RUFFIN PREVOST Billings Gazette | Posted: Wednesday, June 4, 2008 12:00 am
CODY - Sylvan Pass should remain open to snowmobiles and snowcoaches under a compromise announced Tuesday by the National Park Service and officials from Cody, Park County and Wyoming.
The agreement, which comes as a recommendation to Mike Snyder, regional director for the Park Service in Denver, calls for the pass to be open to motorized travel from Dec. 22 through March 1 of each year.
Continued avalanche mitigation, including use of explosives deployed by a helicopter and a howitzer gun, were recommended.
The agreement reduces slightly the total number of days the pass has typically been open each year, with last year's season running from Dec. 15 to March 15, said state Rep. Colin Simpson, R-Cody, part of the working group that made the agreement.
Simpson said the Park Service sought a shorter season "so they could take those savings and apply them to measures like hiring additional folks to make sure they have an adequate crew to do avalanche management, or to put up another weather station."
"This agreement is a tremendous victory for our congressional delegation, our local and state elected officials, the Park Service and the people of Wyoming," said Tonia Grdina, who co-chairs Shut Out of Yellowstone, a grassroots group that had opposed the closure.
"Most importantly, it proves that citizen involvement can help to shape important public policies and that complex problems can be resolved when all parties work together in the spirit of cooperation," she said.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal said his "focus will turn to the implementation of this agreement." He called recreational access to Yellowstone over Sylvan Pass "a key element of the economies of Park County and Cody, and a significant asset to the state of Wyoming."
"I commend Cody residents for their hard work to stop a top-down government approach in their back yard. The hard work has paid off," said Sen. Mike Enzi, who applauded the agreement, along with the rest of Wyoming's congressional delegation.
Sen. John Barrasso said it was "long overdue that the Park Service agreed to our local concerns. As a matter of principle, they have no right to shut the people of Wyoming out of Yellowstone."
"The agreement to keep Sylvan Pass open is not only a win for northwest Wyoming, but a victory for every one of us who values our access to, and enjoyment of, public lands in the West," said Rep. Barbara Cubin.
Rick Frost, a spokesman for the Park Service in Denver, declined to offer additional comment, saying the agreement speaks for itself.
Among the priorities cited in reaching the agreement were the safety of visitors and employees, making motorized travel over the pass as predictable as possible, and maintaining close communication among all parties for future operations on the pass.
Funding
The Park Service "agrees to make funding for safety and access improvements on Sylvan Pass a priority," the statement said.
It also said local and state officials would continue in good faith "to work cooperatively to explore funding of safety and access improvements."
Simpson said the Park Service is seeking specific funding assistance from state and local governments for three oversnow vehicles, including a $64,000 ambulance, a $62,000 crew transporter and a rescue/recovery vehicle that costs $240,000.
Wyoming parties agreed to try to provide one-time funding for the vehicles, and also to assist in the transport and storage of a howitzer gun, sourcing artillery shells and removing unexploded ordinance, Simpson said.
The Park Service is restricted from owning a howitzer, he said, adding that there may be assistance available from a military entity or the Wyoming Department of Transportation, which uses such guns for avalanche control in Teton County.
He said federal grant funds may also be available, "but there are so many sources of potential funding, I would hate to identify which one we would look to first."
Lengthy negotiations
The agreement caps more than five months of negotiations by the parties to find a safe and affordable plan for avalanche management along the pass. The Park Service had announced in November 2006 a proposal to close it to winter travel.
The proposed closure drew protests from many in Cody, who objected to what they said was a growing trend of restricting access to public lands.
Others feared closing the pass would stunt a growing movement toward revitalizing winter recreation along the North Fork corridor, between the town and Yellowstone National Park's east entrance.
Park managers cited the considerable risks and high costs of avalanche control operations along the 8,530-foot pass, which saw relatively little winter traffic compared with other entrances.
The negotiations were mandated by a winter-use record of decision signed by Snyder, who will decide later this year whether to approve the recommended compromise as part of a revised decision.
Had an agreement not been reached, no avalanche management operations would occur, and snowmobile and snow coach travel would be limited only to those times deemed safe, based on snow conditions and weather forecasting.
If approved, the Sylvan Pass plan will become effective in December.
* Last we knew: Negotiations were under way regarding whether Yellowstone National Park's east entrance would remain open to motorized traffic in the winter.
* The latest: Parties reached an agreement to keep Sylvan Pass open from Dec. 22 to March 1 of each year.
* What's next: If approved, the plan will become effective in December.]]->