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After consulting with the . Fish and Wildlife Service, the Park Service responded. In March 1950 acting Assistant Director John Doerr wrote Kierulff that the Park Service would soon prohibit the use of boats, canoes, and rafts on all park streams (with the exceptions of the Lewis River channel between Lewis and Shoshone Lakes and the Yellowstone River by the Yellowstone Park Company boathouse near Fishing Bridge). Although Doerr did not concede boat use contributed to low fish numbers, he did feel it complicated the enforcement of fishing regulations. He also noted the Fish and Wildlife Service would be sending fishery experts to the park the next year to determine the cause of the trout's

The boating ban was in place at the beginning of the 1950 tourist season, and by all appearances the public approved of it; there is no record of violations or complaints until the 19805. To improve the park's fisheries, Superintendent Edmund Rogers and his staff also closed certain park waters to fishing, banned the use of fish eggs as bait, and restricted anglers on the Firehole and Madison Rivers to artificial flies and single-baited

The rising number of anglers in Yellowstone was just one manifestation of the recreation boom sweeping over the United States after World War II. Thanks to increasing affluence and more leisure time, Americans were rapidly discovering outdoor recreation. Visitation to the national parks doubled and then tripled from pre-war numbers. At the same time, the national trend toward sedentary professions meant workers found themselves in search of more active pastimes. Constantly improving technology and materials-fiberglass, carbon fibers, and plastic-made backpacks, tents, canoes, rafts, and kayaks more functional, affordable, and

As they embraced outdoor recreation, Americans accelerated the pace and intensity of their nature experiences. Appreciation of nature changed from meditative enjoyment of beautiful scenes to active pastimes such as hiking and backpacking. Soon even those activities gave way to downhill skiing, kayaking, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, and other thrill-based activities. Simultaneously, technological improvements in transportation made it possible for more and more people to quickly travel to new places. Even the recording of outdoor activities accelerated, from paintings and photographs that took weeks to create to one-hour film developing and today's instantaneous digital recordings. Intensifying this acceleration-an impulse New Zealand researchers Claudia Bell and John Lyall argue is intrinsic to human psychology-has been the national trend toward shorter blocks of vacation time. Desiring to make the most of their limited free time, today's vacationers attempt to have the same experience as they previously enjoyed over a much longer period. Finally, just as previous generations found national expression in westward expansion and the conquest of nature, Americans today master previously impossible natural obstacles through technology and new

All of these trends can be seen in the changing face of recreation in the Yellowstone area during the last fifty years. During the 19705, for example, the number of people backpacking in the park increased so rapidly managers were forced to institute a backcountry campsite registration system that limited overall use. Just outside the park, the Yellowstone Raft Company began offering whitewaterrafting trips on the Yellowstone River in 1978. The business expanded steadily through the 1980s but boomed in the 1990s. By summer 2004 at least five companies competed for rafting business on the same section of the

The Yellowstone River in the park, particularly the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone, also exerted a strong pull on kayakers. This piece of river presents the kayaker with twenty miles of wilderness water punctuated by Class IV and V rapids, including fifteen-foot Knowles Falls. On one trip through the canyon in 1981, Cully Erdman of Carbondale, Colorado, dislocated his shoulder reaching for a paddle near the Hellroaring Suspension Bridge, an injury that required he be airlifted out. Cited for illegal kayaking, Erdman and two companions each paid a $150 fine and received a suspended thirty-day jail sentence and six-month's probation. The third partner, Harry Lundstroni III of Bozeman, had been cited earlier for a similar offense; he paid a three-hundred-dollar fine and was barred from entering Yellowstone for six

This accident trained a spotlight on the issue of kayaking in Yellowstone. Later that year two other kayakers independently requested a review of Yellowstone's riverboating policy. One wanted to see Secretary of the Interior James Watt's policy of loosened federal land regulations applied to Yellowstone kayaking. The other suggested the Park Service experimentally allow kayaking on park rivers for a year. Both argued the boating ban was a "major problem" since it took a natural resource away from those who wanted to enjoy it. Letter writers from all over the country continued to question the park's boating policy into the mid-1980s."

