[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 25 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1993-S1994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK'S 132ND ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to note that as 
of yesterday, the priceless treasure we call Yellowstone National Park 
has been preserved and protected for 132 years.
  Yellowstone was our first national park, and one visit there explains 
why.
  It is home to majestic wildlife including bison, elk, wolves and 
grizzly bears.
  It is the site of most of the world's geysers, including the famous 
Old Faithful.
  And Yellowstone National Park offers breathtaking vistas at every 
turn, from raging rivers to soaring mountain peaks.
  Before Yellowstone became a national park, the story of its discovery 
was scattered with myths and truths throughout the 19th century.
  Explorers and trappers stumbled upon Yellowstone's incredible beauty, 
and returned home with descriptions that sounded like fiction to the 
American public.

[[Page S1994]]

  It took nearly 80 years, and an official expedition sanctioned by the 
government in 1870, to sort out the myth about Yellowstone from the 
striking reality.
  Shortly thereafter, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law in 1872 
establishing Yellowstone National Park ``as a public park or pleasuring 
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.''
  President Theodore Roosevelt, a great protector of the environment 
and treasures like Yellowstone, visited the park in 1903.
  One hundred years ago this spring, he laid the cornerstone for the 
official gateway to the park. The gateway is still known as the 
Roosevelt Arch.
  The American people's love of Yellowstone helped lead to the 
establishment of our National Park Service. Today the Park Service 
protects and preserves 83 million acres of natural treasures across our 
country.
  The Park Service employees at Yellowstone have done a wonderful job 
of protecting the park's natural beauty, while providing opportunities 
for people to enjoy it.
  For example, all of the large mammal species known to exist in 
Yellowstone before European Americans arrived have been restored to 
their natural habitats.
  I recently had the good fortune, after many years, to once again 
visit Yellowstone National Park. I was only able to spend a couple of 
hours there, but it was a great experience.
  I first went there shortly after my wife and I returned from law 
school in Washington. We traveled from Las Vegas on one of the first 
vacations we ever took.
  I still look back with great awe at Old Faithful and the many other 
things we were able to see, the buffalos and other animals. So when I 
returned there, even though it was only for a few hours, the place I 
wanted to go visit again was Old Faithful.
  Old Faithful spewed a few times during the time I was there. We took 
a walk through Geyser Park. We saw buffalo lying right near the 
geysers. The reason these great animals come and lie down near these 
spewing geysers is that, to a great extent, they keep the pests off 
themselves by doing so.
  Even though I was there just a short time, it was wonderful again, 
after 25 years, to reflect back on my little children when they were 
tiny going there and visiting that park.
  I am sure that millions of Americans also keep a special place in 
their hearts for Yellowstone and the memories it holds for them.
  I hope our grandchildren's grandchildren's grandchildren will be able 
to enjoy the wonders of Yellowstone National Park, the way we do today.

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