From the high flanks of Yellowstone, America's first national park, and looking eastward for many dozens of miles across the Shoshone National Forest, which began as the country's first timberland reserve, public lands are the foundation for ecological health in the Greater Yellowstone region. And, carefully stewarded, they have proved to be a powerful engine for the regional economy as other parts of America become fragmented by human development. Many of the mountain ridge lines you see in this photo are protected by Congressionally-designated Wilderness. Photo courtesy Jacob W. Frank/NPS