In 1982 Superintendent John Townsley directed his staff to begin studying the effects river boating would have on park resources. Although other planning efforts delayed the river study, the Park Service had the review underway by 1985. As part of a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirement, a team of park employees pooled their skills to quantify the environmental concerns related to river boating and the importance of Yellowstone's rivers to the park environment. The team's preliminary assessment determined that all park rivers held natural and cultural value and that, in particular, geothermal features and wildlife had been protected by the absence of boaters. Opening rivers to boats would displace a wide variety of wildlife in both thermal and nonthermal areas. It would also conflict with the desires of hikers and horse-packers who valued an unpeopled landscape. "The river corridors of the park, especially those in the backcountry, offer a view of the environment that's as nearly untamed as when the Yellowstone region was first explored," the researchers commented. To protect these benefits, and because whitewater opportunities abounded outside the park, the team recommended retaining the boating

Yellowstone Superintendent Robert Barbee released the assessment for public input on January 2, 1987, mailing about eighty copies to people who had expressed Fifty people or organizations responded with comments; forty-three applauded the continuation of the boating ban. Many supporters echoed the park's concerns and agreed abundant recreational opportunities existed outside Yellowstone. Only four respondents disagreed with the recommendation, arguing that whitewater kayaking would have fewer effects than such established park uses as snowmobiling, motorboating on Yellowstone Lake, or even the everyday use of Fishing Bridge and other developed areas. This argument was one the Park Service would often hear in the next twenty years, especially from the American Whitewater Affiliation (today called American Whitewater), a two-thousand-member national advocacy group that made its debut during the discussion

In early 1988 Barbee, citing overwhelming public support, announced the boating ban would continue. The decision, however, settled the issue for only a few years. In a 1990 essay published in American Whitewater's magazine, American Whitewater, regional coordinator Ric Alesch, himself a Park Service employee in Denver, prodded the group to recognize access to recreational rivers as an issue deserving attention. Three years later the group published a public-access policy cowritten by Alesch. The policy-writers argued that permanent government prohibitions on boating were unnecessary and claimed Yellowstone's boating ban had "never been adequately articulated or subjected to public review." A short time later the group hired a full-time staff member to promote legalized river access. Alesch, who went on to become president of the group's board of directors, had managed to turn a relatively minor concern into a major issue. Indeed, in the next few years American Whitewater aggressively embraced his opinions about access-especially access to Yellowstone

American Whitewater launched its Yellowstone access campaign in 1993 with an account of a clandestine Black Canyon run. Editor Bob Gedekoh prefaced the article with the warning, "Paddling the river within the park boundaries is quite illegal. The following account of an expedition on the Yellowstone may or may not be true. We suspect that it is, but you decide for yourself." The article told the story of three men who successfully avoided the "Dudley Dooright" rangers, but not the river's physical power. One damaged his kayak after paddling only a few miles and had to carry it back to his car; another lost his paddle and finished the second half of the trip paddling with his bare hands. Despite the setbacks, two paddlers made it to Gardiner in a day. Author Marcus Whiting crowed: "We were home free! We had successfully tackled the Yellowstone, a truly great river, and we weren't even facing hard [jail] time!"18

Although Whiting passed by some of the grandest of Yellowstone's scenery that day, the high level of concentration required to navigate the river meant that he could not focus on the scenery until he was halfway through the trip, pausing to breakfast and scout for overnighting rangers at the Lower Blacktail Patrol Cabin. "Only now did the stunning beauty of my surroundings sink in. Bird songs filled the fresh air. There were no road scars, no powerlines, no litter, just trees and mountains that never seemed to end . . . and, best of all, the river," he

There is no indication that Yellowstone authorities saw the American Whitewater article, but there is clear indication it furthered American Whitewater's campaign to open park rivers. Yellowstone access quickly became the group's highest advocacy priority. When a reader criticized the magazine's tacit endorsement of an illegal activity, editor Gedekoh responded that publicizing Yellowstone's whitewater wonders was the best way to exert pressure on the Park Service to remove the ban. Otherwise "the Park Service could have its way forever." Members of American Whitewater met with Yellowstone's incoming superintendent Michael Finley to discuss the issue in June 1994. A year later, at the conclusion of a second round of discussions, Finley asked the group to submit a formal proposal for park

