Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 42 DISTINCTLY MONTANA: AS THE EDITOR OF FOREST AND STREAM, GRINNELL PLAYED A CONSIDERABLE ROLE IN GETTING HUNT- ERS AND SPORTSMEN TO ENDORSE CONSERVATION. DO YOU THINK THAT SPORTSMEN TODAY HAVE SIMILAR INFLUENCE? MICHAEL PUNKE: Absolutely. There is no ques- tion that hunters and sportsmen today have enormous political influence. Look at the con- servation impact of groups like Trout Unlimit- ed, Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Look at the conservation work of sportsmen like MeatEater's Steve Rinella. DM: DO YOU THINK GRINNELL'S EARLY INTEREST IN PALEONTOLOGY AND HIS FIRST EXPLORATIONS HUNTING FOR FOSSILS ON THE PLAINS IN- FORMED HIS LATER INTERESTS IN CONSERVATION? MP: Remember that knowledge of the dinosaurs and prehistoric animals was new in the 19th century. Grinnell's hands-on experience dig- ging for dinosaur bones in places like Wyoming showed him that extinction was possible—it had happened before. He could imagine something that many people in his era could not: That a species could be wiped off the face of the earth. DM: IN LAST STAND, YOU DESCRIBE HOW EARLY TOURISTS CHIPPED PIECES OFF HOT SPRINGS AND SHOT THE WILDLIFE, AND TODAY WE STILL SEE TOUR- ISTS WHO WALK OFF OF THE BOARDWALK OR APPROACH WILD ANIMALS. IS 'TOURISM' BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT? MP: It's wonderful for people to go out and expe- rience wild places. But for me, our frame of refer- ence should be our children and our children's children. We all have a moral responsibility of stewardship for future generations. I love the wilderness creed of 'leave no trace.' DM: YOU DESCRIBE IN LAST STAND HOW FOR MUCH OF YELLOWSTONE'S EARLY HISTORY CONGRESS DIDN'T ALLOCATE THE PARK A BUDGET, EARLY PARK RANGERS COULDN'T ARREST OR FINE POACHERS, AND RAILROADS THREATENED TO BITE OFF A BIG CHUNK OF THE NORTHEAST CORNER. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THOSE PRECARIOUS BEGINNINGS? MP: Here, we owe a great debt to past genera- tions—people like George Bird Grinnell whose vision and tenacity protected places like Yellow- stone and Glacier. But protecting these places did not happen by accident, or without great opposition. Telling the story of the razor's edge on which the fate of those places once rest- ed should make us all appreciate them even more—and not take them for granted today. DM: CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH PROCESS? MP: My two favorite parts of researching Last Stand were hiking up the Pelican Creek Valley in Yellowstone to see the site of Edgar Howell's infamous buffalo massacre—and my time look- ing at original documents in the Yellowstone Archives in Gardiner, Montana. DM: AS A FOLLOW-UP, WHAT IS THE MOST GRISLY BUFFALO HUNTING ANECDOTE YOU CAME ACROSS IN YOUR RESEARCH? MP: It is noteworthy that buffalo skinners sometimes smelled so bad that they were de- nied admission to frontier saloons. As you might imagine, that was a pretty low bar that they still couldn't clear. DM: GRINNELL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS MENTOR, LUCY AUDUBON, LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR ESTABLISHING A LINK BETWEEN PERSON- AL SELF-DENIAL AND THE CONSERVATION MOVEMENT. CAN YOU TALK MORE ABOUT WHAT "SELF-DENIAL" MEANT TO LUCY AUDUBON AND HOW SELF-DENIAL AS A PRACTICE MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT RELATE TO ENVIRON- MENTALISM TODAY? MP: By "self-denial," Lucy Audubon really meant one generation not consuming every- thing—but rather providing stewardship for the benefit of future generations. Her ethics were hardly popular in the robber-baron hey- day of the Gilded Age. As a sportsman, George Bird Grinnell applied the concept of self-denial to advocate for things like hunting seasons and game limits. And yes, Lucy's concept remains the foundation of environmentalism today. DM: ON THAT NOTE, YOU EXPRESS IN LAST STAND A HOPE THAT WE CAN MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. FIFTEEN YEARS ON, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? MP: It's hard not to be dispirited by where we're at on climate change today, but that said, I do AUTHOR OF THE REVENANT, RIDGELINE, AND LAST STAND: GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL, THE BATTLE TO SAVE THE BUFFALO, AND THE BIRTH OF THE NEW WEST Interview with Michael Punke by LINDSAY TRAN

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