Officials, Citizens, Criticize Snyder
Sep 19th 2007ScottPolitics & Wyoming & Yellowstone East Gate & conservatism & multiple use & worthwhile reads
OK, so what else is new, right? But when you think about it, it’s good that the Park Service is being held to the fire (lightning-caused, of course).
Granted, our Governor says some pretty crazy things about taxes, not running for office, and his salary, but he hasn’t been weak on keeping the East Gate of Yellowstone open. In a recent letter to Regional Director Mike Snyder, Gov. Freudenthal (D-WY) questioned the proposed cost for mitigating avalanches on Sylvan pass. A recent study done by the park service estimates that cost for “additional measures” in avalanche mitigation could go exceed $1 million. Meanwhile, WYDOT spends nearly one-tenth of that to mitigate avalanches along the Snake River Canyon, Teton Pass, the Hoback River Canyon and Jackson South.
Park County Commissioners expressed similar concerns in their letter to the Regional Director, stating
While NPS professes fiscal responsibility, it appears they will now evaluate costs using the gold standard for avalanche control rather than industry standard, and then justify closure due to high cost.
The Cody-based citizens group Shut Out of Yellowstone criticized the Park leadership in their letter for not being told about the details of potential mitigation methods which were somehow “potentially too costly” in a recent meeting.
In the mean time, Regional Director Mike Snyder denies that their is any flip-flopping going on
The governor and lawmakers claimed that the Park Service has said it wants to close the road because of concerns about avalanches. But they said the federal agency now says the road should be closed because of the cost of keeping it open. Mike Snyder is regional director for the park service. He says he doesn’t believe his agency’s reasons are shifting. Snyder says avalanche risk has always been the major concern in deciding how to manage the pass. But he also says that if the cost of managing avalanches in the area is rising sharply, that factor also must be considered.
Well, Mr. Snyder, you may not think that your rationale is shifting, but to everyone else, it sure looks like it is. Hopefully, you’ll listen to Yellowstone’s neighbors to the east and give us a listing of alternatives that are acceptable later this month.
Technorati Tags: Yellowstone National Park, winter use plan, avalanche mitigation, Mike Snyder, Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Shut Out of Yellowstone, Park County Commissioners
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