Act of Establishing Yellowstone
National Park
March 1, 1872
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 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 of the 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 the 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withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United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 therof, 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 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 rofit. He shall also cause all persons
trespassing upon the same after 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.
Approved March 1, 1872
Signed by:
James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House
Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate
Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States
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