LET'S HAVE $27,000.000

REALISTIC VIEW

From New York

.. With the opening of the "Visitor Education Center" at Old Faithful comes an interesting and insightful note in the New York Times.
.. Try it - see if you like it.
.. The project, according to the FAST COMPANY, has given us the "Greening of Yellowstone."  Now that's just dandy. Given the visitation it needs it.

Hear All About It

USPS + NPS = $$$$

Push Toward Centennial

.. Federal News Radio lets us know about the new coffee table book combining historic stamps and pretty pictures of some of the parks. The original idea came from an entrepreneurial postal employee.
.. Hear all about it HERE. See the book HERE.

Winter Arriving - Mentality Insights

A SPOOF ??

Listen Carefully

-- Record Of Decision (ROD) Signed --

.. Entertaining video billed as a "spoof" - listen to the anger!

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.. The Record Of Decision for the winter use plan has been posted on the NPS site (PDF): commentary HERE & HERE; Predictable Lawsuit HERE & HERE.

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The Sky Is Falling - Finally

WIDESPREAD RAINS DAMPEN FIRES

Can It Really Be September ?
winter use plans revealed

.. An article in New West by Mathew Frank details the current fires in Montana. The article also details a list of fire resources and updates for the western United States.
.. Yellowstone National Park has some fires still burning and uncontained, (see InciWeb 1 & 2,) and the park administration plans to start some more to keep company with the newly discovered backcountry fire. Illegal morel hunting should be good around Norris next year.

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.. A YNP press release lets us know that the Winter Use Planning Documents have been released. All current Winter Use Technical Documents are POSTED HERE.

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The new documents are:

-- Natural Soundscape Monitoring draft report (PDF),

"Although on average snowmobiles were audible for more time than snowcoaches, snowcoaches in general had higher sound levels, especially at higher speeds."

-- Final Air Quality Modeling Report (PDF)

"the earlier modeling scenarios only included in-bound traffic within Yellowstone and did not include traffic exiting the park (i.e., return trips were not “counted” by the previous modeling as traveling on road segments a second time). Since this potentially excluded a substantial amount of traffic, this was corrected in the update and the latest travel factor spreadsheets include both in-bound and out-bound trips for all alternatives."

.
-- Winter Air Quality Study from this past season (PDF),

"The winter of 2006-2007 had CO values that were nearly the same as the last few years. The maximum hourly CO at the West Entrance was slightly higher but the longer averages of 8-hours and for the season were down."

.
.. A complete review of the air quality can also be found at the NPS site NATURE & SCIENCE.
-- Bison & Plowed Roads (PDF - 2005)

"Collaboration is necessary to define what is acceptable;
science is necessary to define what is possible;
organizing people to use knowledge to design and implement
management in the face of uncertainty is fundamental."

.. The battle of the electronic postcard is being won by opponents of snowmobiles! - reported by Scott McMillion in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Mary Bomar Visits

NO NEW INSIGHTS

Sylvan Pass Under Scrutiny

.. Mary Bomar visited with us yesterday. That's it. She refused to comment on the winter closure proposed for the east entrance to Yellowstone. Read the report in the Casper Star Tribune.

Yellowstone Web Site Expansion

SOME NEW NEWS & SOME OLD NEWS
increased access to information

.. The continual upgrading of Yellowstone's Web site has reached the point of maturity. One excellent section, "PHOTOS & MULTIMEDIA," was updated last week to include some new and some old content.
.. Here are some changes and additions:
INSIDE YELLOWSTONE, short videos on park features and processes,
YELLOWSTONE IN DEPTH, longer video features,
YELLOWSTONE RESOURCE WORKSHOP - 2005, video of this meeting ans sessions,
WILDLIFE SAFETY VIDEO, shows elk goring visitor,
THIS SEASON IN YELLOWSTONE, changed from this month in Yellowstone, now discontinued - photos,
GUIDE TO ONLINE VIDEOS, long list of topics and images,
WHAT'S NEW, finally a way to keep updated,
And the ever popular ROAD CONSTRUCTION DELAYS & CLOSURES.
.. One useful addition that was added a couple of months ago is the PUBLICATIONS page. Many of the longer documents are in PDF but this resource is valuable for those wanting some in-depth insights into the topics covered. An interesting publication from this page is the Superintendents Compendium (that lists the special designations, closures, public use limits, permit requirements and other restrictions imposed under the discretionary authority of the Superintendent.)

