[Geysers] 1) The "For the benefit" phrase (Frangos)

[V]

I have always felt that the issue of "For the Benefit" is 
used to death by people who may have never read the 
entire Sec 1 and Sec 2 of the 1872 Transcript of Act 
Establishing Yellowstone National Park (1872).

What about this key phrase: 
"Such regulations shall provide for the preservation, 
from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, 
natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their 
retention in their natural condition."

clipped from the Transcript of Act Establishing Yellowstone
(whole transcript at end of this)

"and dedicated and set apart as a public park or 
pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment 
of the people"

I happen to own a 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary!

So for historic purposes... using the dictionary of the 
time period in which the words were used....

Pleasure ground n. "Ground laid out in an ornamental 
manner and appropriated to pleasure."

Pleasure "gratification of the senses of the mind."
We receive pleasure from the view of a beautiful landscape;
from the harmony of the sounds"

Benefit n "Advantage; add value to property; to do good; 
prosperity."

Hmmm.....  ; -)

~ Vicky Frangos


Because it's almost Sunday....

for the benefit of the people 
on the geyser list... 
and as a salute to Sunday March 1st 
~ Happy Birthday Yellowstone!!!

here it is:

Transcript of Act Establishing Yellowstone 
National Park (1872):
 
Forty-Second Congress of the United States of America;

At the Second Session, Begun and held at the City of 
Washington, on Monday, the Fourth day of December, 
one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.

AN ACT to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the 
headwaters of the Yellowstone River as a public park.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, 
lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River, and 
described as follows, to wit, commencing at the junction of 
Gardiner's river with the Yellowstone river, and running east 
to the meridian passing ten miles to the eastward of the 
most eastern point of Yellowstone lake; thence south along 
said meridian to the parallel of latitude passing ten miles 
south of the most southern point of Yellowstone lake; thence 
west along said parallel to the meridian passing fifteen miles 
west of the most western point of Madison lake; thence 
north along said meridian to the latitude of the junction of 
Yellowstone and Gardiner's rivers; thence east to the place 
of beginning, is hereby 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; and all persons who shall locate or settle 
upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as 
hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and 
removed therefrom.

SEC 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive 
control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall 
be, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules 
and regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for 
the care and management of the same. Such regulations 
shall provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, 
of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders 
within said park, and their retention in their natural condition. 
The Secretary may in his discretion, grant leases for building 
purposes for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels 
of ground, at such places in said park as shall require the 
erection of buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all 
of the proceeds of said leases, and all other revenues that 
may be derived from any source connected with said park, 
to be expended under his direction in the management 
of the same, and the construction of roads and bridle-paths 
therein. He shall provide against the wanton destruction 
of the fish and game found within said park, and against 
their capture or destruction for the purposes of merchandise 
or profit. He shall also cause all persons trespassing upon 
the same after the passage of this act to be removed 
therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to take all 
such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully 
carry out the objects and purposes of this act.






--- On Fri, 2/27/09, Lee_Whittlesey at nps.gov <Lee_Whittlesey at nps.gov> wrote:

> From: Lee_Whittlesey at nps.gov <Lee_Whittlesey at nps.gov>
> Subject: [Geysers] 1) The "For the benefit" phrase and 
> 2) ecological process management in YNP
> To: "Geyser Observation Reports" <geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu>
> Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 7:42 AM
>
> It is important to understand that the term "for the benefit 
> and enjoyment of the people"---which appears in the park's 
> Organic Act of 1872---can mean any darn thing that any 
> debater wants it to mean.
> 
> The phrase has been used to argue that snowmobiles 
> should have free run all over the park and even in the 
> backcountry. And it has also been used to argue that 
> snowmobiles should be totally banned from the
> park. It has been used to argue that we should kill 
> animals in the park because "there are too many of 
> them" or because "they are overgrazing the land." It 
> has been used to argue that we should build swimming 
> pools, golf courses, and ski areas in the park. It has been 
> used to argue that we should ban automobiles from the 
> park. It has been used to argue that we should tap
> the geysers and hot springs for power generation. Since 
> Congress wrote the phrase in 1872, it has been used by 
> debaters on every possible side of every issue to argue
> their position, including usage by those who would abolish
> the park entirely.
> 
> The point is----for anything that one person uses the
> phrase to argue for, someone else can use it for the 
> exact opposite purpose.
> Therefore, although the phrase represents nice poetry, 
> it is essentially meaningless, because it can be used by 
> proponents of any side of any issue to argue for ANYTHING. 
> They can always say, "I am one of the people and
> this should be done for my benefit."
> 
> With regard to "vista clearing" or "vista enhancement," it
> is important to realize that the NPS subscribes to the 
> management philosophy formerly known as "natural 
> regulation," which today is called "ecological process
> management." That means human intervention in natural
> processes---including vista enhancement---is kept to a 
> minimum. "Enhancement" is, after all, in the eye of the 
> (human) beholder, and we as humans don't always agree 
> with each other as to what "should" be done in each of 
> these cases. Therefore the NPS tends to err on the side of 
> nature, letting nature make the decisions rather than humans.
> 
> Both of these subjects are philosophically deep ones, and
> there is a lot to them. If anyone wants to discuss them 
> further, I am always available.
> 
> Lee Whittlesey
> Park Historian
> (307) 344-2261
> 
>                
>        
> David Prast <davidjprast at gmail.com> 
> To Sent by: Geyser Observation Reports                                   
> Subject Re: [Geysers] 1950's Inn              
> 02/26/2009 12:49 PM         
>                   
> <geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu>     
>                
> I do like the term "vista enhancement." The Inn is not the
> only place that could use some "vista enhancement" in the 
> park system, Mt. Rushmore could too. We were rather 
> surprised that the park service was not going to cut
> the conifer trees growing in front of President Lincoln's
> beard!
> 
> Maybe the park service should read the inscription above
> the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance "For the benefit 
> and enjoyment of the people" and use that as their guide 
> when it comes to tree management.
> 
> If ears seem to be deaf to pleas for improving the Inn's
> vistas, perhaps some of the Mission 66 thinking is to 
> blame?
> 
> Kyle Prast, wife of Gazer David
> 
> 
> On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 7:25 AM, David Prast <davidjprast at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> Wouldn't it be wonderful to actually be able to view
> the geysers from the porch on the second floor of the inn?  
> And how about being able to actually take in the view from 
> the roadside pull outs.  Too much to ask? 
>   Gazer David