|
||||
| MONDAY February 26, 2001 Vol 5, # 20 |
|
|
||||
| MONDAY February 26, 2001 Vol 5, # 20 |
|
|
. | |
| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion $7.95 Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-
|
 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) -- We reported last week on the big jump in the number of snowmobilers who passed through Yellowstone's west gate in the month of January. And although February has also seen a large number of snowmobilers in the Park, record low snow levels have forced the Park Service to seriously consider closing the West Yellowstone to Madison stretch of roadway to snowmachines. (See story below.) The jump in snowmobile traffic this winter season has been so dramatic, and the resulting pollution so great, that this winter season fresh air is being pumped into the entrance booths manned by rangers in an attempt to reduce the rising number of complaints of headaches, runny eyes and sore throats. The intense amounts of pollution emitted by snowmobiles (one machine produces the equivalent of 60 cars) is a major reason for the Park Service's planned phased-in ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton by the 2004 winter season. The Bush administration and the snowmobile industry, however, hold out hope on scaling back the ban to allow limited numbers of cleaner-burning machines in Yellowstone and other national parks. Indeed, the snowmobile industry over the past few months has been scrambling to produce environmentally-friendly machines targeted for use in national parks, and in Yellowstone in particular. Snowmobile maker Arctic Cat manufactured and shipped fifty such machines to West Yellowstone rental shops back in December. Last week, Polaris Industries introduced a four-stroke snowmobile engine that is considerably cleaner and quieter than the current machines, and comparable to Arctic Cat's new "green" machines. Polaris plans to begin limited production of the new machines in November. In a related development, the Society of Automotive Engineers is sponsoring their second annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge in Jackson, Wyoming, next month. Some fourteen college groups of college students are scheduled to show off their cleaner machines from March 25-30. The students will also be working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a new emissions test and produce high-quality data on snowmobiles. For the past decade, the snowmobile industry ignored mounting calls to create and produce environmentally-friendly machines. It has taken the very real prospect of a complete ban on snowmobiles in all national parks to force them to take action that should have been taken years ago. If there is a future for snowmobiles in America's national parks, that future lies with the new, cleaner-burning and quieter machines that are just now in the earliest stages of trickling into the marketplace. (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.) |
|
| . | . | . |
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley
|
WEST
ENTRANCE ROAD UPDATE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Efforts to create a reasonable oversnow driving surface on Yellowstone National Park's West Entrance are proving very difficult. To cut down the moguls on the road and smooth out the road surface, park staff have switched to grading the road, but the road surface remains in extremely poor condition with deep moguls, long patches of bare pavement, and thin snow cover. Every reasonable effort is being made to try and keep the 14-mile section of road open, but with continuing deteriorating conditions, predicted warm weather over the next several days, and safety concerns, park visitors are advised that it might be necessary to close the road at any time to all oversnow vehicle use. It is anticipated that the road will be closed to snow machines by late Sunday or Monday morning. If the road-closing proceeds, the road will be plowed from the West Entrance to Old Faithful and opened to wheeled, mass transit only. Park visitors are reminded that driving on ice packed roads can be considerably different than on snow packed roads, and drivers should use extra caution. Additionally, speed limits from West Yellowstone to Madison Junction are posted at a maximum 35 miles per hour rather than 45 miles per hour. Graders and equipment are operating during daylight hours, so caution is advised for heavy equipment on the road |
|
| , | . | . |
 PEOPLE AND PLACESby Clint Wilkes On occasion Clint Wilkes will offer a story of interest to everyone who loves Yellowstone and the surrounding area. Some stories will be humorous, others will illustrate a point. You the reader are invited to respond by email. BELGRADE, Mont. -- My best friend Bob Gammage lost his Mother after a brief illness recently. Mrs. Gammage was one of the finest ladies I have ever known. I was proud to know her as a friend and someone I admired very much. What was amazing about Mrs. Gammage is she lived life to its fullest up until the day a few months ago when she was diagnosed with a serious illness. It had not been unusual for her until then to make home visits to other senior citizens who were many years younger than her. My best memory of Mrs. Gammage was Bob telling me a few months after she retired that she was busier now than she had ever been helping anyone she could. Here is a part of the obituary for Mrs. Gammage. I will miss her. Upon her retirement from Milby High School in 1982 she dedicated most of her time and effort to ministering to homebound individuals, under the sponsorship of Park Place Baptist Church, where she was a member for more than 60 years. When she moved to Llano in 1996, she helped revive and expand the homebound ministry at the First Baptist Church of Llano, worked as volunteer at Llano Memorial Hospital, continued to bowl with a local group, remained active in her china painting, historical and other organizational activities, and became active with local exercise and game groups. Memorial contributions may be made to the Athletic and Educational Building Fund, First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 403, Llano, Texas 78643. |
||
| w | . | . |
| YELLOWSTONE NET OFFERS
$7.95 INTERNET ACCESS by Bruce Gourley BELGRADE, Mont. (YNET) -- In the wake of December's demise of the free Internet industry, Yellowstone Net (www.yellowstone.net) introduces a new, value-packed Internet Access Service: $7.95 unlimited monthly Internet access with no annoying advertisements. This new Internet service features speedy 56k speeds and is offered in most local phone markets nationwide and in Canada, including many towns in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The software is available for download via the Yellowstone Net website, or may be obtained on a CD-ROM for a shipping and handling fee. The $7.95 monthly fee is one of the lowest nationwide, yet the service is among the best. In addition to offering nationwide coverage, Yellowstone Net ISP offers 24-hour toll-free technical support via phone as well as anytime email technical support. "We anticipate on signing up a significant number of users who are dissatisfied with the few remaining free ISPs and all their restrictions, and yet who are not willing to pay $20 or even more in monthly Internet access fees," stated Clint Wilkes, Co-Owner of Yellowstone Net. |
||
| |
||