American Whitewater gave Finley an inch-thick proposal in November 1998. In it, the group pointed out whitewater boating was a traditional park use that met the objectives of both the Park Service and Yellowstone organic acts. And, the authors noted, "No other rivers in the West offer the combination of experiences available in Yellowstone"; the Black Canyon, in particular, offered a sustained run of rapids in a wilderness setting. Not surprisingly, the proposal criticized the 1988 Yellowstone study as lacking scientific background and boaters' input. It argued that boating would not harm park resources if adequately managed; that other established park uses created greater impacts; and that boating was safe if practiced properly. The proposal hinted the kayaking ban was discriminatory and might not withstand a court challenge. As a way of testing the feasibility of Yellowstone boating, the authors suggested allowing noncommercial users limited seasonal access to the Gardner, Lewis, and Lamar Rivers and the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone under a permit system. To ensure fairness, a system of communication among all user groups and a five-year assessment of the program would be instituted. The proposal also evaluated the suitability of the Firehole River for boating but concluded it should remain closed to protect adjacent thermal

The Yellowstone scenes used to illustrate the American Whitewater proposal-well-known waterfalls, Yellowstone Lake, and wildlife-reveal an interesting dichotomy. Absent were the images of men in challenging kayak postures paddling through whitewater rapids or dropping off waterfalls increasingly common in American Whitewater (and, indeed, nearly 100 percent of the magazine's illustrations in the past twenty-eight years feature men).22 The choice of quiet natural scenes suggests American Whitewater recognized kayaking might conflict with the park purpose envisioned by park staff and

American Whitewater followed up its proposal by answering questions at another meeting with park staff in April 1999. Around the same time, members gave presentations to audiences of thirty-five to one hundred people in Billings, Bozeman, and Missoula,

These presentations and two articles about the issue published in National Parks and High Country News in March 1999 generated a fierce public response. Park officials received 253 letters expressing opposition to whitewater boating in Yellowstone; 28 of them were from whitewater boaters who believed the activity was inappropriate in the park and could be pursued elsewhere. One writer likened Yellowstone to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, pointing out that great acoustics did not mean there should be rock concerts in the church, just as great whitewater in Yellowstone did not mean it should be kayaked. Many respondents did not want the park to develop a carnival atmosphere. They deplored the lack of solitude on other rivers and treasured Yellowstone's tranquility. They also raised concerns about safety and about the effects of kayaking on park wildlife and ecology. Several studies had already demonstrated boating's effects on wildlife; the 1988 Yellowstone assessment, for example, cited abundant research indicating boaters displaced bald eagles and other nesting

There was cause for concerns over safety. Kayaking was becoming known as a high-risk activity, and American Whitewater increasingly featured illustrations of men dropping over eighty- to one-hundred-foot waterfalls in search of "ten seconds of adrenaline." The magazine's annual report on kayaking fatalities showed the number of deaths on the increase, with eight to ten in an average year. Poor luck or judgment and inadequate skill accounted for most fatalities. At the same time, discussions of safety, once the subject of a monthly column, became a topic that appeared only

Several opponents to kayaking in the park expressed their views to the local press. Julia Page, co-owner of Gardiner's Yellowstone Raft Company, argued park users should feel a responsibility to protect Yellowstone, not an inherent right to run its rivers. Environmental writer Todd Wilkinson suggested the point of Yellowstone kayaking was "to pump up the ego and worship at the Holy Alter [sic] of ME!, ME!, ME!" After a Bozeman Daily Chronicle editorial came out in favor of the ban due to safety and resource concerns, American Whitewater called on its membership to write letters to the Park Service. Only five people

With public comment still strongly against river boating in the park, Superintendent Mike Finley announced on July 13, 2000, that the Park Service would uphold its whitewater boating ban. He cited the National Park Service Management Policies 1988, the manual that guided park managers in determining what uses are appropriate in the national parks, as the basis for his decision. Finley also referred to the conclusions of the 1988 assessment, adding that his overworked staff had neither the time to develop regulations and permit procedures nor the means of responding effectively to whitewater

As one might expect, Finley's decision did not please American Whitewater. The group's new access director, Jason Robertson, posted a point-by-point response on the Internet in November 2001. The response repeatedly criticized Finley for failing to include proof of potential adverse impacts and again threatened legal action. To date, this threat has not been

