trained in the law, but did read the law under the tutelage of the many judges he served. This informal training helped him receive the appointment as U.S. Commissioner to Yellowstone. U.S. Commissioner in Yellowstone In March 1894, Edgar Howell, a poacher from Cooke City, Montana was captured by Captain G. L. Scott, U.S. Army, and a patrol of soldiers for killing Bison in the Pelican Valley section of the park. Unfortunately, there were no laws that would allow prosecution of Howell and he could only be temporarily detained and removed from the park. Shortly after his capture, Frank Jay Haynes park photographer, Emerson Hough noted western author, and Billy Hofer, a noted backcountry guide, encountered Scott and Howell as Howell was being escorted back to Fort Yellowstone. Haines captured the encounter on film and Hough telegraphed a story back to his publisher: Forest and Stream. The story prompted George Bird Grinnell, editor of Forest and Stream to lobby congress for a law to allow prosecution of crimes in Yellowstone. The result was the Lacey Act of 1894. Edgar Howell would later play a pivotable role in one of Judge Meldrum's most famous cases. The passage of the Lacey Act of 1894 or An Act To protect the birds and animals in Yellowstone National Park, and to punish crimes in said park, and for other such purposes gave Yellowstone the status of a United States Judicial District of Wyoming thus creating the need for a U.S. Commissioner. The Act contained this provision: The appointment As a long standing member of the Republican party in Wyoming, Meldrum had become closely acquainted with many prominent Wyoming politicians. One of those was Wyoming Territorial Governor John Wesley Hoyt (1878–1882). Hoyt visited Yellowstone on an official, month-long inspection tour in 1881. When Hoyt returned, Meldrum learned from Hoyt's first-hand accounts of the wonders of the park. It sparked a desire on his part to visit the park someday. Shortly after the passage of the act, Meldrum learned that Judge John Alden Riner of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming would be the one to appoint the Commissioner. Meldrum approached Riner, whom he had worked with for many years, and asked for the appointment. Riner appointed John W. Meldrum as the first U.S. Commissioner for Yellowstone National Park, effective June 20, 1884. The Commissioner's office and residence John W. Meldrum did