. . . Or, Forever Hold Your Peace!

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

Well, it’s come down to this: the fools are still arguing about snowmobiles while the winter is getting shorter and the snow is getting thinner.

On Thursday, May 17, 2007 a great hoard of cheerleaders, advocates, special interests, and “parkies” of all stripes will gather in beautiful West Yellowstone to share misconceptions about a winter use plan that is obsolete before it’s implemented. Such is the state of the NPS.

I’ll wager that no serious time will be given to the concept that the snow on the roads is getting thinner by the year. Certainly the NPS will not acknowledge that global warming is affecting Yellowstone in the winter time. I wonder how much time will be spent discussing the vast clouds of diesel smoke polluting the winter air from the Best Available Technology buses?

Do you suppose that the gathered assemblage will address the rising costs of the mandatory tours that are going to escalate with rising gasoline prices? Do you think that they are going to explain why the NPS is wedded to maintaining and constantly upgrading an obsolete fleet of single-purpose Bombardier Snow Buses? Maybe they will talk about the skiers that traipse across the bacterial mats at Lone Star Geyser. Maybe they will show skiers prodding bison with ski poles at 40 below. Perhaps they will discuss snowshoeing off trail in the geyser basins – NOT.

This is not a winter use plan at all. This is just one more charade in the ongoing immorality play to scream about snowmobiles and ignore public access to Yellowstone – - unless, of course, you are rich enough to afford $100/day plus entrance fees.

I’ll be there, if they don’t see me coming. I’ll give you a full report. But I promise you that no minds will be changed, (even mine.) I promise you that “Sanctimonious Sacklin” will avoid all the issues and mumble in ‘parkspeak’ about ‘accommodation.’ I promise that the audience will be sitting together in ‘camps.’ And, I promise you that everybody will come away more convinced that they are “RIGHT” than they were when they went in, (even me.)

As a matter of fact, you probably don’t need to attend. Nothing new will be revealed. The teams have been chosen and the cheerleaders are getting a bit long in the tooth. For the data you can just go to the NPS Site, (no, ladies, not the Yellowstone site,) but the NPS site about Yellowstone Winter vehicles.

If you bother to check the data you will note that newer: YES NEWER!, vehicles have higher NOx emissions/mile than the older versions. This is the NPS conception of progress. Well, we already knew that.

It’s not about winter use. It’s not about global warming affecting access. It’s not about honesty. It’s certainly not about exhaust & pollution.

It is about differing perceptions of Yellowstone, and it is certainly about skiers vs. sledders, and the sanctimonious cheerleaders on all sides ignoring reality and the future of Yellowstone. Scream on.

Not too far into the current proposed “winter use plan” it will be possible water-skip snowmobiles along the roads in Yellowstone – no matter how many there are. Can you imagine how this will affect a 3-ton snow bus?

For the NPS view of the supposed “winter use plan” visit New Long-term Winter Use Plan, (How long of a term?)

For the Yellowstone view visit Winter Use Planning in Yellowstone. No ladies, they are not the same. For the open comment documents go to Documents Open For Comment. For additional parkspeak go to Links.

Want to learn more about remote sensing of exhaust plumes and emissions for winter vehicles in Yellowstone? Click HERE & HERE.

I promise that the video of this meeting will be hilarious. And I promise that if you don’t speak up now, then you should forever hold your peace.

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By the Bye ——>> Happy “Air Quality Awareness Week.”