MOOSE, Wyo. — Feb. 26 marks Grand Teton National Park’s (GTNP) 97th birthday. On this day in 1929, the areas around the Grand Teton mountain range and its lakes were established as a national park to protect the land from commercial exploitation.
According to GTNP, President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill establishing Grand Teton National Park, a 96,000-acre park that included the Teton Range and six glacial lakes at its base.
The National Park Service (NPS) describes the majesty of the park on its website: “Soaring over a landscape rich with wildlife, pristine lakes and majestic alpine vistas, the Teton Range stands as a testament to generations of stewards. For over 11,000 years, communities have thrived in the valley known as Jackson Hole, turning these mountains into more than just peaks — they embody imagination and enduring human connection.”
According to the NPS, the park took decades to establish.
Congress created the original park in 1929 to protect the Teton Range and several lakes at the foot of the mountains. In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared additional land in the valley to be Jackson Hole National Monument. In 1949, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. donated the land he purchased to the government to be included in the national park.
Finally, in 1950, Congress combined the original park, the national monument and the Rockefeller lands to establish the present-day GTNP. In 1972, Congress established the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, which connects Yellowstone and Grand Teton, to honor Rockefeller’s philanthropy and commitment to the NPS.
The NPS and the Jackson Hole community continue to strive for the preservation of the wildlife-rich habitat of GTNP, as well as the land surrounding its borders.
This story runs annually.
