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YELLOWSTONE WEATHER Highs 30s, Lows 0s Partly Cloudy More Weather ROAD REPORT Roads are closed for the season. More Info THE DAILY CARTOON ONLINE GREETING CARDS PUBLISHER Yellowstone Net Company EDITOR-IN- CHIEF Bruce Gourley MORE LINKS Discussion Newspaper Archives Send us your comments		COMMUNITIES DISCUSS SNOWMOBILE BAN News Brief BELGRADE, Mont. -- Last week the National Park Service announced that snowmobiles will be phased out of Yellowstone by the 2003-2004 winter season. Since then, the coming snowmobile ban in Yellowstone National Park is a much-discussed topic these days. Business owners in West Yellowstone have mixed feelings about the ban, although many are opposed to it. West Yellowstone's winter economy is dependent upon revenue from snowmobiling, and although there are hundreds of miles of nearby premium national forest snowmobile trails just outside of Yellowstone, the loss of snowmobiling in Yellowstone is projected to lead to a loss in winter tourism dollars. In short, the snowmobile trails in Yellowstone are a drawing card for the town of West Yellowstone, and the snowcoaches which will replace snowmobiles in the Park are not expected to be as attractive to potential visitors. On the other side of the Park, Cody, Wyoming, hopes to be able to work with National Park officials as snowmobiles are phased out. Cody depends on snowmobiling for winter revenue also, although to a lesser degree. Officials in Cody would like to address the issue and seek solutions in terms of the region's economy without taking the NPS to court, as some elected officials in the Yellowstone region have threatened to do. The conversations going on now will undoubtedly continue for quite sometime, growing and evolving in the process, as area communities struggle with how to react to and deal with the potential loss of winter revenue from snowmobilers. BACK TO TOP
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley Ralph Maughan Kim Steinbacher Kevin Sanders Steve Brashear Clint Wilkes Hon. Bob Gammage Lee Whittlesey Tom Mazzarisi David Monteith Denise Elmer Dr. Bob Bara Matthew McLean		BURN VICTIM GOES HOME News Brief SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Tyler Montague, one of two surviving victims of a tragic hot springs accident in Yellowstone this past August, went home last Saturday. Montague and Lance Buchi, still hospitalized, accidentally plunged into a hot spring in Yellowstone on August 21. Both Montague and Buchi are from Utah. Companion Sara Hulphers of Oregon, who also fell into the hot spring, died shortly after the accident. While friends and family rejoice in Montague returning home, his recovery from the severe burns over virtually all of his body is far from over. His mother has asked for privacy as Montague adjusts to the move back home. Montague, Buchi and Hulphers were all summer workers in Yellowstone. BACK TO TOP
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		DOUG SWINGLEY IN WEST YELLOWSTONE News Brief WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. -- Two-time defending Iditarod champion Doug Swingley is scheduled to compete in the West Yellowstone Dog Sled Race this weekend. The races begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday near the city park. The 12-dog teams will race 20 miles each day along the Madison Arm Loop road in the Gallatin National Forest. By comparison, the Iditarod race is 1,100 miles long and Swingley, of Lincoln, Montana, won the brutal race in 1995, 1999 and 2000. BACK TO TOP
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		ROADS IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK CLOSED News Brief GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Mont. -- Officials have announced the closure of several roads in Glacier, due to heavy snowfall last weekend. The Many Glacier Road, Camas Road and Inside North Fork Road are all now closed. The Going-to-the-Sun Road remains open to traffic at lower elevations. In addition, winter backcountry camping policies are in effect from now until May. BACK TO TOP