Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
A Vision for the Parks
George Melιndez Wright 1904-1936
| | Big Bend National Park | |
Photographed by James Hulse, March 14, 2023
1. A Vision for the Parks Marker
The rugged peak in front of you honors George Melιndez Wright, a significant figure in the early history of the National Park Service (NPS) and the establishment of Big Bend National Park.
Born in 1904 to American and Salvadorean parents, George Melιndez Wright developed a passion for the outdoors at a young age. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a forestry degree, he joined the National Park Service as Assistant Naturalist in Yosemite National Park. He advanced quickly, becoming the first leader of the agency's new Wildlife Division in 1933. Wright saw the parks as complex natural systems not just beautiful scenery. Shocked at how bears and elk were sometimes fed to entertain park visitors, Wright urged the NPS to adopt science-based wildlife management and recognize that ecosystems did not stop at park boundaries. He advocated for the preservation of natural processes and the end of predator control in the parks. Wright led and personally paid for the first wildlife survey of the national parks. Wright's untimely death at age 31 set back ecological management of
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"If we destroy nature blindly, it is a boomerang which will be our undoing." George Melιndez Wright, 1934
Wright In the Big Bend
In 1936, Wright was part of an international commission to evaluate the potential for new protected areas along the U.S.-Mexico border. A fluent Spanish speaker, Wright was instrumental in melding Mexican and American ideas about an international park that would straddle the Rio Grande, Sadly, both Wright and fellow commission member and Yellowstone superintendent, Roger Toll, were killed in a car wreck as they returned from Big Bend.
Captions
Lower Right 1: The International Boundary Park Commission faced many challenges while surveying this remote and rugged area.
Lower Right 2: Members of the Mexican and American International Boundary Park Commission near Castolon. Big Bend today is part of a 3-million acre protected area covering lands in the United States and Mexico.
Lower Right 3: Wright prepares for a flight over the Big Bend aboard an army biplane. Wright was enthusiastic about the potential of a new park in the Big Bend of Texas and Mexico.
Erected by National
Photographed by James Hulse, March 14, 2023
2. The Vision for the Parks Marker with Wright Mountain in the background
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1933.
Location. 29° 19.681′ N, 103° 12.395′ W. Marker is in Big Bend National Park, Texas, in Brewster County. It is at the intersection of Park Route 12 and Main Park Road, on the right when traveling east on Park Route 12. The marker is located on a hiking trail on the west side of the Panter Junction Visitors Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Big Bend National Park TX 79834, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Texas’ Trans-Pecos & Big Bend Region. It is also in the American Southwest. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Comancherνa, the Republic of Texas, and one of the Confederate States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 4 other markers are within 13 miles of this marker, measured as the crow
Photographed by James Hulse, March 14, 2023
3. The Vision for the Parks Marker along the hiking trail
More about this marker. The marker is located on the grounds of the Big Bend National Park which requires an entrance fee to access.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 25, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 253 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 24, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
