500-600 Show in Support of First Amendment
By Scott in Cody, Wy, Unfiltered 3-25-07
Thursday March 22, the town of Cody, WY was abuzz. The day of the "Shut out of Yellowstone" forum had finally arrived. For several months, conversations of local issues have steadily moved in on discussing the issue of closing the East Gate of Yellowstone Park to winter use. This was merely a new quarrel between old neighbors.
The Cody Auditorium was full of people Thursday night. By 6:45, more chairs were being set up. Meanwhile, people were milling about, looking at displays, drinking coffee, and discussing what might or might not happen that night.
Newspaper photographers and reporters walked about looking for the perfect photo-ops. Regional TV stations had camera's ready to capture footage of the scheduled two hour event. Three hours of radio time were purchased for KODI to carry the event live.
Aside from an "Amen" or two that I heard, this was a near complete fulfillment of the First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
At 7 PM, our moment arrived.
M.C. Chris Turner (not to be confused with M.C. Hammer) opened by citing a quote about taking courage not only to stand up and speak, but also to sit down and listen. With over 500 Cody area residents in attendance, there was sure to be a lot of that going on.
Following is the synopsis of the panel members who spoke:
**Sen. Simpson gave one of his usual witty speeches, highlighting past fights, budget discrepancies in the current fight, and undoubtedly future fights yet unknown. Regardless of the outcome on this, we were not going to be going down easy. Besides that, we all know the final decision on the winter use of the East Gate is going to be litigated anyway.
**Supt. Suzanne Lewis had a lengthy speech due to her management assistant yielding his time to her. She covered a seemingly amazing amount of points while not getting any satisfaction from the crowd. Well, OK, it was good news to hear that the gate was slated to open the earliest that it has in quite some time (May 4--maybe sooner--versus mid/late May).
She further expressed her commitment to keeping the Park open, proven by millions of dollars being spent on various projects, including Sylvan Pass, and podcasts now available on the YNP website (yea, that didn't really score any points either).
Also, now it turns out the safety issue lies not in avalanches themselves, but rather in the mitigation of avalanches via the famous Howitzer.
Her big news was the upcoming release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding a winter use plan for the East Gate. On March 27, a DEIS will be released for public comment (an recording of this forum will be included as public comment). The draft will present the preferred policy to close the East Gate to motorized winter recreation (snowmobiles and snow coaches); however skiing and snowshoeing will be allowed six miles into the Park.
**Park County Commissioner Tim French, a classic small-government Republican, has been working on the East Gate issue for seven years. Up until recently, any kind of closure has never been on the table as a potential policy. Mr. French spoke firmly in favor of keeping the East Gate open and mitigating the safety issues.
**Rep. Colin Simpson could very well be the honorary keynote speaker of the night, and not just because he has the title Speaker of the House in the Wyoming Legislature. He reminded us that written comments matter a great deal. He energized the crowd by commenting on money being able to manage wolves and grizzlies, therefore, it should be able to manage avalanches. Upon the completion of his opening statement, he presented Supt. Lewis with a resolution signed by every member of both houses of the Wyoming Legislature. He was presented with a standing ovation by the audience.
**Cody Chamber President Tim Maiheu did the number crunching on the economic impact that the East Gate issue is having on Cody. Although studies present conflicting numbers, the numbers are all negative. He contended that Mamoth, YNP, WY (a Park County, WY locale) should not be included as a factor because it has year-round motorized access. The Cody Economy (in winter and summer) begs for a consistently open and marketed East Gate. The current perception outside of the area is that "Cody's Gate" is closed.
**Greggory Kennett of the Ecosystems Research Group wrapped up the (mostly) opening statements discussing the inaccurate baseline of numbers that leave out pre-controversy demands and a 30 year history of a safe avalanche control policy. He criticized the preferred policy in the upcoming DEIS as prematurely chosen, since avalanche data released in February could not have been throughly analyzed before having a preference. Be sure to check out ERG's Yellowstone Page
Supporting letters from the Governor, Sen's. Enzi and Thomas, and Rep. Cubin were read. By the way, did you know that Wyoming has the Senate's only CPA in Sen. Enzi?
Cody Mayor Roger Sedam presented Supt. Lewis with a resolution from the City Council. Some area elected officials commented in the comment period, including a Big Horn County Commissioner, Powell Mayor Scott Mangold and State Senator Hank Coe.
A number of folks commented, all in support of keeping the East Gate open for winter recreation. Even an eighth grader took Supt. Lewis to task on the pollution issue. She was nigh booed off the stage when she stated that the many buses, RV's and other vehicles burned fuels cleaner than the significantly lower number of snowmobiles.
There was a good turn out with a solid unanimous opinion: Keep the East Gate open! The task isn't done yet, so be sure to recruit your friends and family to help spread the word. THis isn't just a tourist town issue; it's a national issue regarding public access to public lands. We're all about multiple use here in Wyoming, and as Sen. Simpson said, we're not going down easy.
What's next:
Draft Environmental Impact Statement to be released March 27 for public comment. The draft prefers closing the East Gate to motorized snow travel, but allows for snowshoeing and skiing six miles in.
Written comments are best for public comments on policies such as this. Please address your concerns to:
Winter Use Plan
PO Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
One more thing: be sure to check out Everything Cody editor Mike Johnson's thoughts on the Shut out of Yellowstone forum.
Scott Bothwell is a normal everyday guy with an interest in politics on the local and national level. In addition to recently beginning posting n New West, he has a blog that covers a wide range of subjects.
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Comments
According to Yellowstone Park spokesman Al Nash, the park’s annual budget for its avalanche control program is $167,965. That includes:
• $46,168 for the howitzer.
• $50,297 for a contract helicopter which drops charges on the slopes (at $5,000 per mission)
• $43,000 for avalanche forecasting.
• $15,000 for training and
• $13,500 for unexploded ordinance mitigation.
On a per capita basis, the Sylvan Pass avalanche control program worked out to $177.37 per visitor, last winter.
I need to check with Yellowstone on whether the Xanterra snowcoach data is finally in, so I can determine the per capita cost for this winter.
I can well understand why folks in Cody and Wyoming would like to keep the pass open, but how does one justify this sort of subsidy to taxpayers in other parts of the country?
I understand that they are going to allow skiers and snowshoers in that entrance, so are they going to just let avalanches fall if they do? Or are they going to do control for them?
I noticed that Ralph Maughan called the snowbilers freeloaders despite the fact they pay an extra $15. each to go into the park in addition to regular entrance fees and paying a "guide". The "good guys" in Ralph's opinion could easily go in for free.
This is an attempt to force Wyoming to take over the cost of maintaining the Bear Tooth hiway in winter, and to push many of the visitors out of Yellowsotne.
I suspect the savings to NPS would be even greater if they close it in winter to everybody.
not filtered; also, not modified, processed, or refined.
I ask this because I see the story I posted (500-600 Show in Support of First Amendment); I click on the link that says "more" or "2 comments" and I get the comments that were made but a posting titled "Dictionaries and Opinions" by a Colonel Bain. Something is just a little crooked here seeing that I wasn't even notified this change was happening....
Anyway, Re: per capita costs of maintaining Sylvan Pass in the winter
Park County and Wyoming have both offered assistance (not that we really agree with that, but the offer is on the table). Also, perhaps the per capita costs would go down if YNP wasn't so dead set on continually shrinking the East Gate daily winter traffic allowance.
I know that if there is avalanche danger, I sure wouldn't want to be on foot. I'd want to have some sort of motorized power safely getting me through the dangerous area ASAP!