You might not be able to call it government bloat.

Nevertheless, back when Congress designated the Yellowstone Timber Reserve, which became the Teton Forest Reserve, then the Teton National Forest and finally the Bridger-Teton National Forest, a single man ran the show. Today, a staff of 200 or more — depending on the season and federal reductions — could work on the 3.4 million-acre reserve.

The government in 1904 hired Rudolph “Rosie” Rosencrans, an Austrian immigrant enraptured with stories about Buffalo Bill’s West, to protect the public hills and dales.

Rosie rode across the range and snowshoed through the drifts as he surveyed the land, warded off poachers, dug ditches and generally took care of the place. A wee cabin — the Blackrock Ranger Station, located about 35 miles north of Jackson — served as his office.

Rosie worked for the government through 1928, when he retired because of failing eyesight. A nearby ridge bears his name, and his office is preserved at today’s Blackrock Ranger Station in the forest’s Buffalo District at the western base of Togwotee Pass.

Rosie’s office is a worthy stop on any trip between Moran and Dubois and a reminder of the time when the West was wide open, sparsely populated and seemingly much simpler.

Angus M. Thuermer Jr. is the natural resources reporter for WyoFile. He is a veteran Wyoming reporter and editor with more than 35 years experience in Wyoming. Contact him at angus@wyofile.com or (307)...

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  1. Angus,
    A nice short story on Rosie. It would be nice to see a more in depth piece on Rosie.

    Reply

  2. Cool article, have been on “Rosie’s Ridge” in the past, was interesting to find from where the name came from.

    Reply