[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 32 (Thursday, February 17, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S794-S795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 525--RECOGNIZING MARCH 1, 2022, AS THE 150TH 
 ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WHICH 
            SPANS THE STATES OF WYOMING, MONTANA, AND IDAHO

  Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Daines, Mr. Risch, Mr. 
Crapo, Mr. Tester, Mr. King, Mr. Braun, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Manchin, Mr. 
Cruz, and Mr. Heinrich) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 525

       Whereas Yellowstone National Park, the first national park 
     in the world, was established to share the wonders and 
     preserve and protect the scenery, cultural heritage, 
     wildlife, and geologic and ecological systems and processes 
     in their natural condition for the benefit and enjoyment of 
     present and future generations;
       Whereas human history in the Yellowstone area dates back 
     more than 11,000 years;
       Whereas the location of Greater Yellowstone at the 
     convergence of the Great Plains, Great Basin, and Columbia 
     Plateau Indian cultures means that many Native American 
     Tribes have traditional connections to the land and its 
     resources;
       Whereas, for thousands of years before the designation of 
     the national park, the Greater Yellowstone area was a place 
     where Native Americans hunted, fished, gathered plants, 
     quarried obsidian, and used the thermal waters for religious 
     and medicinal purposes;
       Whereas many Native American Tribes are associated with 
     Yellowstone National Park, including--
       (1) Assiniboine and Sioux;
       (2) Blackfeet;
       (3) Cheyenne River Sioux;
       (4) Coeur d'Alene;
       (5) Comanche;
       (6) Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation;
       (7) Crow;
       (8) Crow Creek Sioux;
       (9) Eastern Shoshone;
       (10) Flandreau Santee Sioux;
       (11) Gros Ventre and Assiniboine;
       (12) Kiowa;
       (13) Little Shell Chippewa;
       (14) Lower Brule Sioux;
       (15) Nez Perce;
       (16) Northern Arapaho;
       (17) Northern Cheyenne;
       (18) Oglala Sioux;
       (19) Rosebud Sioux;
       (20) Salish and Kootenai;
       (21) Shoshone-Bannock;
       (22) Sisseton Wahpeton;
       (23) Spirit Lake;
       (24) Standing Rock Sioux;
       (25) Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa;
       (26) Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation; and
       (27) Yankton Sioux;
       Whereas the Yellowstone area was visited by fur traders and 
     explorers during the early

[[Page S795]]

     1800s and by organized expeditions in the 1860s and 1870s 
     that reported the abundant resources and immense value of the 
     region to Congress;
       Whereas painter Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry 
     Jackson accompanied the first geographical survey of the 
     Yellowstone area in 1871 and returned from the expedition 
     with visual evidence of the grandeur that earlier explorers 
     could only describe with words;
       Whereas, on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant 
     signed into law the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, 
     which states, ``The tract of land . . . lying near the 
     headwaters of the Yellowstone River . . . is reserved and 
     withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws 
     of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public 
     park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of 
     the people.'';
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park is the first national 
     park in the world, an idea that has spread throughout the 
     world;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park is the core of the 
     Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the last, largest, 
     nearly intact natural ecosystems on the planet, where natural 
     processes operate in an ecological context that has been 
     subject to little human alteration;
       Whereas the Federal Government has made substantial efforts 
     to maintain ecological balance within Yellowstone National 
     Park through wildlife conservation and partnership efforts;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park is 3,472 square miles and 
     more than 2,000,000 acres in size;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park contains half of the 
     world's hydrothermal features, with more than 10,000 in total 
     and more than 500 active geysers, including the Old Faithful 
     Geyser;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park has the most active, 
     diverse, and intact collections of combined geothermal, 
     geologic, and hydrologic features and systems on Earth, 
     including the Grand Prismatic Spring;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park has 67 species of 
     mammals, 285 species of birds, 6 species of reptiles, and 5 
     species of amphibians within its boundaries;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park has the largest free-
     ranging bison herd in North America;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park has over 1,000 native 
     flowering species and 9 species of conifers;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park has more than 900 
     historic buildings and 25 sites, landmarks, and districts on 
     the National Register of Historic Places;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park has more than 720,000 
     museum items that document the park and the western United 
     States from pre-history through the present;
       Whereas the United States Army managed Yellowstone National 
     Park between 1886 and 1918;
       Whereas more than 1,850 archeological sites have been 
     documented in Yellowstone National Park;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park hosts over 4,000,000 
     visits annually, with people from across the world traveling 
     to the park to enjoy the many recreational opportunities, 
     including hiking, horseback riding, biking, camping, rafting, 
     boating, swimming, fishing, viewing wildlife and geothermal 
     features, photography, and exploring, contributing hundreds 
     of millions of dollars into local and State economies in 
     Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho;
       Whereas, in 2020, visitors to Yellowstone National Park 
     spent over $444,000,000 in gateway communities and supported 
     6,110 jobs in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, with a cumulative 
     benefit to the local economy of $560,000,000;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park partners with 
     concessioners that provide services for the general public, 
     including lodging, dining, shopping, and medical services; 
     and
       Whereas the National Park Service employs hundreds of 
     permanent and seasonal staff dedicated to preserving the 
     natural and cultural resources of Yellowstone National Park 
     for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of current and 
     future generations: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates Yellowstone National Park on its 
     sesquicentennial anniversary;
       (2) celebrates 150 years of the unique cultural heritage 
     and natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park; and
       (3) encourages people across the United States and around 
     the world to visit Yellowstone National Park to experience 
     this extraordinary treasure.

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