National Park in 1871, Congress had failed to create effective park management. Central to the conservationist case was the simple mantra that preserving landscape was wholly compatible with economic growth. The founding fathers of the National Parks movement were idealists and individualists. The politics of Donald Trump’s presidency may also set back the interests of National Parks and wildlife conservation.
