Letters to Montana Senators Baucus and Tester and Governor Schweitzer re Snowcoaches in Yellowstone NP

NOTE: Same letter sent to Senator Jon Tester, and essentially same letter sent to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.

February 11, 2008

The Honorable Max Baucus
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Baucus:

Yellowstone National Park recently passed the midpoint of its 2007-2008 winter season. On behalf of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, I am writing to draw your attention to several positive developments benefiting the Park and its visitors this winter. In sum: more visitors, more affordably, have been able to enter Yellowstone by a means that has simultaneously helped protect the Park, enhance their learning and their children’s learning and expand opportunities to go beyond a vehicular tour to explore areas under their own power.

These developments stem from investments and innovation that reflect very positively on tourism entrepreneurs in West Yellowstone and Gardiner. From our professional vantage as career stewards of the National Park System, we feel it is important to convey to you as Montana’s senior Senator that we believe these changes exemplify an ideal gateway community stewardship ethic. We believe this ethic is growing out of the same kind of difficult but successful transition that has benefited Springdale, Utah, gateway to Zion National Park, and Bar Harbor, Maine just outside Acadia National Park and visitors to those two national treasures. In West Yellowstone, snowcoach operators are increasingly providing access, enjoyment and education to visitors while vigorously protecting Yellowstone National Park.

The National Park Service informs us that the number of visitors choosing snowcoaches for oversnow trips to Old Faithful and other destinations in the Park grew by another 11 percent through the end of January in comparison to last season’s midpoint. From West Yellowstone, snowcoach visitation is up over 17 percent compared to last winter. These increases are in addition to the more than 60 percent growth in snowcoach visitation over the previous four winters.

These trends reflect that ever-greater numbers of visitors are choosing to reach and enjoy Yellowstone’s attractions on vehicles that do not push noise levels, air pollution and disturbance of wildlife to problematic levels. As you know, the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency have verified in a succession of studies that in Yellowstone’s unique setting, snowcoach access is considerably better than even guided, four-stroke snowmobiles access for protecting the Park’s resources and maintaining natural, healthy and safe conditions that visitors expect to find in their first national park.

Our organization, comprised of over 640 former employees of the National Park Service, believes that this Administration’s recent decision to perpetuate snowmobile use in Yellowstone, particularly at a level which the National Park Service confirmed would erode the Park’s improved winter air quality, add to noise problems, and subject wildlife to more frequent harassment and displacement, is a serious breach of its stewardship responsibility and a subversion of public process.

However, what we are witnessing, thankfully, is a mitigating, visitor-inspired counterweight to the Administration’s abdication of responsibility. Simply put: more visitors are saying with their choices—with their pocketbooks—that they prefer to visit the Park more affordably, keep warm, protect Yellowstone, learn more about it and even get out and use their legs and lungs in a place of unparalleled wonder. They are choosing snowcoach access to the Park in ever-greater numbers. This is happening to no small degree because of investments that tour businesses have made in modern snowcoaches that are heated and comfortable, have the advantage of very large windows and are increasingly outfitted with easy-on, easy-off ski racks.

We would like to make a special point of applauding extra steps that some snowcoach operators have taken this winter. These innovations have thoughtfully and successfully enhanced the experience that Yellowstone’s winter visitors are receiving. Some snowcoach operators have outfitted coaches with many sets of binoculars, others with spotting scopes, to assist visitors in enjoying close up views of the Park’s wildlife. Other coaches carry “touch-feel” boxes that allow sight-impaired and other visitors to appreciate the texture of Yellowstone’s obsidian or “volcanic glass,” the hair and fur of various animals and other objects, providing visitors with a more meaningful and memorable understanding of Yellowstone National Park. We are also aware that some are working on ways to more effectively accommodate handicapped visitors, a challenge that is unlikely to be effectively provided using snowmobiles.

It contrast to these improvements, it remains the case that access to Yellowstone by snowmobile is costlier, less conducive to education and the needs of the very young, very old and handicapped, and according to the National Park Service’s latest study, both significantly harder on the Park’s resources and more disruptive of the atmosphere that Yellowstone’s visitors generally have just one day to experience.

For all these reasons, we wish to compliment the tour businesses that are making snowcoach access to Yellowstone and skiing and snowshoeing within the Park easier, more popular and in keeping with our charge to keep Yellowstone as healthy and natural as it can be for the next visitor. We ask you to support this transition and we would welcome an opportunity to discuss with you or your staff additional, positive steps that could be taken.

Sincerely,

Chair, Executive Council