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.. It looks like Yellowstone National Park is going to "officially" ignore the return of the yellow buses in it's press releases. Well, we found out anyway.

Proposed Winter Rule Available

The rule governing winter use in Yellowstone has been published.

.. Here are some quotes:

" . . .the temporary plan requires that all recreational snowmobiles entering the parks meet best available technology (BAT) requirements. This requirement, along with air emissions requirements for snowcoaches, ensures that the vast majority of recreational over-snow vehicles operating in the parks employ current emissions control equipment, and has resulted in improvements in air quality and natural soundscapes."

"Beginning in the 2011-2012 season, all snowcoaches must meet air emission requirements, which will be the functional equivalent of having EPA Tier I emissions control equipment incorporated into the engine and drive train for the vehicle class (size and weight) as a wheeled vehicle."

"Beginning in the 2011-2012 season, snowcoaches must meet a sound emissions requirement of no greater than 73dBA; test procedures to be determined by the NPS."

"No more than eight snowmobiles would be permitted in a group with one commercial guide; no more than 17 snowmobiles would be permitted in a group with two commercial guides on separate snowmobiles. Group numbers include the guide's machine."

"As of the 2008-2009 winter season, the East Entrance road would be closed to through travel by oversnow vehicles in order to address the avalanche risk at Sylvan Pass that cannot be reasonably mitigated. The one-year delay in implementing the change on the East Entrance road is proposed in response to comments received from cooperating agencies who expressed concern for communities and businesses to make appropriate adjustments."

.. Comment period closes July 16, 2007.
.. See the rule, and comment HERE, (key word=Yellowstone.)

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Did You Know?
At peak summer levels, 3,500 employees work for Yellowstone National Park concessionaires and about 800 work for the park. Just who is running Yellowstone National Park?

New Web Rangers Site

VIRTUAL WORLD ALLOWS KIDS TO RANGE
Get Your Own Desk & Ranger Station
sign up now

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.. There is a new WEB RANGER site for kids of all ages. The National Park Service has rolled out the new Web Rangers site, and it is worth a visit. You can read the announcement here. The old site will be available for a limited time and you can find it here. You can find out about the program here.
.. There are some differences in the two sites, most notably personalization. This requires the users to register & The National Park Service to set 'cookies' on your computer to track the session and progress of the child through activities and puzzles and awards. You can read about the cookies and the NPS Privacy Policy for this site here.
.. There is an English version, and a Spanish version of the new site. The NPS seems to have created their own version of "MY SPACE" for the kids. As stated:

"The most exciting addition is that kids from around the world will be able to post their own pictures and stories about their parks experiences in a moderated setting. This peer-to-peer sharing holds tremendous promise for civic engagement on a global scale. The new site will build a community of kids excited about their national park legacy and get them up and out to see these places for themselves."

.. This is probably a good thing and it's a product of Best Buy Retail Stores in partnership with the National Park Foundation.
.. Nowhere on the site did we find games or activities that referred to 'back-stabbing in-fighting,' 'stonewalling the public,' 'planning for snowmobiles,' delisting threatened or endangered species,' 'political appointees,' or 'verbal misdirection.' Perhaps the NPS should take a peek at this virtual world and learn.

HI MOM

YNP PROVIDES FREE WEBCAM VIEWS
Send A Wave Home
this year's cam-guide
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nps photo

.. Use this guide to identify the major geysers that are erupting.

nps photo

VISIT THE OLD FAITHFUL WEBCAM

Doane Denied

LANGFORD, WASHBURN, & WHO?
Cruel - Cruel - History
Kind - Kind - History
Winter's Gone; Snowmobiles Aren't

nps photo of historic reenactment in 1957

Cruel - Cruel - History

.. In January we posted two notes about Kim Allen Scott, (-1- -2-) and his book "Yellowstone Denied. For a brief review of the book, and some contemporary psychological analysis click on over to "The Magic Of Yellowstone" and see another view.

"I don't think we need heroes; they get in the way. They lead us to the severe judgments we make about other people. If you set yourself on a pedestal, then you will be rightfully taken down. Doane was never turned into a hero, was bitter about it, and now his biography is the story of a bitter, dead, white man and why he never got the glory he so hungrily lusted after. And, as cynical as it sounds, it is hard to deny that truth. The sadness is that because we live in a world where that kind of glory, where that kind of heroism is so adored, we aren't allowed to meet Cheyney Doane on his own terms, terms that are probably not a whole lot better or worse than the rest of us, or might not have been if we didn't live in a society that has such artificial metrics of value."

