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A Brief Look at the Yellowstone Nature Notes
What were the Yellowstone Nature Notes?
The Yellowstone Nature Notes were a series of newsletters focused on the natural history and history of Yellowstone National Park that were published from the 1920s to the late 1950s. They were a way for the park to share information with visitors about its flora, fauna, natural features, people, and history. Initially published once a month, the frequency changed a few times before settling to every other month by the end of 1931. With a mix of humorous recounting of wildlife observations and encounters, discussions of what visitors could do and experience, poetry, and illustrations, they helped bring the park closer to visitors.
Yellowstone Nature Notes started in conjunction with the National Park Service’s move in the 1920s towards more intentionally educating visitors about the parks and their unique features. The idea was that the more visitors learned about the parks, the better they would care for and appreciate them. The Nature Notes, which were freely distributed and could be requested by mail order, were early examples of the National Park Service’s push for a focus on education and interpretation that could reach a broader audience.
The first iteration of Yellowstone’s naturalist newsletters in June 1920 wasn’t much to look at. Only four pages of observations and no pictures, it was a fairly sparse report. It had four sections–notes on flowers, geology, animals, and birds–and was posted around the park to educate the public on the nature of Yellowstone National Park. Although fairly simple and not yet called Yellowstone Nature Notes, this bulletin set the stage for the information, tone, and easy-to-read format that was found in what would become a decades-long initiative in Yellowstone and throughout the park service.
Photo: First cover for the Yellowstone Nature Notes.
The July 21, 1924 cover for Yellowstone Nature Notes. A sketch of a moose standing in water with water lilies in the foreground and trees, mountains, and clouds in the background. It is lightly painted with muted true-to-life colors.
On June 20, 1924, the park’s newsletters officially received the name Yellowstone Nature Notes. This issue had a few more sections focused on more specific topics in the park, such as geysers and the new additions to the park museum. By the time the newsletters got a cover just a month later on July 21, 1924, even longer and more in-depth articles were available with sketches appearing for the first time in between. These 1924 issues were also the first time it was noted that the park could mail these informational updates to those interested in learning more about Yellowstone.
For many years, the Yellowstone Nature Notes’s only changes were including by-lines, tables of contents, and a more polished look to the newsletters. Starting around the late 1940s though, many of the later Nature Notes became even longer and contained little to no sketches interwoven between the texts. However, they did retain having illustrative or photographic covers and the detailed and conversational tone to the articles and observations. Except for a break during World War II, the newsletters were published continuously until 1958 when the November-December issue quietly and unceremoniously became the last edition.
Photo: Page from [25-05] Yellowstone Nature Notes. Volume II, No. 5. October 24, 1925.
Image reads, “This is one of a series of bulletins to be issued from time to time for the information of those interested in the natural history and scientific features of Yellowstone National Park and the unmatched educational opportunities offered by this region.” This statement was found at the top of every issue of Yellowstone Nature Notes since June 1924 with the wording changing only slightly over the years.
The Father of Nature Notes
Milton P. Skinner was the first park naturalist for Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service as a whole. Appointed by Horace M. Albright in 1920, his duties included educating the public through natural history talks and guided hikes, developing the park museum, collecting park data, and observing wildlife. Skinner is considered to be the “Father of Nature Notes” because the natural history bulletins he developed from his observations established the tone and style that would be used in later Nature Notes both in Yellowstone and in 15 other national parks.
However, despite being considered the one who started Nature Notes, Skinner was not the one who gave them their well-known name. Ansel F. Hall, the chief park naturalist at Yosemite National Park was the first to print a National Park paper under the name in 1922, two years before Yellowstone would do the same under the direction of park naturalist Edmund J. Sawyer.
A historic paper with faintly typewritten text. The text is broken into subtitled sections “June notes on the Flowers” and “June notes on Geology” which continues onto another page. At the top is a header for Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone in World War II
Like many things during World War II, Yellowstone National Park and its naturalist newsletters were impacted. The May-June issue from 1942 starts with a special notice stating that it will be the last issue until after the war.
Once the war in the Pacific ended, the Yellowstone Nature Notes returned with the January-February 1946 issue. The issue mainly covered what happened in the park during the war years with some brief articles on geysers and wildlife. It focused on how gas and rubber rationing and travel restrictions impacted visitation and the availability of lodging, protection, transportation like buses and trains, and programing. The limited visitation the park received during the war was attributed to those who lived close to the park, people traveling for war work, and their families. The newsletter also includes a list of the men who were employed at Yellowstone National Park employees before they served in the war.
[46-01] Yellowstone Nature Notes. Vol. XX No. 1. January - February 1946.
The honor roll list of the 61 permanent federal and concessionaire employees who served in the war from Yellowstone National Park. The second list focuses specifically on the 10 seasonal ranger naturalists who were also called to serve.
Why did it end?
We don’t know for sure why Yellowstone ended their naturalist publications. There are no official reports that have been found explaining the reasons and the final volume makes no mention that it is the last.
