“Am I visionary or just crazy?” wrote George Melendez Wright to a colleague at the start of his bold undertaking to document the plants and animals in national parks. His perseverance and belief that the National Park Service needed to have a scientific understanding of its wildlife populations established the foundations for the Service to meet its mission of leaving parks ‘unimpaired’ for future generations.

George Wright’s legacy lives today through the hard work, dedication, and passion of natural resource managers, scientists, and volunteers, and through the stewardship and interest of future generations. Learn more about those who are protecting ‘America’s best idea’ and carrying on in the spirit of George Wright.