Proposal: Relinquish Part of Yellowstone to Wyoming
Sep 20th 2007ScottPolitics & Wyoming & Yellowstone East Gate & multiple use
I have a proposal I’d like to throw out for your consideration. News hit today that the recommendation for winter use in Yellowstone would close the East Gate due safety or financial concerns, depending on what day you ask.
Former Senator Al Simpson (R-WY) predicted last March regardless of the decision made, a lawsuit would be filed from one side or the other. Well, it looks like it’s going to be our side filing the suit. We may have taken a punch that we all saw coming, but as Rocky Balboa’s coach would say, I ain’t heard no bell yet.
As I thought about the issue, an idea came to mind. Why not lobby our delegation to form legislation that would relinquish a portion of Yellowstone back to the State of Wyoming to be used as a state park? The land would not have to be massive. Just large enough to get travelers over Sylvan Pass and away from large mountains and sharp turns so as to minimize any East Gate closures from road conditions, avalanches, and mudslides.
This has many benefits.
- It gives us a newly rebuilt road paid for by the federal government. I realize that it translates to yours and mine taxes, but hey, at least we get to enjoy the $52 million road year round.
- The state could stipulate that guided snowmobile excursions are at your discretion.
- It would ensure that Sylvan Pass would remain open for winter use. The state has been up in arms about keeping Sylvan Pass available for winter recreation, so we’re not likely to start clamoring to close it once it’s ours to maintain.
- There are a number of possible names that the park could get:
- Al Simpson State Park (for our retired U.S. Senator)
- Armstrong-Grdina State Park (for the co-chairs of the Shut Out of Yellowstone citizens’ group)
- Howitzer State Park (for the crown jewel that keeps Sylvan Pass open)
- Pahaska State Park (for the neighbor, Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge)
- East Gate State Park (for being the new locale literally “just east of Yellowstone”)
- Sylvan State Park (for the new pass)
- Craig Thomas State Park (for our U.S. Senator who recently passed away)
And that’s just for starters! I encourage you to write our D.C. delegation and encourage them to look into having a portion of Yellowstone National Park relinquished to the State of Wyoming. After all, it’s obvious that the National Park Service doesn’t want it.
Technorati Tags: Yellowstone National Park, winter use plan, public access, political action
Special thanks to EverythingCody.com and Yellowstone Newspaper
for linking to this post.
5 Comments »
Bill Patten on 21 Sep 2007 at 4:19 pm #
Sounds rather zaney but may be the only way to keep the pass open, in spite of the lying Park Service.Their goal is to close it off regardless.
They want to have it to themselves as their private lab to study whatever they can dream up, at taxpayer expense.
I wish you would take the time to read Mike Johnson’s comments regarding Suzanne Lewis proposals and the real truth.
This can be found at http://www.everythingcody.com
This is all FACT.
Scott on 22 Sep 2007 at 2:05 am #
Mr. Patten,
Thanks for dropping in and commenting! I have to admit when I first thought this up, I had done so in somewhat of a satirical mindset. But the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that it just might have some validity to seriously consider.
Mike Johnson’s op-ed on the incompetent Supt. Lewis is an extraordinary read, and I quoted a portion of it in the post that follows this one (Apparently, YNP Officials Like Fire).
In the mean time, we need to storm the East Gate with visits, especially on free access day next Saturday.
Mike on 23 Sep 2007 at 10:37 pm #
Yellowstone National Park belongs to 300 million American citizens, and most of us realize that it was established to protect wildlife and other natural features. We don’t maintain the park so that you can have an income for your tourist economy in Cody. If your proposal could ever come to a popular vote, the results would be approximately 299.5 million against the 0.5 million in Wyoming.
Why? Because the rest of us don’t want to see more development and exploitation in the park. The federal lands of the GYE comprise one of the largest functioning temperate ecosystems in the world. Cutting off pieces of it for snowmobile use is just silly and short-sighted.
Here’s something that makes about as much sense. Let’s tear down all the buildings in Cody and plant trees. This would provide many more camping opportunities for all the people back east the live in crowded cities. We could call it “Formerly Cody National Park.” Do you want to put that one to a vote? Hmm. Might be several hundred million of us against you.
Scott on 23 Sep 2007 at 11:58 pm #
Perhaps you missed President Teddy Roosevelt’s speech about another important aspect of establishing Yellowstone: the benefit and enjoyment of the people (today that means all 300 million of us). The debate by and large is not over snowmobiling (though there is an aspect of the debate that covers snowmobiling), it is over public access to public lands.
Snowmobiling on Sylvan Pass (or any road in Yellowstone for that matter) isn’t going to destroy any natural features because you are traveling over roads that are already there (and they were probably built by human beings rather than just naturally springing up after President Roosevelt dedicated the arch at the North Gate). And the wildlife is doing just fine.
I’m not sure what you mean by “development and exploration in the park.” Sorry, but roads have to exist to get people through the park (even in the summer), and that requires some development. $52 million of development just got spent on Sylvan Pass. Anyone that’s been over it in the last several years will tell you that the pass was a mess. Before the project was started, it was rough and narrow. I’ve herd that now it is a great road to travel over (I hope to find out for myself this Saturday). On top of that, there are buildings that need to be there for lodging and food, and souvenirs. I know, that emulates a capitalist way of thinking which may trouble you, but, this country was founded by capitalists.
To say you don’t want to see exploration in one of the most diverse pieces of land in this country just makes no sense at all. There are so many pockets of interesting sights and unique beauty that you will never see from the side of the highways. You have to get out on the trail with a bottle or two of water, your binoculars, your camera, and perhaps a good walking stick and do some exploring to see what a great gem Yellowstone National Park is. Exploration is one of the things that makes Yellowstone a great place to visit. Exploration is what founded Yellowstone.
If your talking about drilling for oil and gas in Yellowstone (as I suspect you are), please, don’t insult your’s and everyone else’s intelligence or glorify your ignorance. Yellowstone is protected from that kind of activity.
The logic of your replace Cody with camping idea is the exact type of thinking that moved Al Simpson to propose a wilderness area right in the heart of Cleveland, OH. Yea, he got angry calls from the legislators there, but they thought twice before trying to snatch more Wyoming land without getting Wyoming’s input.
Basin Beat Blues » Blog Archive » The Republic of Wyoming on 28 Sep 2007 at 5:57 pm #
[…] talk in this part of the state has been even more pointed lately, with wolves, bears and Sylvan Pass bringing about quite a bit of joking (it is joking, right?) […]