American Whitewater continues to provoke the issue. In spring 2003, for example, American Whitewater published a review of Montana Surf, a recent book highlighting whitewater opportunities in Montana. The book included descriptions of Black Canyon and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River runs, detailed instructions on avoiding being caught, and testimony from the "Yellowstone Liberation Army," a loose-knit collection of locals intent on breaking "the chains of the bureaucracy within this National Park." One "army" member, Nick Turner, coauthor of Montana Surf, is in fact accused of kayaking the Black Canyon with two partners in spring 2003. Still awaiting trial, the defendants face significant penalties, including confiscation of their kayaking equipment, fivethousand-dollar fines, jail sentences of up to six months, and bans on entering the park for up to five years. Park officials plan to ask that Turner and his publisher eliminate references to Yellowstone river running in future editions of the

It seems American Whitewater revisits the kayaking question every time a new Yellowstone superintendent is appointed. In late 2002 "American Whitewater volunteer extraordinaire" Tom O'Keefe of Seattle, Washington, wrote Superintendent Suzanne Lewis wondering why the Park Service did not evaluate all park uses according to a single "low impact" standard. That the Park Service allows snowmobiles but not whitewater boating particularly perplexed him. Lewis responded that the Park Service is guided by many standards of appropriateness, including its history and traditions. "The sight and sound of whitewater boaters floating down the Black Canyon would diminish [its] wildness, peace, and tranquillity [sic]," Lewis emphasized. Preserving tangible resources factored into the decision as well: Lewis cited research demonstrating the effects of boating on bald eagles and harlequin ducks and noted park archaeological sites also could be affected by

Cynics might say today's park managers are merely taking advantage of a historic accident-managers banned river boating over fifty years ago for reasons unrelated to kayaking. In 1950 no one kayaked in Yellowstone, and kayakers today want to run the rapids, not fish. There is an element of truth in this claim, but neither this explanation nor arguments citing resource damage and threats to visitor safety capture the complexity of the debate. Rather, the fight over kayaking in Yellowstone reveals important insights into disagreements about the human role in natural landscapes.

Visitation to Yellowstone has tripled since 1950, and increasing visitation to national parks only exacerbates the challenge park managers face in evaluating the appropriateness of continually evolving forms of recreation. Faced with more visitors and the established history of some increasingly controversial activities, managers are predisposed to keep new forms of recreation out of the parks. The Park Service has learned to be conservative in allowing new uses; it encourages only those activities that "are appropriate to the purpose for which the park was established"; "will foster an understanding of, and appreciation for park resources and values"; and "can be sustained without causing unacceptable impacts to park resources or values." Kayaking is no

American Whitewater's tenacity in pursuing access to Yellowstone's rivers tells us more. The group understands that Yellowstone policy decisions carry influence with other land management agencies. Interest in a twenty-onemile stretch of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone just east of the park illustrates this fact. First paddled in 1984, this run on Wyoming's only Wild and Scenic River is remote, legal to kayak, takes several days to paddle, and has Class V and VI rapids requiring very difficult portages. To American Whitewater, "The Clarks Fork is to boaters what Everest is to climbers." But despite the proximity of the Clarks Fork to Yellowstone Park, American Whitewater continues to pursue access to park rivers. The less-demanding Black Canyon stretch, an unusual late summer and fall run, would be accessible to more kayakers than the difficult, springonly Clarks Fork run. Most important, though, the Black Canyon is in the world's first national park. Legitimized Yellowstone access would imply access to rivers

A desire to experience nature accelerated also factors into American Whitewater's intense focus on Yellowstone. In its publications American Whitewater promotes a kind of nature appreciation centered on participation in thrilling activities; to members, as to many extreme sports enthusiasts, parks are playgrounds. The typical kayaker shown in the pages of American Whitewater plummets over waterfalls and dodges massive waves. Certainly, some kayakers will disagree with this assessment, genuinely feeling their sport provides ample opportunity to appreciate and observe nature. Many would argue they commune with nature on the water just as a hiker does on foot. Unfortunately, these kayakers, though no doubt sincere, are victims of their sport-and their advocacy group. By failing to depict kayakers in quiet scenes, American Whitewater downplays the sport's potentially meditative aspects.

