PLOW YELLOWSTONE PARK
Send your comment by March 30th
Points of interest about plowing the West Side of Yellowstone
What part of Yellowstone would be plowed?
What about wildlife?
Plowing is less expensive than grooming:
Groomers today cost over $300,000 to purchase and are over $100 per hour to operate. They only travel at 8 miles per hour. This makes the average cost per mile to groom a oversnow road $12. A plow truck costs $100,000 and operate at about 30 miles per hour. That makes the average cost per mile to plow the road $2. The equalizer is you may have to plow a road four or five times during a snow storm. The real savings come because it only snows on the average of once every three days in Yellowstone, whereas with grooming you have to groom every single day.Emissions:
Snowcoaches and snowmobiles are very inefficient and polluting vehicles for transportation. The average gasoline usage on a snowcoach is from 1 to 4 miles to the gallon. The same vehicle on tires gets between 10 and 14 miles to the gallon. Vehicle emissions are really a very simple equation. Every gallon of gasoline run through the vehicle emits about 20 pounds of carbon emissions. The simple relationship of gasoline in on tracks vs. gasoline in on tires means there is approximately one tenth the emissions with using tires.
The Time is NOW
The National Park Service is taking public comment on the issue of Yellowstone Winter Use until March 30, 2010. They call this process Scoping, hence the letters going to the attention of Winter Use Scoping. It seems the environmental groups are all focusing on what type of winter vehicle, and how many, should be allowed in the park in winter. They are focused on the wrong question. The question is, should it continue to be over snow travel at all? Why not plow the roads?"
Plowing the roads would accomplish many things. The first and most important being public access for all, similar to the method presently employed from mid April to November 1st in Yellowstone. People would be allowed into Yellowstone in their own vehicles. (Any vehicle that can make it to West Yellowstone from either Idaho Falls, ID or Bozeman, MT could make the trip from West to Old Faithful.) You could use your National Park Pass, or get a 7 day weekly pass for $25. The only other cost would be fueling the vehicle and whatever other amenities one plans to purchase in Yellowstone.
Over snow travel is an expensive adventure. It currently costs $100 per day or more to access Yellowstone via snowcoach or snowmobile. Guide fees cost extra, tips cost extra, your pass costs extra. It adds up to a trip for the privileged only, those with means to spend $400 on a family of four for one day in Yellowstone. This is elitist, and is not what Yellowstone was set aside to be.
Taking a winter trip in 2010, you are on the schedule of the guide and the group. You cannot stop at Fountain Paint Pots to wait for a geyser, or stop to spot wolves or bison seen in the distance. The group must get to Old Faithful and back to West by 5, sometimes only giving tourists a few hours at Old Faithful. Those that can afford to stay at Snow Lodge get more time, yet that is not an economical endeavor.
In the winter of 2010, the park will close on March 16 and not open again for an entire month to any kind of vehicular traffic. If the road were plowed all year round, the gate could be open all year round. People could come see Old Faithful 365 days a year. Yellowstone already allows access of this kind. It is done on the corridor between Mammoth and Cooke City, going through the beautiful Lamar valley. The corridor from West to Old Faithful is no less beautiful, and to many that seek the thermal features of Yellowstone, geyser access all year round would be to them what being able to scope wolves all year round is to folks in the Lamar Valley. Winter wonderland.
Please know that the time is NOW. The scoping period ends March 30. Please use the link on the first entry of this blog to write your comment. Each individual together will make a thousand voices, then two thousand, then ten thousand. We can do this, make Yellowstone a place for everyone. PLEASE HELP. Send the link to everyone you know and let them know March 30 is the deadline for public comment.
PLOWYELLOWSTONE.ORG Pass it on...those of you on Facebook, help make this happen...Twitter it to the treetops, be creative! Make signs and post them, write into your local paper. We have one month to really let the Park Service know that this is what we want.
