[Geysers] knocking down a couple of trees

[Seeyellowstone at aol.com]

I thought I would weigh in a little bit.  How is knocking down a  couple of 
trees in a parking lot more destructive than, say, knocking over the  cliff at 
the Boiling River (was there an eis on this one?), cutting into Orange  Spring 
Mound or Pink Cone? 
 
We are also getting very close to having no way to view Tower Falls any  
more, as the upper viewpoint is almost grown over and the lower viewpoint  doesn't 
exist anymore.  I guess if the view is gone, it wouldn't hurt to  remove the 
Ham Store, which would improve the ability to park on the  pavement. 
 
How about the boardwalk by Castle Geyser affecting the small geyser on  the 
corner (I am embarrassed that I can't think of the name at 5 in the  morning)? 
 
How about that nice looking gravel pit that greets all of the visitors at  
the top of Sylvan Pass, doesn't that look great? Or the big pile of dirt  and 
rock in the site that used to be the Gibbon Falls Picnic area?  Has  anyone 
checked out the bison capture facility in the Stephens Creek District,  it's what 
about 5 to 10 acres, who knows, were not allowed back there, but you  can see 
it from highway 89. 
 
I will give the park credit for removing the huge solar panels along 191,  
which seldom worked, after all, I like not being blinded by what some  guests 
have described as looking like "space shuttle debris". This did not  look 
"Natural" at all.  Trees, willows and other plants were removed for  this unsightly 
project.  About 4 years ago the State has started moving  down sage brush in 
the Gallatin District with a rotary during the winter to make  a wind row, 
instead of pushing it back with a front end loader, as done in the  past, which 
did not mow down the sage. 
 
The Park has also had a policy to follow historical use,  but haven't we seen 
several roads close in the past 20 years including  Bunsen Peak Drive, the 
Natural Bridge Drive and 1/2 of the Freight  Road (Fountain Flat Drive)?  What's 
wrong with maintaining the historical  view of the Inn as Reamer intended?
 
We are talking about a couple of trees in a parking lot. My point is the  
Park has done way more destructive things than cutting a couple of trees,  
besides the Lodgepole has proven resilient, and will come back in road beds and  
ditches and even after fire! We are not talking about an endangered species  here.
 
Back to Orange Spring Mound, I guess by cutting into the hillside more to  
get the road by the spring would have involved cutting down a couple of trees,  
it must be better to cut into the travertine deposits. I will admit I am  glad 
Upper Terrace Drive remains open, as it is great for visitors  that are not 
so ambulatory.  
 
Last winter the Park Service used a rotary along the road by the top of  
Canary, blowing sticks, road gravel, litter and other debris into Canary Spring,  
it looked like hell for about a month until the spring coated over the  
evidence.
 
Just a couple of more thoughts.
 
I'm sorry I haven't had many geyser reports lately, I seem to have used up  
my geyser luck during the beginning of the winter.
 
Jim
YTG
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