Perhaps unwittingly, then, American Whitewater creates a picture of people participating in an intensified, accelerated Yellowstone. Such an image clashes with the concepts embodied in the Park Service organic act. In the act, Congress inserted a crucial clause: park resources shall be left "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." The Park Service interprets those resources to include not only cultural and natural resources but also the parks' tranquility. The act suggests parks should be oriented more toward nature than people; people still recreate in them, but the key difference is that nature is the primary resource, not recreation. Parks are nature

Resources, science, values, tradition, human psychology, and society's laws all guide park managers in discussions of the role recreation plays in national parks and the extent to which people should be a part of park landscapes. These guiding principles imply a vision of nature in which visitors are humbled by nature and its processes through observation and reflection. That vision currently prevails in Yellowstone, but future debates over the human role in nature may add a new chapter to the story.

1. Patagonia, Inc., catalog cover, Summer 1990, attached to Rebecca Schlotterback to Patagonia Environmental Program (. to Yellowstone National Park), April 25, 1990, L3425 Recreation Activities-Water Sports, 1990 file, box L-73, Yellowstone National Park Archives, Gardiner, Montana (hereafter YNP Archives). The catalog explained that money from the sale of the twenty-five-dollar print would fund the Defenders' wolf compensation fund used to reimburse ranchers who lost livestock to wolves, it also noted that Patagonia donated 10 percent of its pretax profits to environmental groups.

2. Ibid. Yellowstone Superintendent Robert Barbee complained about the Gaynes photo in a letter to Patagonia dated August 27, 1990, found in the same file. Those who knew Gaynes state that he kayaked to commune with nature, not to experience the thrills of the sport.

3. Markus [sic] Whiting, "It's No Pic-A-Nic, Boo Boo: A Yellowstone Adventure," American Whitewater, September-October 1993, 57; A. S. Leopold, S. A. Cain, C. M. Cottam, I. N. Gabrielson, and T. L. Kimball, "Wildlife Management in the National Parks," in America's National Park System: The Critical Documents, ed. Lary M. Dilsaver (Lanhani. Md., 1994), 239; Paul Schullery, "Feral Fish and Kayak Tracks: Thoughts on the Writing of a New Leopold Report." George Wright Fontm, vol. 6. no. 4 (1989), 41-47. See also Michael Lundblad, "Patagonia, Gary Snyder, and the 'Magic' of Wilderness," in imagining the Big Open: Nature, Identity, and Play in the New West, ed. Liza Nicholas, Elaine M. Bapis, and Thomas J. Harvey (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2003), 73-91.

4. National Park Service Organic Act (16 USC §1); Suzanne Lewis to Thomas O'Keefe, March 31,2003, Response to Thomas O'Keefe (boating on rivers) file, Yellowstone Management Assistant Office, Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming (hereafter YMAO).

5. Aubrey L. Haines, The Yellowstone Story: A History of Our First National Park, rev. ed., 2 vols. (Niwot, Colo., 1996), 1:147, 2:18-19; Aubrey L. Haines, Yellowstone Place Names: Mirrors of History (Niwot, Colo., 1996), 84-86. According to Marlene Merril, "The name of the boat first appeared as Annie, but in later woodcut engravings done after the survey the name became Anna." An engraving illustrating Hayden's report was based on the William Henry Jackson photograph that appears on this page, on which the name appears to have been later added by hand. In his report Hayden claimed that the boat had been named for Anna Dawes, daughter of the "Hon. H. L. Dawes . . . [who] had contributed so much toward securing the appropriation which allowed [us] to explore this marvelous region." Marlene Deahl Merril, ed., Yellowstone and the Great West: Journals, Letters, and Images from the 1871 Hayden Expedition (Lincoln, 1999), 264 n. 14.

6. Dr. G. B. Kierulff to Secretary of the Interior Oscar Chapman, February 7, 1950, 714 Fish & Fishing, January- 1, 1948 to December 31, 1950 file, box N-204, YNP Archives. The postwar increase in anglers also made regulation difficult, especially with ranger numbers stagnant.

7. John Doerr to Dr. G. B. Kierulff, March 17,1950, ibid.

8. "Superintendent's Annual Report for 1950," pp. 29-30, Yellowstone National Park Library, Gardiner, Montana (hereafter YNP Library); Federal Register, 15, no. 20 (January 31,1950), 513. Although the Yellowstone fishery briefly responded, it collapsed in the 1960s due to overuse. It rebounded again by the 1980s under much tighter restrictions. John D. Varley and Paul Schullery, Yellowstone Fishes: Ecology, History, and Angling in the Park (Mechanicsburg, Pa., 1998), 97.

