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| MONDAY July 24, 2000 Vol 4, # 45 |
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| MONDAY July 24, 2000 Vol 4, # 45 |
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| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion Free Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-
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 PROTECTING YELLOWSTONEby Bruce Gourley Yellowstone is a national treasure which is owned by the American public. Protecting Yellowstone is the responsibility of the American public. This weekly feature will help identify and explore the issues which are crucial to the ongoing, healthy existence of the "Crown Jewel" of America's National Park system. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- The biggest threat to Yellowstone during the 1990s was the proposed Cooke City New World Mine just outside the northeast boundary of the Park. In 1996, friends of Yellowstone celebrated when President Clinton announced that the federal government would buy out the New World Mine site. As part of the settlement, Crown Butte, former owner of the site, agreed to give the government $22 million to help clean up mine waste. Although the New World Mine was never to be, gold had been mined for many decades previously in the "New World Mining District," and there was much leftover waste from the old mining operations. And it turns out that Yellowstone National Park is still at risk from gold mining, albeit the residue of years past. The most imminent danger which Yellowstone faces from this legacy of gold mining is the McLaren Pit in the Daisy Creek drainage -- a drainage which sits near Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar Valley. The pit is named for the McLaren Gold Mining Company which ran an open pit gold and copper mine between 1933 and 1953. Up to 370,000 cubic yards of mine waste were expelled, and at one time Soda Butte Creek actually ran through the tailings mound before the creek was diverted to go around it. Now Cooke City resident and businessman Ralph Glidden is warning that Yellowstone is in just as much danger as ever from the New World Mining District. He is joined by renowned fly fisherman John Randolph, publisher of "Fly Fisherman" magazine. The two men note that there are indications that even now Soda Butte Creek is being harmed from mining waste runoff, and they warn that it would not take much to cause a breach of the tailings dam which would severely damage Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar Valley ecosystem. Yet despite these warning, the cleanup of the mining district is proceeding slowly at best. (Yellowstone Net provides you opportunity to voice your opinion regarding the various Yellowstone issues to your congresspersons and to editorial sections of magazines and newspapers by clicking here.) |
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughan
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PARK SERVICE SUSPENDS WEBCAMS The National Park Service has banned the installation of new Internet webcams, at least for the present time. NPS director Robert Stanton announced the ban at parks nationwide while the agency tries to hammer out a unified policy covering the devices. Park officials have expressed concern that the cameras, which have been installed in several national parks without approval from headquarters, could be misused by the public, perhaps attracting exhibitionists, protestors or even guerrilla advertisers. The event which seems to have triggered the ban was a brief attempt by Yellowstone National Park officials to sell sponsorship banners on the Old Faithful Webcam page. The attempt brought loud cries of protest from environmental groups and the public, charging that Yellowstone officials were trying to commercialize Old Faithful. Park officials responded that the effort was merely an attempt to help raise money to further support Yellowstone through the non-profit Yellowstone Association. |
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| BISON UPDATE News Brief YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- At least one retired wildlife biologist is of the opinion that bison numbers in Yellowstone will continue to drop for the foreseeable future. The focus of Mary Meagher's assessment is the road system within the Park which she charges has altered the ecosystem. She notes that studies show that the animals are moving ever more westward within the Park, which means they will face an ever-increasing danger of being killed by the Montana Department of Livestock as they leave Park boundaries to the west in search of better forage during the winter months. Bison reached a high of 4000 in 1994, and this year's winter count was a mere 2400. |
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| ROAD CONSTRUCTION UPDATE National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Yellowstone National Park officials have announced that a chip seal project has been rescheduled for the North Entrance Road from the North Entrance to Indian Creek Campground Chip sealing had been scheduled to begin on Tuesday, July 18, but will now begin on Monday, July 24, through Thursday, July 27. Road preparation efforts will begin at 5:30 a.m. each day, and the chip sealing process will start at 8 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Visitors may experience up to 30 minute traffic delays from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m Chip sealing roads is a process of placing a layer of oil and a layer of chips or aggregate and then rolling it. Chip sealing is standard procedure once a new roadway has cured for two to three years, and is also used to provide a wear surface on older roads until road reconstruction can be accomplished. The chip sealing process must be done during warm weather, and adverse weather (rain or colder temperatures) could delay the chip sealing and require rescheduling. Park visitors are encouraged to call the park headquarters at (307) 344-7381 for current information on road projects and closures. |
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