<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18882"></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV>Hello from Maureen who lives in West Yellowstone and is
an advocate of plowing the roads in Yellowstone!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The web site, PLOWYELLOWSTONE.ORG will be updated regularly with more
articles about why the park being plowed in winter would be a GOOD thing for
everyone.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Paul Strasser raised some questions that maybe put some fear into people
about Yellowstone in winter. The road from Mammoth to Cooke City is open
year round, and is much more desolate of terrain than the Old Faithful corridor
and in my 30 years living here I have never heard of a major accident or death
because of people on the roads in the night. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Yes, Rangers will have to patrol the roads. The conditions most of
the winter are no more extreme than they can be in mid April, when the park
is open, and again in mid October. Below zero temps are possible at those
times and everything seems to work OK. Yes, Rangers will need jumper
cables, and blankets in their vehicles, yet keeping the road open should not
cause anyone extreme concern. Someone at Fountain Paint Pots in distress
would hopefully have a Ranger to their rescue in due time. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Paul was concerned about gas stations. I would guess there would
be a gas station open. Demand would require it. And whether or not
they build more winter worthy structures, well, that could happen. Tear
down some of the shacks and put up winterized facilities. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As to the town of West Yellowstone, the town is currently dying in
winter. There is NO WAY that 500 people going in the gate a day can
sustain an economy the size of West Yellowstone. People have had to close
shops or leave town to get by in winter. Plowing the roads would provide a
12 month economy for the town, with the gate open 365 days a year, things will
be much better for people in West Yellowstone, believe me. Snowmobile
shops can still rent snowmobiles for riding the hundreds of miles of trails
around West and the Snow Coach folks can change over to buses, like they do in
summer. Guided tours will not go away, people will just have the chance to
drive in on their own schedule, with their own vehicles.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As to Norris access, I think the talk is they would plow from Madison to
Mammoth as well. People wanting to access Canyon and Lake could take trips
starting at Norris or Old Faithful. That the few hearty souls that "do the
loop" on snowmobiles could no longer do it, well, some things must be sacrificed
for the greater good. Plowing to Mammoth would provide year round access
from West to the Lamar valley. Now folks have to drive a very long way to
get there in winter from West. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As to the Rangers needing a rest, that made me laugh. If there
is year round access to Old Faithful, they will have to take
vacations, like people do in the rest of the world. I do not think there
will ever be a lack of people wanting to work in Yellowstone as park
personnel. It will add jobs for folks in West, who are laid off from their
gate positions, or maintenance jobs in winter.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Yes, there will have to be more money allocated
to Yellowstone. Yet Yellowstone is supposed to be the Crown Jewel of
parks, and hopefully the Department of the Interior will help make this all a
reality. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The main point is public access to Yellowstone. The public has a
right to access Yellowstone without spending hundreds of dollars for one day in
the park. Plowing is the answer, and letting us bring in our own cars as
we do successfully the rest of the year. Please comment in favor of
plowing by March 30th. Every voice counts. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>