9. H. Ken Cordell, Outdoor Recreation for 21st Century America: A Report to the Nation: The National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (State College, Pa., 2004), 18-31.

10. Claudia Bell and John Lyall, The Accelerated Sublime: Landscape, Tourism, and Identity (Westport, Conn., 2002). See also Cordell, Outdoor Recreation for 21st Century America. I am indebted to Wallace Stegner for his ideas on national identity and expression. See The Sound of Mountain Water (Garden City, ., 1969); The American West as Living Space (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1987); and Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs: Living and Writing in the West (New York, 1992).

11. Julia Page, telephone interview by author, February 28, 2003. Changes in bear management also necessitated the backcountry registration system that confined backcountry campers to predictable campsites offering convenient bear-proof food storage.

12. Ibid.; "Illegal Kayaking in Yellowstone National Park Results in Fine" press release, July 9, 1981, K-3415 News Media-Yellowstone National Park, 1981 file, box K-90, YNP Archives.

13. Ernest Kincaid to James Watt. November 3, 1981, River Management Plan-Correspondence file, box N-365, YNP Archives: James Rada to Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park, July 27. 1981, ibid. See also various letters in ibid.

14. [Ken Czarnowski et al.], "Boating on Ye Hows tone's Rivers; an Analysis and Assessment," April 1988. pp. 12-41, 40-45. copy in YMAO. On the team were hydrologist Ken Czarnowski. management biologist Sue Consolo, chief ranger Dave Spirtes, fishery biologist Bob Gresswell, research interpreter Norm Bishop, and supervisory rangers Rick Bennett and Randy King.

15. Bob Barbee to Celia Lindblom, January 2, 1987, River Management Plan-Correspondence file, box N-365, YNP Archives; "Analysis of Boating on Rivers in Yellowstone National Park Released" news release, January-2, 1987, ibid.

16. Sue Consolo to Chief Ranger, August 26,1987, CorrespondenceInternal Comments on Draft River Use Assessment file, YMAO; Bob Barbee to Regional Director, May 26, 1988, River Management PlanCorrespondence file, box , YNP Archives; David F. Mawyer to Bob Barbee, May 11, 1987, ibid.

17. Bob Barbee to Regional Director, May 26,1988, River Management Plan-Correspondence file, box N-365. YNP Archives; Ric Alesch, "River Access: An Issue Deserving Scrutiny," American Whitfwater, May-June 1990,11; American Whitewater Affiliation, "Public Access to Rivers and Streams for Recreational Boating," American Whitewater, March-April 1993, 44-59, quote from p. 56; Rich Hoffman, "ACCESS Articles," American Whitewater, September-October 1994, 50.

18. Whiting, "It's No Pic-A-Nic, Boo Boo," 56,63,64. An abbreviated form of this article also appeared as "A Tale of Illegal Misadventure in the Nation's Favorite Park,'' in NORS Currents: River Access, Fall 1992, 10-11. A similar article, "Die groBe Schlucht des Yellowstone" by Marcus Schmid, appeared in Alpiner Kajak-Club, June 1996, 12-15.

19. Whiting, "It's No Pic-A-Nic, Boo Boo," 62; Cordell, Outdoor Recreation for 21st Century America, 249.

20. Bob Gedekoh's reply to Doug England's "Naughty! Naughty!" American Whitewater, January-February 1994,8; Rich Bowers and Rich Hoffman to "whitewater enthusiast," October 1,1995, "American Whitewater-General" file, YMAO; Rich Bowers and Rich Hoffman, "Top 40 Whitewater Issues for 1995," American Whitewater, September-October 1995,19-20; "Yellowstone Access!" American Whitewater, November-December 1995, 18.

21. Jason Robertson, Rich Hoffman, and Triel Culver, "A Proposal for Allowing Limited Whitewater Recreation in Yellowstone," November 15, 1998, American Whitewater Proposal, 11/98 file, YMAO.