.. Well, so be it.

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Kind - Kind - History

.. On April 24, 1903 happenstance allowed "TEDDY" to be present at the laying of the cornerstone of the Gateway Arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone Park.
.. Because of this, it's now called the "Roosevelt Arch." Doane just was never that lucky.
.. To this day many people give Teddy credit for inventing, establishing, and preserving Yellowstone. Such are the whimsey's of history as we know it.
.. So be it.

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Snowmo's Still With Us

.. Even as Spring begins it's transition away from Winter & into Summer, snowmobiles remain on the minds of many.
.. It seems that a letter was sent to a lot of people about how bad snowmobiles are for the park. Zealousness got the better of the sender and he included Bob Barbee's signature without approval, and without Bob knowing about it.
.. If you're quick you can read about it at the Bozeman Chronicle site. If not, the note is reproduced below. This is the kind of zeal that replaces reason in heated arguments - too bad, we'd really like to know what Bob thinks.

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This was on the Bozeman Daily Chronicle web site on Friday, March 30, 2007 - for just one brief day. We reprint it here in the interest of access.
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Name of former YNP head inserted in letter by mistake

By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer
- Former Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Bob Barbee's name should not have been included among a list of former National Park Service brass opposed to snowmobiling in the park, said the man who distributed the list.
- "It was my mistake and my mistake alone," said Bill Wade, chairman of the executive council of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, a group critical of snowmobiling in the park.
- The foul-up came earlier this week, when several former Park Service directors sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne calling for the elimination of snowmobiling in Yellowstone.
- The letter included a facsimile of Barbee's signature.
- However, Barbee never signed the letter and didn't approve the use of his name, said Wade, who e-mailed copies of the letter to the media and others.
- Wade said his group created two versions of the letter and circulated them among potential signatories for approval. One letter included Barbee's "signature block" and one didn't.
- Wade said he didn't know if the facsimile of Barbee's signature was electronic or a photocopy.
- Barbee was out of the country and couldn't be reached for approval prior to the letter's release, Wade said, but the version of the letter with his signature was disseminated to some media outlets.
- "I just simply screwed up and sent out the wrong version to a few of you," Wade said Thursday.
- A Chronicle story about the letter ran Tuesday, and mentioned Barbee, who ran Yellowstone from 1983 to 1994, a time of rapid snowmobiling growth in the park. He is retired from the Park Service and lives in Bozeman. He could not be reached for comment this week.
.. Ray Grass of the DeseretNews.com believes that snowmobiles are the best way to see Yellowstone and is neither ashamed, nor shy about it.
.. The folks at EarthJustice, on the other hand feel that the current iteration of the Yellowstone winter use plan is a "Return to the 'Bad Ol' Days."
.. Brodie Farquhar, writing for the Casper Star Tribune, has a note about the in's -'n' - out's of the current plan.
.. National Parks Traveler has an extensive list of news sources on this topic - it must be important.
.. There seems to be no alternative to the BAN - NO BAN arguments. There is a third road that has been completely ignored in this polemic. Would people like snowmobiles if they were cleaner and quieter than the current coaches and vans? There are roads to this possibility. The Billings Gazette ran an article a while back, and A Step Apart has a similar post.
.. So be it.

THE ROAR OF SILENCE

As Goes Yellowstone So Goes The NPS

.. Get right over to National Parks Traveler. Read the post. Read, also: 17 year silence spoke volumes, and Snow Job.
.. The health of the National Parks is at stake. Then, with an open and honest mind, review the noise at places like the Grand Canyon, and other "summer" parks that attract motorcycle riders.
.. The rationalization of cyclists are just the same as sledheads. Perhaps it's time to remove all recreational transportation from our parks. Public transportation should expand in "Winter's Yellowstone." Also in the summer. And too, at the Grand Canyon. And, for that matter, all national parks.
.. Remember, the health of the parks and their employees is at stake!

GOOD BYE JOHN

R.I.P.

.

NORRIS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Our thoughts and prayers are with Becky. We worked with you, we played with you, we laughed with you, we cried with you. Thirteen years was not enough. Good bye John.