Yellowstone National Park officials are opposing a 100-foot cell phone tower in Gardiner, Mont., even though there are five cell towers in the park itself -- and the possibility of more going up.

The tower would be within sight of the Roosevelt Arch and the park's North Entrance Road, part of a historic district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Gardiner and the North Entrance were the original entrance into the park, back when the Northern Pacific Railroad brought in tourists.

Yellowstone has five cell phone towers in the park, including one at the historic Old Faithful site, with plans for more.

Alltel Corp., based in Little Rock, Ark., plans to erect a 100-foot-tall monopole tower on a portion of the privately owned Rocky Mountain Campground property in Gardiner. A lightning rod would be mounted on the top of the tower, extending an additional 15 feet. The tower would have either a red or white light at the top due to proximity to the Gardiner Airport and Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

In an Oct. 17 memo to park employees, Superintendent Suzanne Lewis provided guidance to park employees wishing to comment on the proposed project as private citizens or area residents. The memo included names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all the relevant officials interested in public comments on the project, including federal, Alltel, state, park and county officials. All public comments are due by Oct. 26.

Because the structure would be on private land, it does not require approval from the park or the National Park Service.

On Oct. 16, Lewis wrote to Alltel to point out that the proposed cell tower:

* Would be visible from many locations surrounding the arch.

* Would be visible for about one and a half to two miles along the North Entrance Road within the park.

* Would be within about 100 yards of the trailhead for the Yellowstone River Trail.

"The park would like to discuss with you and your staff potential options or alternatives that might avoid or lessen the impacts to known cultural significant resources from this proposed project," Lewis wrote.

At the same time, the Park Service is preparing an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act to help guide future decisions about wireless communication services in Yellowstone. Al Nash, spokesman for the park, took pains to emphasize that "wireless communication" encompasses much more than cell phones and cell phone towers.

"We want a more encompassing EA," he said, one which will also address public health and safety monitoring and alert systems, Internet service, Web cams, geothermal and seismic monitoring and other issues.

The wireless communications environmental study was interrupted when a key staffer left the park, but it's expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Nash acknowledged that the visibility of the cell tower at Old Faithful has been vigorously discussed, internally and externally. The Old Faithful tower was trimmed by 20 feet in 2005 because its size violated permit conditions. An acid wash was applied to make the tower less shiny.

Comments received by Yellowstone National Park range from calls to get rid of all cell towers, to requests for universal cell coverage in the park.

There are two cell towers around Mammoth Hot Springs, one on Mount Washburn and another at Grant Village, Nash said. Other sites are sought by cellular companies.

Tim Stevens, the Yellowstone program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said the proposed cell tower in Gardiner would have a significant visual impact on a historically important area.

"You'd be able to see this tower a long, long way on the North Yellowstone Drive," which runs from Gardiner to Mammoth Hot Springs, he said.

The association would like to see a more creative approach, he said, such as using alternative locations or building a tower into an existing structure.

"No tower near the boundary of Yellowstone should be allowed to spoil the special vistas of the park," said Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "The concern by park management about proliferation of cell towers and their negative effects on park values is laudable, if somewhat ironic, given Yellowstone's own history of approving inappropriate cell towers within park boundaries."

Andrew Moreau, spokesman for Alltel, said the company is in communication with Superintendent Lewis and will set up a meeting.

"We're very early in the process," said Moreau, and public comments about the tower site will be considered.