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| WEDNESDAY June 7, 2000 Vol 4, # 35 |
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| WEDNESDAY June 7, 2000 Vol 4, # 35 |
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| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion Free Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN- |
SNOWMOBILING DEBATE INTENSIFIES News Brief WEST YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL, Mont. (YNET) -- Earlier this year the National Park Service announced that officials are leaning towards banning snowmobiles from Yellowstone National Park. The news followed years of concern over excessive pollution emitted by snowmobiles, in addition to the high level of noise caused by snowmobiles. Park Service officials have noted that the presence of snowmobiles in Yellowstone violates the NPS mission of protecting and preserving America's national parks. The Yellowstone "Winter Use" controversy was raging long before this latest salvo, and this the latest "anti-snowmobiling" pronouncement has, not unexpectedly, generated even more discussion and debate. In fact, some snowmobile advocates, including Commissioners from counties surrounding Yellowstone, are gearing up for a massive public relations campaign in an effort to defeat the NPS effort to eliminate snowmobiling from Yellowstone. For the most part, pro-snowmobilers are not refuting the claim that snowmobiles pollute excessively, but rather are touting the matter as an issue of access to public lands. Snowmobile manufactures, who years ago decided it was not worth their time to develop environmentally-friendly snowmobiles, are for the most part keeping quiet at this point. Although many business owners and residents of Yellowstone's gateway communities are opposed to a snowmobile ban, fearing it will hurt winter revenues of local businesses, not all residents believe snowmobiles should remain in Yellowstone. Indeed, a petition circling in West Yellowstone, the main artery of the Yellowstone snowmobile industry, has already gathered about 150 signatures. Although they admit the absence of snowmobiles in Yellowstone will adversely affect the local economy, many residents believe the town can survive. The NPS is expected to make a decision regarding the snowmobile ban by the end of October.
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughan
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GOVERNORS
ENDORSE GRIZZLY PLAN The Governors of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho have endorsed a plan for their states to play a major role in managing grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park area. The plan, which will be sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, would go into effect once the grizzly is removed from the Endangered Species Act. The proposed plan would manage grizzlies in and around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, an area of some 9200 square miles. The proposal foresees the de-listing of the grizzly happening within a few years, and would seek to protect the animals and treat them as game animals to be controlled through regulated hunting. |
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| SIERRA CLUB CALLS FOR
MORE PROTECTION FOR GRIZZLIES Sierra Club BOZEMAN, Mont. -- The Sierra Club has released an alternate plan and map for grizzly bear recovery which recommends that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) consider adding four areas of key bear habitat in the Yellowstone region to the federal recovery zone. Louisa Willcox, coordinator of the Sierra Club Grizzly Bear Ecosystems Project condemned the government's proposed current recovery zone saying it falls far short of what's needed to protect the grizzly. "What we've developed is plan based on bear science, not what's politically expedient." "This is the bear's last stand in the lower-48 states and it's time to take a broader look at what the bear needs biologically to recover." According to Willcox, the bear must have adequate secure habitat to recover. The government must account for the bear's needs for food alternatives to compensate for the predicted loss of or declines in four native foods: whitebark pine seeds, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, bison and army cutworm moths. Diseases, climate change and other factors threaten these foods, which account for 80% of the calories the Yellowstone grizzly takes in. The government plan fails to protect essential habitat, including habitat the bear will likely need when key foods decline. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife plan doesn't provide the current bear population with enough room to range without fear of encountering humans. It is doomed to fail," Willcox explained. She urged the government to expand its proposed recovery zone, explaining, "the only way to protect grizzlies is to protect adequate habitat."New habitat analysis by scientists Troy Merrill and Dr. Dave Mattson has identified four areas of "high-quality" grizzly habitat that are not now included in the current recovery zone: the Wind River Mountain Range, southeastern Absaroka Mountains in Wyoming, the North Absarokas and adjacent parts of the Beartooths, and the Centennials, Gravellies, Tobacco Roots in Montana and Idaho. According to Merrill, "The best way to ensure that grizzlies will survive in the future is to restore them to a bigger landscape. Fortunately, we've found the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is still blessed with good bear habitat. The key is to identify and protect it now before it's lost to road building, oil and gas drilling, or other development." |
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| DRIVE SAFELY! National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Each season large mammals are killed by vehicles in Yellowstone. These accidents cause damage to vehicles and personal injury to vehicle occupants. Vehicle speed is the most significant factor influencing the frequency of vehicle/wildlife encounters. On average, each year two antelope, one bear, one beaver, one bighorn sheep, nine bison, 44 elk, seven coyotes, nine moose, 34 mule deer and one wolf are killed by vehicles in Yellowstone. Please drive defensively in the park, lower your speed, and anticipate animals appearing in the roadway. Hit your brakes, not the bison. Keep your eyes on the road and avoid eradicating an elk. Ease up on your accelerator and extend the days of a mule deer. Yellowstone will benefit; so will you. |
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