When user fees went into effect two years ago in
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming’s Teton County residents thought
the money would go toward improving existing facilities. Then the
Park Service proposed to spend that money to build a $1.4 million
welcome center along a remote dirt road in the park’s southwest
corner.
Local opposition, however, prompted the
Park Service in early August to announce a scaled-back plan,
killing a visitor center and employee housing. But the compromise
retains plans to build a 750 square foot entrance station and
public rest room along the scenic Moose-Wilson Road, and it will
cost nearly $400,000 in user fees.
“We thought
that money would go toward a backlog of maintenance jobs, not more
development,” says Pam Lichtman of the Jackson Hole Conservation
Alliance. “We don’t need to build just because we have the money.”
Others question the necessity of building what
will be the largest entrance station in the park. “Most people on
that road are locals with annual passes,” says Franz Camenzind,
also of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, “and very few
visitors use the road who haven’t already paid at nearby entrances
in Moose and Moran.”
The Park Service maintains
the entrance station is necessary not only to collect fees but also
to police the park. The average number of vehicles on the
Moose-Wilson Road jumped from 330 per day in 1993 to 1,700 in 1996.
Says Jack Neckels, Grand Teton National Park Superintendent, “We
have to protect that corner of the park and put a presence there.”
Mark Peterson, Rocky Mountain regional director
of the National Parks and Conservation Association, says the park
could try less intrusive solutions, such as adding more rangers and
stepped-up law enforcement. Peterson says, “The people seem to feel
that we’re building a Cadillac here where a bicycle would do.”
* Jennifer
Chergo
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Is park station a boondoggle?.
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