[Geysers] Mountian Bikes in Yellowstone : Commercially guided day trips

[Robert C. Johnson]

  I know there is some sensitivity about bikes in the park, but I wanted to throw in one aspect that was not considered in the previous discussion.
 
   I work as part of a local user group which is concerned with evolving use patterns at a small and environmentally fragile lake in our area.  What has turned out to be the biggest problem at the lake is not so much overuse persa, but rather the growing proliferation of large groups of people arriving all at once in a big pack as a result of commercially guided day trips.  At this point in time our local Forest Service seems to have little concern over the impact of such large groups, either esthetically or environmentally, but I can tell you that from the standpoint of an "old-timer" with traditional environmental sensibilities and concerns, these groups are a real matter for worry when they show up.
 
   As a result, any discussion of bikes in Yellowstone needs to take into consideration the added possibility of large commercially guided day trips.  Such outfits seem to be a growing phenomenon on public lands, and currently our local officials seem unwilling to put any limit on the number of such outfits, the number of people they can bring along in any one group, or the number groups they are allowed to bring into an area in any one day. 
 
  Perhaps such regulations are already in place in Yellowstone, but currently more "user days" in any form seems to be viewed as an overriding plus by our local officials. 
 
 As a result, any public input on the matter of bikes should and must take this kind of usage into consideration as part of the discussion. 
 
   Robert Johnson,   Bend Oregon
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