22. Ibid. In my review of twenty-eight years of American Whitewater, I found that less than 1 percent of the magazine's illustrations featured women. According to H. Ken Cordell, most extreme sports are male dominated. Cordell, Outdoor Recreation for 21st Century America, 258.

23. Although pictures of kayakers in Yellowstone are rare, they do exist, and American Whitewater had used them in the past.

24. "Memo from Chief of Planning and Compliance to Files regarding Draft Meeting Notes. American Whitewater and Yellowstone National Park," April 9, 1999, American Whitewater 4/9/99 Mtg. file, YMAO; "Park Service Hears Yellowstone Proposal," American Whitewater, May-June, 1999,26; Bozeman (Mont.) Daily Chronicle, April 8, 1999.

25. "Boaters Seek Park Access," National Parks, March-April 1999, 16,18; Rachel Odell, "Paddlers Want onto 'the Everest of Rivers,'" High Country News, March 15,1999; letters to Superintendent Finley, Correspondence re: Whitewater Access, '99 file, YMAO. Even the Cody, Wyoming, Country Chamber of Commerce went on record opposing the proposal. John Sacklin, NPS supervisory outdoor recreation planner, conversation with author, July 31, 2003.

26. Polly Green, "A Near Disaster in Ecuador: Big Drop-Big Consequences!" American Whitewater, July-August 1999, 51; Charlie Walbridge, "Year End Whitewater Fatality Report, July 10,1997-January 10, 1998," American Whitewater, March-April, 1998, 75-79; Charlie Walbridge, "High Water, Strainers Cause Kayak and Rafting Fatalities," American Whitewater, September-October 1999, 94-98: Charlie Walbridge, "Difficult Rapids Claim Lives of Experienced Boaters," American Whitewater, March-April 2000, 89-91 ; Charlie Walbridge, "Whitewater Accident Summary," American Whitewater, March-April 2002, 74-78.

27. Bozeman (Mont.) Daily Chronick, January 4, April 15,1999; Rich Bowers, "Director's Cut" American Whitewater, May-June 1999, 25.

28. Mike Finley to Rich Bowers, July 13, 2000, Correspondence w/American Whitewater re: Proposal file, YMAO.

29. Jason Robertson, "Yellowstone!" .org./archive/article/303/, posted November 14, 2001.

30. Nick Turner and Matt Wilson, Montana Surf (Winnipeg, 2002), 228-35; staff meeting minutes. June 3, 2003. Superintendent's Office Files, Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth, Wyoming. Kayakers want permission to run the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Seven Mile Hole to Tower-as Gaynes was probably doing in the Patagonia catalog photograph.

31. John Gangemi, "Tom O'Keefe-American Whitewater Volunteer Extraordinaire," .org/archive/article/484/, accessed April ; Suzanne Lewis to Thomas O'Keefe. March 31,2003, Response to Thomas O'Keefe (boating on rivers) file, YMAO; Thomas O'Keefe to Superintendent, December 10, 2002, ibid. Lewis enclosed a substantial list of studies documenting boating's effects on bald eagles and harlequin ducks, including S. A. Boyle and F. B. Samson, "Effects of Non-consumptive Recreation on Wildlife: A Review." Wildlife Society Bulletin, 13 (1985), 110-16; T. G. Grubb, W. L. Robinson, and W. W. Bowerman, "Effects of Watercraft on Bald Eagles Nesting in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota," Wildlife Society Bulletin, 30, no. 1 (2002), 156-61; and others.

32. National Park Service, Management Policies 2001 ([Washington, ., 2000]), 80-81.

33. Tim Shanahan, "Wilderness . . . by Roat" American Whitewater, November-December 1990,33; Bob Gcdekoh and Mark White, "Wilderness Whitewaters . . . Wild West Styled!!!" American Whitewater, January-February 1996, 35-49; "The Future of the Clarks Fork," ibid., 50; Earl Alderson, "The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone: A Class V+ Western Classic Revisited"American Whttewater,November-December 1997, 42-47.

34. National Park Service Organic Ad\ National Park Service, Management Policies 2001, 80-81. The Park Service allows sea kayaking on Yellows tone's large lakes because sea kayaking generally allows the participant the time to enjoy the shoreline scenery and observe park wildlife; it does not generally require the same level of intense concentration as river kayaking.

MICHAEL J. YOCHIM received his . in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in fall 2004.