Wind River Range

Proposed National ParkWyoming
Squaretop Mountain rising over pines and a meadow above the Green River, Wind River Range, Wyoming
All proposed National ParksWind River RangeNo active campaign
Location
Wyoming
Current protection
Bridger–Teton National Forest, Shoshone National Forest, Fremont Lake
Status
No active campaign
Tier
Tier 1 · National Park
Undiscovered America
Featured in the film and the book

Why should it be a National Park?

Just a few hours drive from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks is the Wind River Range of mountains. Despite the mass of tourism the National Parks get, this impressive series of peaks, lakes, valleys, and glaciers remain unknown and unvisited, even though they extend 100 miles across western Wyoming. The most immediately impressive feature is a glaciated canyon valley that lies at the center of the peaks. These enormous granite walls are reminiscent of Yosemite Valley in grandeur and scale. It even boasts a competitor to the famous El Capitan named Squaretop Mountain which towers higher above the valley floor than its California counterpart.

There is little doubt this region would already be a protected National Park if the state of Wyoming hadn't crusaded against parks so fiercely following what they see as the theft of the Grand Teton mountain range. Grand Teton National Park was created when John D. Rockefeller, Jr purchased farms and towns at the base of the Tetons and did not inform the locals about who he was or his intent with the lands. This deception caused a wound in Wyoming that may never heal. Despite the complicated history and the political difficulties, the Wind River Range is still a crowned jewel of the American landscape that is missing from our national consciousness.

The history of National Park Campaigns

Nothing — the range went straight from national forest to primitive areas (Bridger 1931; Glacier and Popo Agie 1932) to wilderness (Bridger 1964, expanded 1984; Fitzpatrick 1976; Popo Agie 1984), with the eastern slope inside the Wind River Indian Reservation. No National Park or monument has ever been proposed.

Distinct National Park attempts
0
Other designation attempts
primitive areas 1931–32; wilderness 1964/1976/1984

Sources

  • Bridger-Teton and Shoshone NF histories
  • Wyoming Wilderness Act (P.L. 98-550) legislative history
Know of a campaign? Tell us
  1. 1868

    Wind River Indian Reservation (Fort Bridger Treaty).

  2. 1891 / 1908

    Yellowstone Park Timber Reserve / Shoshone NF; Bridger NF (1911; merged into Bridger-Teton 1973).

  3. 1931

    Bridger Primitive Area; 1932 — Glacier and Popo Agie Primitive Areas.

  4. September 3, 1964

    Bridger Wilderness (Wilderness Act; 428,169 acres after 1984 expansion); 1976 — Fitzpatrick Wilderness (198,525 acres; formerly Glacier PA); October 30, 1984 — Wyoming Wilderness Act: Popo Agie (101,870 acres) and Bridger additions.

  5. 1969

    Sinks Canyon State Park; 2010s — Wind River Reservation permit system for tribal lands.