The Birth of Mount Rainier National Park
Federal officials move to secure the mountain's forests and glaciers for public preservation, setting the stage for a new national treasure.
Senator Squire had an interview today with the Secretary of the Interior regarding the Mount Rainier forest reserve in Washington. The proclamation creating this reservation will probably be issued by the president tomorrow. The reserve is 42 miles square, an area of 1,764 square miles, and will constitute a national park not inferior to Yellowstone. It possesses glaciers of great extent, unsurpassed within the United States excepting only in Alaska, and has the additional attraction of magnificent forests and streams. From its heights, the waters of the ocean and Puget Sound are plainly visible. Senator Squire noted that the only criticism he would make is that the area set aside is too limited; however, it was deemed best not to include any part of the region now occupied by railroads or towns. The rights of settlers will be carefully preserved.
“This combination of mountain, forest and sea form together an unsurpassed panorama of the beauties of nature.”
This article captures the precise moment the federal government codified the protection of Mount Rainier. While the 'rights of settlers' were protected then, the park's creation represents the early, complex tension between resource extraction, settlement, and environmental conservation that defines the Pacific Northwest today.
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