This history of the first large land area to be set aside for preservation and public use by Congress follows Yosemite from its early Native American inhabitants, exploration, establishment as a national park in 1890, and through such controversial developments as Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the Badger Pass Ski Area, the so-called Firefall, and the infamous Stoneman Meadow riot of 1970. The story of Yosemite has proved to be a microcosm of the debate within the National Park Service itself over preservation versus access, development of resources versus conservation of them. Yosemite, Runte contends, remains central to these and many other debates, suggesting its continuing importance as a field of investigation into the management of the national park system at large.