George Bird Grinnell

George Bird Grinnell was an American naturalist, conservationist, writer and ethnographer whose work helped shape the early conservation movement. Trained in zoology, he travelled extensively in the West and wrote about wildlife and the cultures of Plains Indigenous peoples.

Grinnell helped found the Audubon movement and the Boone and Crockett Club and campaigned for the protection of bison and western landscapes. His advocacy contributed to the creation of Glacier National Park, while his ethnographic writings preserved valuable but culturally situated records of Blackfeet, Cheyenne and other communities.

Michael Punke’s Last Stand follows George Bird Grinnell—naturalist, editor and hunter—as he documented the destruction, campaigned for protection and helped organise the political alliances that turned wildlife preservation into a national cause. Grinnell’s work connected Yellowstone, scientific institutions, sporting organisations and Washington politics.