Correspondent Conor Knighton reflects on the American treasure whose preservation as our first national park inspired similar conservation efforts around the globe.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, designated in 1872 through the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act signed by President Ulysses S. Grant, is recognized as America's first national park. Although neither Grant nor the members of Congress who voted for its preservation had visited the site, their decision was influenced by photographs, paintings, and stories from expeditions, as well as knowledge from Native American tribes who had long known the area's significance.

The park is celebrated for its dramatic canyons, lakes, geysers, and hot springs, and serves as a sanctuary for wildlife such as elk, moose, grizzly bears, wolves, and bison. Yellowstone's establishment marked the beginning of a global movement to create nationally protected areas, inspiring similar conservation efforts around the world.

A look at Yellowstone National Park

And now, another chapter in the story of these United States. This is Connor Knighton. It was negative 34 degrees when I visited Yellowstone National Park, but a smile would have been frozen on my face no matter what. America's first national park was my last stop on my 2016 quest to visit every national park from Acadia to Zion. Ulysses S. Grant never visited Yellowstone, but as president, he signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law in 1872. None of the members of Congress who voted to preserve the land had ever seen it in person either. What they had seen were incredible photographs and paintings from expeditions to present day Wyoming. They were shared sketches and stories, informing officials of a wonderland already well-known to Native American tribes of the area, a place unlike anywhere else in the world. In any season, Yellowstone is magical, home to dramatic canyons and pristine lakes, geysers and hot springs. The park is also a safe haven for species including what wildlife watchers have deemed Yellowstone's Big Five. Elk, moose, grizzly bears, wolves, and bison. But Yellowstone's legacy isn't about what it contains, it's about what it represents. Set aside for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, Yellowstone may have been our first national park, but its preservation kicked off what became a complex network of nationally protected places, a concept replicated to great success all around the world. In the years since my park hopping quest, I've been fortunate enough to visit a number of national parks in other nations, but wherever I roam, I've found there's no place quite like home.

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