[Geysers] RE: Geysers Digest, Vol 1363, Issue 4

[Paul Strasser]

My point (and I believe Scott's who mentioned the term first) is that vista
enhancement is the term used by the NPS in Yellowstone in multiple
locations.  They also use terms like "social trail" in official documents -
good lord, let's not open up THAT hornet's nest.  

For some to think that this means some desire to cut down every tree that
blocks my view from the cocktail lounge is ludicrous.  It's the NPS's own
term.  Why it's used in some instances and not others is something I don't
understand. 

All the talk about Aldo Leopold et al. obscures the fact that sometimes it's
used, and sometimes it's not, and I cannot distinguish between the two
circumstances.  No matter how you define the vegetation or the ramifications
of what they did, the NPS has indeed cut down vegetation sometimes when a
"view" was obscured (ooh, that's anthropomorphizing nature!) and in other
instances they don't.  It seems to boil down to what someone in the NPS
wants, and they'll either cite VM or the beauty of nature to justify their
decision. 

BTW, someone mentioned the lighting at OF.  In the late 80s to mid 90s it
was indeed horrific, with brilliant and dazzling (and blinding) unshielded
lights in the OFI parking lot, on the side of the OFL facing the geyser
basin (you were blinded by it at Grand at night!) and in the cabin area,
where the shadows were so dark and the lighting so bad you actually had to
shield your eyes to see where you were going.  And remember the ride on your
bikes past Castle at night?  You had to block the lights in the parking lot
to see the trail in front of you, even with a good flashlight. 

The lighting now is an utter success story.  It is properly shielded,
attractive, pointed DOWN (what a concept) and makes night walking much, much
safer.  Despite all the confusion about "vista enhancement" in the last
couple of weeks, big kudos to the NPS and the Xanterra people (yea, Mike K)
who made the OF area a superb example of smart, safe lighting.  

Paul Strasser


-----Original Message-----
From: geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu
[mailto:geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu] On Behalf Of Davis, Brian L.
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 7:32 PM
To: geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
Subject: [Geysers] RE: Geysers Digest, Vol 1363, Issue 4

Eric Hatfield wrote:

> Just a quick note to show that the opposite opinion does exist on
> the geyser list... I like it better with trees.

I think there's two issues that really get thorny here.

First, the fact that even in a limited group such as this, what is "best" is
often not at all obvious. My passions are cave exploration and rock
climbing, among others. And all too many times, I've watched something I
love, in it's natural state, "developed", piece by piece, until what I loved
just wasn't there anymore. Very often, for the good of the views, or the
access of the public. And at rare times, I've actually seen the opposite -
huge amounts of labor (largely by concerned groups, not the NPS itself) and
bodily risk exerted to restore areas, and remove artificial structures.

Who's right?

The second fact is that the NPS is put squarely in the middle of this by
their mandate - to "provide for the enjoyment" and at the same time "protect
and preserve". This has been an issue in YNP, Yosemite, Mammoth Cave, the
Great Smokie Mountains, Mesa Verde, Arches, etc., for a very long time - and
I don't envy the Park Service for being in the middle of it. As yet another
example, I was *entranced* by the light pollution efforts at YNP. I'm also a
stargazer (and teach astronomy at a local university), and to me, that
effort was a major change for the better, even though it's obvious there are
people who feel strongly on both sides.

"Common sense" for one person or group is very rarely the same for others...
so I tend to take it with a grain of salt when a choice "seems obvious". One
of my favorite thermal hikes in YNP is the mudpots area near the Canyon -
not for geysers (they're aren't), but for the natural settings - no
boardwalks, lots of trees (some dead and dangerous I'm certain), and *risk*
(very slight, but still). To me, these are critical aspects of the
experience... but thank goodness, I'm not in charge :).

-- 
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