The birth of present-day Grand Teton National Park involved controversy and a struggle that lasted several decades. Animosity toward expanding governmental control and a perceived loss of individual freedoms fueled anti-park sentiments in Jackson Hole that nearly derailed establishment of the park. By contrast, Yellowstone National Park benefited from an expedient and near universal agreement for its creation in 1872. The world’s first national park took only two years from idea to reality; however Grand Teton National Park evolved through a burdensome process requiring three separate governmental acts and a series of compromises. • The original Grand Teton National Park, set aside by an act of Congress in 1929, included only the Teton Range and six glacial lakes at the base of the mountains. • The Jackson Hole National Monument, decreed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt through presidential proclamation in 1943, combined Teton National Forest acreage, other federal properties including Jac

Located in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park protects stunning mountain scenery and a diverse array of wildlife. Rising more than 7,000 feet above the valley of Jackson Hole, the Teton Range dominates the park's skyline. Natural processes continue to shape the ecosystem against this impressive and iconic backdrop. The elevation of the park ranges from 6,320 feet on the sagebrush-dominated valley floor to 13,770 feet on the windswept granite summit of the Grand Teton. Between the summit and plain, forests carpet the mountainsides. During summer, wildflowers paint meadows in vivid colors. Crystalline alpine lakes fill glacial cirques, and noisy streams cascade down rocky canyons to larger lakes at the foot of the range. These lakes, impounded by glacial debris, mirror the mountains on calm days. Running north to south, the Snake River winds its way through the valley and across this amazing scene. Long, snowy, and bitterly cold winters make the climate of Jackson Hole unf

It seems that wildlife is never far away in Grand Teton National Park. High in the mountains, a yellow-bellied marmot whistles a warning as a golden eagle soars above. Searching for insect larvae, a black bear rips into a rotten lodgepole pine log. On the valley floor, a herd of bison graze as a coyote trots through the sagebrush, looking for a meal. Along the Snake River, an osprey dives into the water with talons extended, rising with a cutthroat trout. In a nearby meadow, a moose browses the tender buds of willows that grow in this water-rich environment. Animals relate to and shape the environment in which they survive; they are also interconnected. Some of these relationships are obvious, while others are much less so. These relationships and connections cross park boundaries. Grand Teton National Park's 310,000 acres lie at the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem encompasses over twenty million acres and is considered one of the few remaining, nearly intact, temperate ecosystems on Earth. The animals inhabiting Grand Teton National Park depend on this vast area for survival, residing in and migrating to different areas depending on the season.