It is possible that it suffered the same fate as Yosemite National Park’s Nature Notes. Ended in 1961 only a few years after the Yellowstone Nature Notes, their own final edition noted that they were ending as a result of being “a victim of rising costs, diminishing manpower, and the changing times.” However, the true answer to this question for Yellowstone might never be known.
What can we still learn from these documents?
Although the last Yellowstone Nature Notes issue was published almost 70 years ago, the series is still a great source for gaining insights into the park’s history.
Since Yellowstone Nature Notes contain detailed recordings and stories of observations about wildlife and visitor experiences in the park, they are a time capsule of information. For instance, there are multiple years that cover information like when the first snowfall occurred and how long the snow lasted, what elevations certain wildflowers could be found at, comparisons of similar species, and changes to geyser eruptions. There are also reports that provide a look into how predators like bears and coyotes were once viewed as disruptive nuisances by the park instead of an important part of the ecosystem. All of these reports are helpful for researchers to see historic trends and understand how the park has changed over time.
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The adorable sketches, delightful poems, and humorous stories also ultimately show what flora, fauna, and features visitors were interested in learning about and found entertaining. One might find that a lot of what visitors were interested in are the same things that still interest visitors today.
A 3 stanza poem titled the Giant Plays! surrounded by sketches of an erupting geyser and pine trees. The Giant Plays! by Compton Crook, Ranger Naturalist, 1932. Rumbles of subterranean thunder–The Giant is wakening! High the Bijou hurls its column; The Giant yawns. Deep in its throat the Mastiff growls; The Catfish steams from grinning jowls; Then with a sullen, deep-toned roar a massive pillar starts to soar–The Giant plays! Weeks of pleasant summer sunshine the Giant slumbered. Quiet underneath its broken cone the Giant lay. And lesser craters awed the crowd; Only a few viewed the mist-hung shroud of the sleeping king, ‘till with wakened ire raising his mighty, steam-plumed spire, the Giant played! Seldom in wrath, or in ponderous play the Giant rises. Few know the might that rests beneath the Giant’s cone. ‘Till to awful heights, with tremendous power hurling its glistening, cloudy tower of welded drops from its great scarred cone, the mightiest geyser in Yellowstone, The Giant plays.
Yellowstone Nature Notes today
The Yellowstone Nature Notes as they originally appeared no longer exist, but the essence of what they shared and how they did it still does. The heart of Nature Notes was sharing valuable information about park wildlife, geology, and history to the public. Although it is more spread out, that is still shared through the closest analogs we have to Yellowstone Nature Notes today. The park website focuses on what can be done and seen in the park. Yellowstone’s Resources and Issues Publication go into detail on observations and statistics. The park’s Minute Out In It series on YouTube focuses on the day-to-day work of the park. Yellowstone’s social media puts out scientific and historical information in a way that is entertaining, engaging, and made to attract visitor attention. All of these continue the hallmarks of the Yellowstone Nature Notes by continuing to provide important updates to park information and entertaining stories about Yellowstone National Park.
Additional Resources
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To access Yellowstone’s digitized Nature Notes, follow this link: Yellowstone National Park Nature Notes
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If you would like to learn more information about Nature Notes at other National Park sites, there is an overview of them on the NPS site: Guide to the Nature Notes Collection (U.S. National Park Service)
- See also newsletter collections from Glacier National Park such as "Nature Notes from Glacier National Park" (1927-1930) and "Glacial Drift" (1931-1938).
A chart showing the years that different National Park sites had a Nature Notes publication. Yosemite’s lasted the longest from 1922-1961. Yellowstone’s and Crater Lake’s, both of which took a break in publishing during WWII, were the next longest at 35 (including the unofficial years) and 22 years, respectively. The shortest publication was Hot Springs’ lasting only 3 years. Note that Yellowstone’s naturalist bulletins unofficially were the first Nature Notes produced from 1920-1922, but they weren’t officially published until 1924 after a few other parks had already established theirs.
Exhibit Author: Michaela Van Wicklin
Citations
1. Brockman, C. F. (1978). Park Naturalists and the Evolution of National Park Service Interpretation through World War II. Journal of Forest History, 22(1), 24-43. https://www.npshistory.com/publications/brockman-park-naturalists.pdf
2. Smith, D. M. (2004). “What One Knows One Loves Best”: A Brief Administrative History of Science Education in the National Parks, 1916-1925 [Master’s thesis, Montana State University]. National Park Service History Electronic Library and Archive. https://npshistory.com/publications/nr-general/smith-2004.pdf
3. Shaw, A. (2017) Milton P. Skinner Papers Circa 1900-1937, 1955 [finding aid]. Yellowstone National Park Archives, Yellowstone National Park, WY. pp. 4-7. Retrieved March 31, 2026 from https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/upload/MSC116SkinnerUPDATED_2022.pdf
4. Schullery, P., & Lee Whittlesey. (2000). Yellowstone Nature Notes: A Neglected Documentary Resource. Yellowstone Science, 8(1), 2–5. https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/upload/YS_8_1_sm.pdf
5. Yosemite National Park. (1961). The Final Issue. Yosemite, 40(6), 122. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite_nature_notes/40/40-6.pdf
