One of the nation’s most popular parks invites visitors to ride the bus
Recreation
Posted inApril 10, 2000: Beyond the Revolution
Gentlemen, stop your engines!
Note: in the print edition of this issue, this article appears as a sidebar to another news article, “Zion takes tourists out of their cars.” The Park Service philosophy of accommodating humans and their machines is changing. The first sign came on March 13, when officials announced that they were leaning toward banning snowmobiles in […]
Posted inMarch 27, 2000: The last wild river
Agency torpedoes canyon planning
ARIZONA Grand Canyon National Park recently pulled the plug on consensus efforts among private boaters, environmentalists and commercial rafting companies (HCN, 12/21/98: Grand Canyon Gridlock). The outcome could have reduced the number of motorized boats on the river by giving more permits to private rafters and kayakers, and by implementing a wilderness management plan. The […]
Posted inMarch 27, 2000: The last wild river
Greens call snowmaking a snow job
COLORADO The Forest Service has given Arapahoe Basin Ski Area the green light to imitate nature and make snow. In 1998, A-Basin, the only major resort in Colorado that doesn’t make artificial snow, submitted a plan to divert water from the North Fork of the Snake River. Snowmaking would allow the ski area to compete […]
Posted inMarch 27, 2000: The last wild river
Guides may get guidelines
NATION Close to 4,000 outfitters ply their trades in national forests, bringing in nearly $4 million annually to the Forest Service. With recreation booming on public lands, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has introduced a bill that standardizes outfitter operations in areas administered by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Craig’s Outfitters Policy Act […]
Posted inMarch 27, 2000: The last wild river
Preserving the westward way
The National Park Service wants to preserve everything from vistas to wagon ruts, graves and campsites along 13,000 miles of historic Western trails. A plan completed last fall provides guidelines for protecting the Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express trails. But saving a trail system that crosses 12 states isn’t easy, says Jere Krakow, superintendent […]
Posted inMarch 27, 2000: The last wild river
Parks rev up to ban snowmobiles
Yellowstone, Grand Teton could be snowmobile-free by 2002-03
Posted inMarch 13, 2000: Libby's dark secret
EPA sets sights on snowmobiles
WYOMING, MONTANA Banning snowmobiles is the only way to clean up the winter air in Yellowstone National Park, says the federal Environmental Protection Agency, at least until the industry comes up with cleaner machines. The Park Service disagrees. Its preferred alternative in a new winter-use plan would plow the road between West Yellowstone and Old […]
Posted inFebruary 28, 2000: Acre by acre
A test case on access
MONTANA A federal judge says a family living inside Montana’s Glacier National Park can no longer use a snowmobile to access their property. Former Denver residents Jack and Stephanie McFarland sued Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in Missoula’s U.S. District Court on Feb. 2. The McFarlands said park officials had acted improperly when they refused to […]
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
Land of the fee
Recreation fees promised a jackpot for money-starved federal agencies. So far, they’re a drop in the bucket, and they lock some people out.
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
Fees around the West
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests, Colorado A fee to see the top of Colorado’s Mount Evans sparked rage from some motorists when they discovered that they were the only visitors paying. The Forest Service changed its approach, charging drivers $6 per carload at the […]
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
Working class can’t foot the bill
For some, it’s a choice between recreation and a new pair of school shoes
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
‘Fee demo is not the full answer’
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Jeff Bailey has been the Inyo National Forest supervisor since May 1998: “Congress needs to realize we need more dollars out here. Fee demo is not the full answer. It’s one of the very small tools, and it’s a very small component of what […]
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
‘You can’t sell a sunset’
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Scott Silver is the founder of Wild Wilderness, an anti-fee organization based in Bend,Ore.: “The Forest Service is looking at industrial strength recreation as their new business and us as their customers. More and more, the Forest Service is putting itself in between (the […]
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
‘I think recreation should be subsidized’
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Gary Guenther, a former Inyo Wilderness ranger and volunteer with Missoula-based Wilderness Watch: “I think the pressure should be on Congress. The agency is between a rock and a hard place on this issue. I think it’s interesting when the environmental community and the […]
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
‘We want the public lands to be in the backyard of the little guy’
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Chris Wood is senior policy advisor to Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck: “I’ve been on a fee demonstration area on a national forest and absolutely befuddled by how I was supposed to get a permit to use an area on a Saturday. I literally […]
Posted inFebruary 14, 2000: Land of the fee
Fee fighters refuse to pay
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Sun Valley, Idaho, resident Diana Fassino returned from a hike last July 31 to find a ticket on the window of her car. She’d been walking in Adams Gulch on the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, an area popular with equestrians and mountain bikers, and […]
Posted inJanuary 31, 2000: Searching for pasture
Arizona gets a new monument
ST. GEORGE, Utah – President Clinton stood on the chilly, wind-whipped South Rim of the Grand Canyon in mid-January and announced the creation of the million-acre Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in northwest Arizona. The next day, southwest Utah’s daily newspaper duly reported the announcement, but it shared front-page space with another story – one that […]
Posted inJanuary 31, 2000: Searching for pasture
Off-road riders told to stay on the road
Off-road vehicles, from 4×4’s to motorcycles, are under the gun. For years ORV users have been free to ride across public lands in the West unless signs designated an area closed. But concerns about erosion, damage to wildlife habitat and renegade road building could turn this policy on its head. In November, the Forest Service […]
Posted inDecember 20, 1999: Unleashing the Snake
Snow surfers with a mission
A Bozeman, Mont.-based snowboarder group wants to show everyone that clean snow – and water – are way cool. The “Mountain Surf” chapter of the Surfrider Foundation recently launched the Snowrider Project to promote water quality at ski areas. “With the increased popularity of winter sports, it’s really important that the (snowboarders) do no harm,” […]