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MONDAY, AUG 17, 1998 |
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Volume 2, No 82 | |||
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PARK
WEATHER MORE NEWS The Yellowstone Net Newspaper is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
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PUBLISHER EDITOR IN CHIEF INTERN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- The scenario has become commonplace at America's best-known national parks: when the Park Service comes forth with a plan to preserve and protect the beauty and wildness of America's beloved national parks, plans which inevitably will impact visitation to some degree, some area businesses get up in arms. Today, Glacier National Park is the latest battleground. Whereas efforts to resolve winter use problems in Yellowstone and extreme summer traffic overcrowding in Yosemite have met with stiff opposition from many area businesses, Glacier National Park's plan to re-build the Going to the Sun highway over a four to six year span have also has made area business owners angry. A part of Glacier's long-range management plan, the Glacier road re-building plan involves closing off half of the road (either east or west) at one time. Visitors would still have access to the Logan Pass visitor's center. Closing half of the road at a time would allow for a quicker and safer job of rebuilding the old, winding, mountain road, as well as being more environmentally-friendly. The other option is a 10 year plan which would close the road only after Labor Day and at night. Many area businesses who depend on the Going to the Sun road for tourism revenue are upset, maintaining that a complete closing would be disastrous for them. Other points of contention include plans to ban jet skis in the Park and scenic air tours over the Park.
College Guide to a Summer Job in
Yellowstone  This column is based on my interactions with people who have worked
in Yellowstone (or who want to work in the Park). Some of these stories will be the
"behind the scenes" story of why I wrote a particular story in my book. If
you have a story to contribute to this column, email
me. For more information about my book, College Guide to a Summer Job in Yellowstone, click here.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- "Bridge Bay is a couple of miles from the Lake Hotel. Bridge Bay has a first class marina which rents paddle boats and fishing boats. The prices are very reasonable. "Fishing Guides are also available at Bridge Bay. "The Dock Hands work three long days then a half day, then they are off three and a half days. "Bridge Bay employees never leave! A lot of students that work here become school teachers so they can continue to work summers. This is a fantastic job! "From the Bridge Bay Marina you depart and return for the 'scenic cruise." This is a boat trip in which you ride out across the lake, circle an island which is about a half mile in size, and return to the marina. A lot of the Park employees refer to the scenic cruise as the 'scenic snooze." That might be true if the cruise consisted only of what I described above. One important bit of information has been left out. On the edge of the island is a bald eagle's nest! "When my nephew John and I took the tour, we saw several bald eagles. The tour itself is not as bad as it has been described, but add in the bald eagle sightings and the scenic cruise becomes a must-do event."
Editor-in-Chief Needed Yellowstone Net Newspaper is looking for
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A YNET Weekly Feature
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- Last week, Yellowstone Park Ranger Tom Mazzarisi, a contributor to this newspaper, attended a government-sponsored public hearing concerning the Environmental Impact Statement regarding Yellowstone's bison. The proposed bison Environmental Impact Statement "options," it should be noted, lean heavily towards appeasing the Montana cattle industry, rather than protecting Yellowstone's bison. The following is a portion of Tom's reaction to the public hearing. The full text of his reaction will be published in the upcoming Friday, August 21 edition of this newspaper. "Here are some interesting facts. There has not been a single case of cattle becoming infected by brucellosis from buffalo. There are roughly, 100,000 elk in the Yellowstone Ecosystem which also carry the disease and they roam freely in and out of Yellowstone’s boundaries. (I am definitely not in support of killing elk to get rid of the disease either.) The disease can only be transmitted by a birth event of an adult cow, the disease being contained in the afterbirth. Bulls and calves are still being killed and this killing occurs during the winter when the buffalo are not even calving (calving usually occurs within Yellowstone’s boundaries in the spring). Many of the buffalo killed have not even been near cattle and I have seen and heard reports of the nearest head of cattle being more than 20 miles away! An even more disturbing fact is that there are about 2000 head of cattle, more than half on public lands, that are causing this debate over free roaming buffalo. Since 1994, almost 2000 bison have been killed leaving the park for 2000 or fewer head of cattle." "The buffalo and our nation’s remaining wildlife need your help. You have until October 16th to get your comments in to help stop the killing. Send your comments to: Sarah Branson Interagency Bison Management Plan, DSC-RP P.O. Box 25287 Denver, CO 80225-0287. Tell her you support the Citizen’s Plan to Save Yellowstone Buffalo and that buffalo should be allowed to roam free as they once did over a century ago. Do not allow the livestock industry to have control of our nation’s wildlife, because our wildlife will be treated like cattle, as is the case with buffalo right now. It is our duty as American citizens and those who earn their livings providing visitors with Yellowstone memories to support the buffalo. It is unconscionable and hypocritical to hear of those who favor and participate in the slaughter of buffalo and at the same time take millions of dollars from visitors. The visitor who comes to Yellowstone to see buffalo and to bring home a reminder of the buffalo whether it be a sweater, a T-shirt, or a stuffed animal." Be sure to write your letter in support of Yellowstone's bison, and read the full text of Tom's reaction on Friday.
This Week's Featured Cool Site: America's Best Online Take a look at an insightful and imaginative collection of the "best of America" in dozens of different categories. Author Dow Scoggins has traveled extensively across America and has put together a showcase website which truly has something for everyone who lives in or has an interest in America. Click here to go to AMERICA'S BEST ONLINE.
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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.
