In 1927, at just twenty-three, George Meléndez Wright initiated the first wildlife survey of western National Parks, transforming the National Park Service's (NPS) approach to natural resource management. As the first Hispanic ranger naturalist in Yosemite, Wright had already explored every national park in the Western U.S. During an era when parks fed bears garbage and eliminated predators like wolves and coyotes, his conservation ideas laid the groundwork for modern scientific management of public lands. Despite facing resistance from a culture that viewed wildlife merely as tourist attractions, Wright's innovative concepts eventually gained traction. Tragically, he died in a car accident in 1936 while working on parks and wildlife refuges along the US-Mexico border. Nevertheless, he is celebrated among conservationists and park managers today. Jerry Emory, connected to Wright's family, utilizes hundreds of letters, field notes, and interviews to craft a biography of Wright and document a pivotal moment in park history. With a foreword by former NPS director Jonathan Jarvis, the work examines Wright's vision for science-based wildlife management and his advocacy for wilderness, questioning whether contemporary practices have fulfilled his aspirations.
